BB members,
Who will go to the BZA hearing Wednesday, 6:30 pm?
Frank
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Christiaan Abildso" Christiaan.Abildso@mail.wvu.edu Date: November 14, 2011 10:13:59 AM EST To: "Bicycle Board" bikeboard@cheat.org, "Frank Gmeindl" frank.gmeindl@comcast.net Cc: "Maria Smith" mariasmith@busride.org, "Jonathan Rosenbaum" freesource@cheat.org, "Damien Davis" ddavis@cityofmorgantown.org, "Mary Gutmann" maryg1010@comcast.net, "Sera Janson Zegre" sera@downstreamstrategies.com, "Mike Breiding" mike@EpicRoadTrips.us, "George Lilley" mgranlil@frontier.com, "Dwight Harshbarger" dwight.harshbarger@gmail.com, "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com, "Michael Simms" michael.d.simms@gmail.com, "Sarah Bias" sarahbias@gmail.com, "Angela Wiley" wileya120@gmail.com, "Matt Cross" crossnyc@hotmail.com, "Ilana Chertok" ichertok@hsc.wvu.edu, "Michael Graham" migraham@hsc.wvu.edu, "Martha Summers" msummers@hsc.wvu.edu, "Bob Anderson" randerson@hsc.wvu.edu, "Tom Bias" tbias@hsc.wvu.edu, "Bill Reger-Nash" wreger@hsc.wvu.edu, "Bill Austin" baustin@labyrinth.net, "Hugh Kierig" Hugh.Kierig@mail.wvu.edu, "Jim Rye" Jim.Rye@mail.wvu.edu, "Joshua Woods" Joshua.Woods@mail.wvu.edu, "Roy Nutter" Roy.Nutter@mail.wvu.edu, "Stanley Cohen" Stanley.Cohen@mail.wvu.edu, "David Small" dsmall1@mix.wvu.edu, "Ella Belling" ella@montrails.org, "Claire Chantler" cchantler@nwvcil.org, "Jan Derry" jderry@nwvcil.org, "Nick Hein" info@positivespin.org, "Regina Mayolo" reginam@verizon.net, "Kevin Leyden" kleyden@wvu.edu, "Dave Harshbarger" harshbargerd@wvuh.com, "Jimmie Simmons" Jsimmons2642@yahoo.com Subject: Re: Fwd: Wiles Hill zoning appeal
I believe there was an error about the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. It is the 3rd Wednesday of each month per Morgantown web site, which places it this Wed (11/16). A quick review of this group's minutes makes me think the bicycle & pedestrian communities need a stronger voice on this board to encourage more responsible development. My meeting mojo is about tapped out...any volunteers to attend to hold feet to the fire? Christiaan
On 11/14/2011 at 10:05 AM, frank.gmeindl@comcast.net wrote:
Bicycle Board Members,
Stewart Street is part of the nascent Morgantown Bike Route and I know that some of us use Wellen and Lorentz to get from Stewart to Jones.
Looking at the "progress" on Wiles Hill, in a few years, all it will be huge apartment complexes, 2 or more cars for every apartment and no space left to do anything with the streets. As far as I know, pedestrians and bicyclists are ignored.
What do you want to do about this? (I only just received the message below. Apparently, their was a public hearing on November 10 that we missed.)
Frank D. Gmeindl Chairman, Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board LCI #1703 491 WilsonAvenue Morgantown, WV 26501 304-376-0446 Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
Begin forwarded message:
From: Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board walkmgw@yahoo.com Date: November 14, 2011 9:25:01 AM EST To: Bill Reger-Nash wreger@hsc.wvu.edu, Bob Anderson randerson@hsc.wvu.edu, Christiaan Abildso cgabildso@mail.wvu.edu, Dave Harshbarger harshbargerd@wvuh.com, David Small dsmall1@mix.wvu.edu, Dwight Harshbarger dwight.harshbarger@gmail.com, George Lilley mgranlil@frontier.com, Ilana Chertok ichertok@hsc.wvu.edu, Jan Derry jderry@nwvcil.org, Jimmie Simmons Jsimmons2642@yahoo.com, Jonathan Rosenbaum freesource@cheat.org, Maria Smith mariasmith@busride.org, Martha Summers msummers@hsc.wvu.edu, Michael Graham migraham@hsc.wvu.edu, Regina Mayolo reginam@verizon.net, Sarah Bias sarahbias@gmail.com, Stan Cohen Stanley.Cohen@mail.wvu.edu, Tom Bias tbias@hsc.wvu.edu, Angela Wiley wileya120@gmail.com, Bill Austin baustin@labyrinth.net, Claire Chantler cchantler@nwvcil.org, Damien Davis ddavis@cityofmorgantown.org, Ella Belling ella@montrails.org, Frank Gmeindl fgmeindl@gmail.com, Hugh Kierig Hugh.Kierig@mail.wvu.edu, Jim Rye Jim.Rye@mail.wvu.edu, Josh Woods joshua.woods@mail.wvu.edu, Kevin Leyden Kevin.Leyden@mail.wvu.edu, Mary Gutmann maryg1010@comcast.net, Matt Cross crossnyc@hotmail.com, Michael Simms michael.d.simms@gmail.com, Mike Breiding mike@EpicRoadTrips.us, Nick Hein info@positivespin.org, Roy Nutter roy.nutter@mail.wvu.edu, Sera Janson Zegre sera@downstreamstrategies.com Subject: Wiles Hill zoning appeal Reply-To: Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board walkmgw@yahoo.com
All - Please find below information re: the zoning variance on Stewart Street. Has pedestrian traffic flow from these properties been addressed? I suggest contacting your council person. Christiaan
Folks: We just received a notice from the City's Planning Division for a proposed "Development of Significant Impact Site Plan" petition in our R-2 neighborhood for a proposed 20 two-bedroom dwelling on upper Stewart Street between Wellen and Lorenze Avenue (lower side of Stewart St. of which construction is now under way). The Planning Commission Hearing for this petition is scheduled for Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 6:30 pm to decide on the conditional use and discuss the two variances.
Under R-2 zoning 11 units are allowed. The BZA will have to approve the request for two variances which request a 2.5-foot set-back (10 feet is the minimum front setback standard) and also a variance to exceed the maximum building height requirement of 2.5 stories - the petition is for a 4 story building.
I would suggest that our neighborhood oppose this plan (petition) on the basis of: 1) it is outside the character of existing dwellings on upper Stewart Street, 2) it will have a major impact on one of the major gateways to our Wiles Hill - Highland Park Neighborhood, 3) it appears that satellite parking is already underway on the upper side of Stewart Street for this large dwelling (s), and 4) this will set a precedent for further consideration of petitioners requesting conditional uses and variances in an established R-2 neighborhood, 5) with the high level of traffic on Stewart Street a 2.5 front set-back is a safety issue (most dwellings are at least 6-10 feet from the sidewalk on Stewart Street.
Walk more, safely
Morgantown Pedestrian Safety Board Christiaan Abildso, Chair Bill Reger-Nash, Vice Chair http://www.morgantown.com/ped-safety-board.htm