Where progress is concerned, shouldn’t there be an equitable solution to developers that seek permission from the town as well as existing owners who seek protection by the town for what they dearly cherish? We understand the letter of the law guides such proposals, yet the spirit of the laws should have a strong conscience to any unfavorable impact on those who already live here.
As owners of homes in Wonderview Village we are not in favor of the proposed development at 242 Virginia Drive. While we understand the proposal has gone through the planning commission and met the majority of codes, the following are factual reasons for our case.
The developer calls his project “The View” yet it takes away our best views of the high mountains.
There will be loss of sunrises and sunsets over the mountains and instead over these new buildings.
There will be loss of direct sunlight in the winter months that will increase our heating costs as well as help melt snow off our driveways.
There will be an increase in noise and light pollution from six families in a very close and dense area.
There will be a loss of property value as already evidenced in the sale of Wonderview Village #140. Realtors know full well the value of “lot premiums.”
Another major concern is an incomplete explanation of the engineered disbursement of highly increased impervious coverage along a retaining wall and storm drain that would have to move all such water southward uphill to the collection area. Case in point is the flooding of one unit in Wonderview Village during the disaster in 2013 when there was only one building, a small garage and dirt driveway on the Virginia Drive property.
These three story buildings are not exactly the same as our three stories because ours are deeply excavated into the hillside. Further all our homes are on lower elevations than the existing homes around us. These duplexes are planned to be built on the highest ground in all but one of the many homes in the entire contiguous neighborhood. These duplexes do not fit our neighborhood and we feel they will severely negatively impact our properties.
Lisa Volker, Wonderview Village, Estes Park
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Good luck, the town allowed Westover Builders to ruin our views on Wildfire Rd.