Citizen Correpsondence_Kress Rezoning(05/29/2008) Jeanne Schneider - FW: Page 1
From: "Nicole Ehlinger" <Nicole@DaveSandman.com>
To: <jschneid@cityofdubuque.org>
Date: 05/29/2008 11:20 AM
Subject: FW:
-----Original Message-----
From: Nicole Ehlinger [mailto:Nicole@DaveSandman.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 11:15 AM
To: JSchneide@cityofdubuque.org
Subject:
Hi Jeanne,
Can you please enclose this with the City Councils packets for the Monday,
June 2nd meeting.
To: Members of the City Counil
Re: Re-Zoning request of a approximately 70 acre parcel on Old Highway Road
Wanted to update the Council that we are currently working with a engineer
(Dave Schneider-Schneider Land Surveying) to try to help with the noise
pollution concern. In working with Dave, we are confident he can help
resolve/remedy concerns.
Once we have the opportunuity to meet with Dave Schneider, our intention is
to try to set a meeting with the neighbors. At that time we will try to
answer any questions or concerns they may have regarding the noise
pollution.
Thank you for your time and support in getting this zoning changed.
Respectfully,
Greg Adams
Dear City Council Members,
I would like to clarify and correct some things that Mr. Kress said at the 5/ 19
zoning meeting. He said that only two people were against the rezoning of
his property. This is not a true statement. There were 51 people that signed
the petition that opposed this.
He also said that he was going to improve our view. If he digs down 35 feet,
it will leave a bare hill where there will be heavy erosion and vegetation will
not grow. How does this improve my view?
Also, there is the pipeline that runs through the entire property that is very
close to the surface. It is actually exposed on part of our farm just across the
fence. How is he going to dig down 35 foot and not disrupt or expose this
line? Who is going to ensure our safety?
He said he paid lots of money for this land. Whose fault is that? He knew it
was zoned R-1 when he bought it.
I fail to understand how you could vote to approve this when three other
boards denied it. Your own City Zoning board denied this twice.
If you must annex the land, leave it as residential. This is a better fit for the
area. I invite you to visit our farm so you can see it is not suitable for
industrial. It would be very nice for residential however.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you reconsider your
decision.
«ti4,tr~ `h~.~~
James and Beverly Metcalf
15693 McClain Lane
Peosta, IA. 52068
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~?8 MAY 27 AM !0~ 44
Dear City Council Members:
y ~.,~~r~A,~~ Uffice
1 nave just returned from your ~~ i yiUB meeting regazding the f oby ltre~~~~~ ~A
annexation. You have passed his request and I fail to understand your reasoning. ~'he
liubuque County Coning Boazd, the liubuque County Boazd of Supervisors and your
own City Zoning Boazd has denied his request. I ask that after you read this letter you
will reconsider and turn him down on the second reading.
1 know the City of liubuque needs to grow and 1 fully support that. However, the land
you acquire needs to be a good fit for all involved parties. There aze many azeas of
i)ubuque County that could be annexed that wouldn't disturb residents. W e presented
you with a petition with 51 resident signatures that oppose the annexation of this land and
the rezoning to light industrial. Please let these 51 signatures carry some weight. W e
knew someday we would have neighbors and we are open to that. However, the rezoning
to industrial would lower our property values, make it dif3icult or even impossible for us
to sell ours homes and destroy our ability to develop our R-1 land.
He made the decision to purchase the land and it was clearly zoned R-1. He claims as he
put it, that he hasn't had a "nibble" on selling residential lots due to the view of the
industry. I fmd it odd that the residential lots on the North side of Ulde Highway Road
that have this exact same view have sold quite well. Perhaps his lots haven't sold
because he has made no attempt to prepare the land for residential development. `There
azen't any lots plotted out or even a road to get to his nonexistent lots. He put a Remax
Advantage sign on the land and then expected to sell residential lots? I am not a
developer and I can figure out why they haven't sold.
W e ask that you come out to the property and look at it so you can make a more informed
decision. He claimed that there is a lot of industry in the area. That is not true. My
property is South of the railroad tracks directly across from the azea he wants to put
industry. The only view of industry I have is a distant one of the tanks. I cannot see
Addoco Pallet or Alter Scrap from my home as he claimed. It is beautiful countryside
and he will destroy it with his development. He stood before you and said that he would
improve my view. "That is not possible. 'I`he view I have is perfect. "The azea is quiet and
peaceful. That cannot be improved on. If you saw my property, you would want to live
where I do. Please do not destroy this for all the residents in this area. Industrial is not a
good use of this land.
Please also consider the Metcalf farm land boundary. He wants to dig down 35 feet next
to their fence lines. This would be terribly destructive to their property. The change in
elevation from their land to the railroad is tremendous. `The erosion would be significant
and unsightly. He claims that this wouldn't happen but if you view the development on
Seippel Road that borders the Brehm farm, you will see what I am talking about. It is
very sad to drive by this azea. It is truly full of erosion canyons (not ditches but canyons)
and the vegetation is almost non-existent. I know the City of Dubuque has made great
strides in being considered a "Greene city. i feel doing this to tree lvietcaii properly anct
Mr. Kress's would not be in keeping with this practice.
1 wourd like to thank you for taking tree time to read this and hope that you will
reconsider. In the event that your decision does not change, I would like to request the
following restrictions be put on the deveropment of this area. 1 his would at least give the
present residents some protection of their land values.
• Vnly light mdustnal well be allowed and the mdustry should be built on the Ulde
Highway road side of the property near the existing industry (Addoco Pallet).
• The industry will only have daytime M-F hours of operation so as to not disturb
the residents.
• Outline by what means our views will be maintained or improved as Mr. Kress
has stated.
• Outline how the 1Vletcalt boundahes will be maintained so their property isn ~ t
destroyed.
• How will the ponds and waterways south of the development be protected from
increased runoff.
• How will increased traffic on Olde Highway Road be handled so the roadways
will remain safe.
Thank you again.
c-~r~
lleb V lze
12055 Cottingham Road
Peosta, IA 52068
May 23, 2008
City Council Members
We are writing this letter in regard to the request of Toby Kress to have about 75 acres of
land rezoned and annexed into the city for industrial use.
There is a large number of land owners opposed to this annexation. Petitions were
presented to the city zoning board with over fifty signatures of people Living within a half
mile or less of the property who are opposed to a zoning change.
The Dubuque County Board of Supervisors denied a zoning change on the Toby Kress
property in February 2007.
There is a petroleum pipe line running across the Kress property from the southwest to
the north to the B.P. Dubuque terminal tank fazm. How will Mr Kress deal with the
pipeline easement in earth moving?
We question the credibility of this annexation request and zoning change. We feel this is
the first step of a zoning change to heavy industrial.
In regards to a railroad spur on this property, a field engineer with the railroad was
contacted. He said construction would not be considered because of the topography of the
land. They would build only on flat land.
During the May 19a' council meeting, one of the council members said, "The city must
grow or it will die." Our question is, how much land do you need? You now have
undeveloped land for industrial use from Radford raad west to Seipple road: and
undeveloped land south of Seippel road, north to Pennsylvania {Middle road). Until this
ground is utilized, we do not feel further annexation is a necessity.
Please reconsider all of the facts and reasons presented before moving forward with a
decision to annex property .
Sincerely,
_ raa~~-- -..__
~~ ~'
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~rzCvfJci_' (~~LL.c~_C~Y yYt-~'s r`-_
Bill and Linda Chesterman
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Dear Dubuque City Council members,
~r.~;Fft,1Ff~
08 MAY 2 7 I'M I = 51
Du~u~{~~, ,~
The rezoning request has been presented to the county
zoning and turned down twice. They did not think it was
appropriate use of the property and neither do the
residential/farming property owners in the area.
At the county zoning meeting in February, we brought up
the question of a rai Irond spur ns there was some rumors of it.
Mr. Adams said it was never mentioned. Agreed, it wasn't
mentioned at the zoning meeting and never answered but it was
presented/announced at the city council meeting. No straight
answers were forthcoming from Mr. Kress or Mr. Adams.
There are a number of houses who are within the 200 ft.
zoning notification boundary and naturally some further out that
aren't required to be notified of zoning changes.
We are within hearing distance of a proposed railroad spur!
Now, when a train goes by, it's really not noticed. The engines
come by and proceed down the track. The entire train passes
within 5 minutes. Here and gone. Kind of reminiscent of the song
"City of New Orleans."
The BP/Amoco/Standard Oi I tank farm has been mentioned
in the vein of a blight in the area. Quite far from such a negative
business. The tank farm is shipped fuel underground with tankers
picking up their loads. All done quietly. The tank farm is a good
neighbor. brass is mowed and business is quietly conducted.
Happy to have it in the area. If it wasn't so, the string of houses
up Humke Road wouldn't exist if it wasn't a good neighbor.
a- ~~ ~.
It was asked at the council meeting if traffic has increased
because of Alter Scrap. It has increased because of the
construction going on but it hasn't opened for business yet, The
traffic WILL increase once opened.
In earlier meetings, we asked Alter what the traffic flow
might be. We were told approx. 350 vehicles n day. This is in an
area surrounded by residential homes. If you were to drive by,
you'd see sand boxes, jungle gyms and kids toys in the yards. Not
a safe area for young kids.
If n rai (road spur was bui It, common sense is light industrial
doesn't justify the expense and a request would come later to
expand to heavy industrial. All a little over 200 ft, away from a
neighbors property so they don't have to be notified.
We might live in the country but we aren't country
bumpkins.
Would a council member be willing to ask Mr. Kress or Mr.
Adams what their plans regarding heavy industrial might be? We
know that someone fighting the rezoning won't get a straight
answer.
I don't care to hear the sound of railroad cars and engines
being moved i n my backyard. Remember, I'm within 200 ft. of the
property. Would there be time limits for operations?
~~ S ~ ~~
County residents coming before n city council and looking
for relief is both an uphill and probably futile request. The city is
looking for more tax money and we want to keep our quality of
life. We lose!
I've been asked by many if there is land available to build a
house. It "was" available on land owned by Mr. Kress but I've
never seen any indication of it being for sale. Just a farmers field
that is planted every year.
Looking at a flat sheet of paper and actually making a site
visit is two different things. I'd like to see a field visit made so
you cnn see for yourself, what a change would encompass. I've
lived nt this address since 1974.
I think the proposed rezoning should be denied but I'm only
a county resident, asking a city board.
It would be a different matter if it involved n "Red Lobster"
restaurant. (A little humor helps.)
tf u I ly,
p-~-r~ c
p E,¢. ~c..~. ,, , ~w ~~ Jo ~iso n
12089 Co am Road
Peosta, Iowa 52068
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Dear City Council Member:
I have been a business instructor for over 30 years. I have also served on the Board of
Directors for the Dubuque Area Labor Management Council and continue to serve as a
citizen advisor for that organization. Having served in these capacities, I fully understand
the role of economic development and its importance to the community. I also appreciate
the role that each of you play in making important decisions that affect the city of
Dubuque as well as the residents of the surrounding area.
The majority of the council seems to harbor the idea that all development is good and no
matter what the consequences, the good out weighs the bad. We as neighbors have been
given very little information about Mr. Kress's plans. I personally have received nothing
even though my home is only is only two to three hundred yards from his property. The
maps that my neighbor has provided show the developed area just on the other side of the
railroad tracks from his residence. The agriculturally zoned land will do little to shield
the residences of the Vize's, Metcalf's, Gross's, Mr. Johnson and myself. This area is
close to a mile from Old Highway road and the existing businesses.
A major component of Mr. Kress's proposal is the development of a railroad spur.
From all that I can tell this will require a major alteration of the exiting landscape. Have
any of you driven down Cottingham Road to at least get an idea of the change required?
Rumor has it that the city absorbed a tremendous cost to create a railroad spur for the new
Hormel plant. Is Mr. Kress capable of incurring similar costs? Mr. Vize offered a phone
number to any wishing information on the viability of a railroad spur. Did anyone take
him up on it? Shouldn't someone representing the council at least make that call and seek
its own input. Not to do so seems totally irresponsible to me.
As county residents, we have appealed to the county zoning board and the cities zoning
commission both of whom have decided against rezoning. What's the point of having
these bodies if you can so easily ignore them?
I realize that Mr. Kress has made a substantial investment in the property, but so have we.
He wants to make a profit; we want to save our homes. I'm all too familiar with the "not
in my back yard" adage, but that's where it is, in my back yard, not yours. Would you
make this same decision if it were in yours? If it was you parent's farm and not the
Metcalf's, would the decision be the same? I know these are emotional arguments. That
does not make them any less valid.
There, I've said my piece. I fear that it has been an exercise in futility, I hope not. Thank
you for your time.
C7 00
Sincerely, C7`~ ~ T~
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Bill Huerter C
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12042 Cottingham Road
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Peosta, Iowa 52068 --
Page 1 of 1
Jeanne Schneider -zoning supermajority override
From: "John Goodmann" <jgoodmann@real-good.com>
To: <Rdbuol@cityofdubuque.org>, <Kbraig@cityofdubuque.org>,
<Jconnors@cityofdubuque.org>, <Rjones@cityofdubuque.org>,
<Klynch@cityofdubuque.org>, <Dresnick@cityofdubuque.org>,
<dvoetberg@cityofdubuque. org>
Date: 05/28/2008 10:19 AM
Subject: zoning supermajority override
Dear Mayor and Distinguished Council Members -
My purpose in writing is to express some concerns regarding the override of your zoning authority regarding the
Olde Highway 20 project west of Seippel Road. As a member of the County Zoning board we looked at this
parcel prior to the process of voluntary annexation into the city of Dubuque. The owner requested we approve a
mix of residential, business and industrial in that subdivision. We turned it down for several reasons but primarily
because it encroached upon a significant amount of county residential property.
If one looks upon the greater area around that parcel it is primarily, at least in terms of acreage, residential
property to the south, west and northwest. While I understand the posture of a city and long term planning, I
believe some pause need be taken. While I take everything I read in the local newspaper with a grain of salt,
much was written about the return on investment using a commercial zoning as opposed to residential use. As a
member of the county zoning board I have never given consideration to any project or request based on the
potential return on investment to the owner of the property in question. Any case has to be judged on its merits
as highest and best use of the property within a comprehensive plan that is not injurious to the neighbors.
The city has every right and responsibility to consider annexation of outlying areas for its long term growth. What
should be taken into consideration are the rights of those folks who are county residents in rural residential areas.
We have had particular zoning changes and development in the past where a heavy commercial use on city
property has been instituted directly adjacent to residential property that is occupied by residents of the county.
Unlikely as it might be, consider if the County Zoning Board and Supervisors approved a zoning change from R-1
to M-1 somewhere on the border of the city, next to residential property, to accommodate a manufacturing
concern? The City Manager, City Development Office and City Attorney would have kittens, and rightly so! My
point being that as leaders you should consider both the long term consequences for the city and those
consequences for the folks who have resided in these particular areas and will continue to do so for decades to
come.
In closing, please consider the area in question. It is already a hodge-podge of different uses, not to mention
there is still significant AG property in proximity. I think we can do better.
Thanks very much for your consideration
John E. Goodmann CIC
Goodmann Insurance Services Inc
2774 University Ave
P O Box 1088
Dubuque IA 52004-1088
Office: (563) 556-3232
Fax: (563) 556-1142
www.Goodmannlnsurance.com
file://C:\Documents and Settings\jschneid\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\483D4821DB... 05/28/2008
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