06 Combined Neighborhood Opposition Part 1 — original pdf

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Beth Guillot 2216 Thornton Road Unit 210 Aus8n, Texas, 78704 Cynthia Hadri Senior Planner | Current Planning City of Aus8n, Planning Department Cynthia.Hadri@aus8ntexas.gov Re: Case No. C14-2024-0071 Ms. Hadri, I have been a resident of Carriage Park Condominiums since 2005, 2216 Thornton Road Unit 210, Aus8n, TX, 78704. There is a development planned for our neighborhood that is out of scale for Thornton Road. I am in opposi8on of the proposed density for the road due to the car trips projected to be added to our street. It is currently a challenge to navigate our street at 8mes with the current traffic. Below is an assessment prepared by our neighbor and civil engineer. LeZer to City Council and Staff – C14-2024-0071 We are wri8ng you today to express our opposi8on to Case No. C14-2024-0071, a mul8family project located on Thornton Rd., within District 5. Both the Owner and their Agent’s applica8on, and City Staff’s recommenda8on will have adverse effects to the South Lamar Neighborhood, par8cularly from a traffic and life safety perspec8ve. The project is approximately 1250 LF from the intersec8on of W. Oltorf and Thornton Rd., with traffic paZerns that are exacerbated by its proximity to the railroad tracks. Thornton Rd., which is a City of Aus8n Level 1 Street, consist of a 30’ clear space (FOC to FOC) and sporadically available sidewalks. This cross-sec8on paired with street parking results in the current traffic paZerns that require drivers to oeen yield to oncoming traffic and weave in and out of parked cars, trash cans, and pedestrians. The conges8on along Thornton Rd. is best displayed at its intersec8on with Oltorf, which experiences frequent backups and oeen requires quick and unsafe maneuvers to merge onto Oltorf. Addi8onally, the daily backups at this intersec8on are exacerbated by the at-grade railroad crossing along Oltorf, approximately 200 LF from the Oltorf and Thornton intersec8on. The Owner and their Agent’s applica8on seeks a density that is far beyond what is appropriate for the neighborhood and the Level 1 Street the project is located on. If allowed, their desired land use would increase traffic counts along Thornton Rd. by over 1,400 trips counts per day. This applica8on represents a gross misuse of the tools the City has worked to put into place to allow for the overall increase in housing units, including affordable housing units. A development of this size is more appropriately located on a Level 3 Street, such as Lamar Blvd., or a greater street level. City Staff’s recommenda8on, while less intensive s8ll does not go far enough to protect the neighborhood and its residences. Thornton Rd. is a Level 1 street, which as defined by Sec8on 2.4.1.2 of the City of Aus8n Code, serve primarily residen8al des8na8ons, typically with no retail or mixed-use. While Thornton already has several commercial uses along its frontage, it is concerning to see that City Staff further lean into this incompa8bility with their recommended land use. Of addi8onal concern, is