Fountaingrove Environmental Impact Report - City of Santa Rosa ...
Fountaingrove Environmental Impact Report - City of Santa Rosa ...
Fountaingrove Environmental Impact Report - City of Santa Rosa ...
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ES082008001BAO_<strong>Fountaingrove</strong>_publicComments_v3.indd_090408_lho<br />
ANDERSON – 1<br />
ANDERSON – 2<br />
ANDERSON – 3<br />
ANDERSON – 4<br />
July28,2008<br />
<br />
DearMr.Bartley:<br />
Letuspredicatethisletteronthepremisethattheonlypositiveaspects<strong>of</strong>the<strong>Fountaingrove</strong>Lodge<br />
projectarethemarketingtotheLGTBcommunityandhousingforemployees.Quitehonestly,wewish<br />
wehadhadthevisionandthecapitaltoembarkonsuchaprojectourselves.<br />
However,wehaveveryseriousconcerns.Sincepastbehaviorisanexcellentindicator<strong>of</strong>future<br />
behavior,itisreasonabletohavetheexpectationthatthecurrentplanspresentedtothePlanning<br />
CommissionbyAegisminimizethetrueimpact<strong>of</strong>suchamassiveprojectonarelativelysmallpiece<strong>of</strong><br />
landandtheneighboringhomes.Inreality,thisisanotheraggressiveandinvasiveprojectthatwill<br />
destroytheintegrity<strong>of</strong>aquietresidentialneighborhood.Thisisthesameasbuildingahotelsuchasthe<br />
VineyardCreekHotel&Spainaquietneighborhoodwiththeattendantimpacts<strong>of</strong>noise,trafficsafety<br />
issues,loss<strong>of</strong>trees,&loss<strong>of</strong>wildlife.<br />
Noonewaspreparedfortherapeandpillage<strong>of</strong>thelandthatoncehadopenspaceandbeautifultrees<br />
thatisnowVarenna.4storybuildingsnowareplacedonthehillside.Almostallthetreesaregone.<br />
Plantingyoungtreesisnotatruemitigation<strong>of</strong>removingtheoldheritageoaks.Newtreeswillnotreach<br />
thesize&grandeurthedestroyedtreesinthelifetime<strong>of</strong>anyoneinvolvedinthisproject!Varennais<br />
muchlargerinscopethanthevisionthatwasoriginallypresentedtothePlanningCommission.<br />
Varenna,uponclosescrutiny,ismerelyahighendtimeshare.<br />
<strong>Santa</strong><strong>Rosa</strong>needsseniorhousingfortheLGBTcommunityandforlowincomeseniors.However,the<br />
parcelunderconsiderationisnottheappropriateplaceforaproject<strong>of</strong>thissizeandmagnitude.Why<br />
notalongRoundBarnBlvd,ifitmustbein<strong>Fountaingrove</strong>,wherethereiscommercialland.Varenna,<br />
BrightonGardensandVineyardCommonsareallincommercialzones.Whymakeanexception?<br />
Thiscommercialventurewillhaveahighnegativeimpactforthe2storycondominiums(Stonefield)and<br />
thesingle&2storysinglefamilyhomes(TheOaks)thatcurrentlyexistoneitherside<strong>of</strong>theproperty.<br />
Thesehomesareverymodestlysizedwithnoneover2,150squarefeet.Additionally,anadditional<strong>of</strong><br />
242parkingspacesdestroystheconcept<strong>of</strong>residentialneighborhood.AftercarefullyreviewingEIRand<br />
observingongoingbuildingatVarenna,wehaveeveryreasontobelievethatthehulking3story<br />
behemothslatedtobecomepart<strong>of</strong>theFLisnotevenremotelyanaccuratedepiction<strong>of</strong>thefinalresult.<br />
Itshouldbenoted,thatthereisalreadyaprominentbusinesssituatedacrossfromTheOaksonThomas<br />
LakeHarrisinthejurisdiction<strong>of</strong>SonomaCounty.ParadiseRidgeWineryalreadyhasadistinctimpacton<br />
theneighborhoodinterms<strong>of</strong>trafficandnoise.<br />
Thebest<strong>of</strong>allworldswouldbetoprotectthislandasmitigationtothedamageincurredwhen<br />
developerswereallowedtobuildontheridgetopsabove<strong>Santa</strong><strong>Rosa</strong>.However,ifthe<strong>Fountaingrove</strong><br />
Lodgeshouldbeapproved,atleastthesizeandscope<strong>of</strong>theFLshouldbereducedandplacement<strong>of</strong>the<br />
singleunit“casitas”couldbeplacednearcurrenthomesonGuillaneandthelargecommercialbuildings