By George Craft and Deb Craft
We believe the Williams Village Development Project project should not be approved and should receive no further consideration. It is terrible for the neighborhood, the citizens and the city and is a bad idea in every respect.
The traffic on Baseline in the area of 30th Street is congested today. The addition of 610 more housing units and potentially double that in people who are trying to get places could bring traffic to a standstill.
Adding high-density housing diagonally across from the Baseline Subdivision (Aurora 7 neighborhood) will change the current peaceful, private residential neighborhood into a city. Already the neighborhood is overwhelmed with students parking everywhere, often illegally, and partying late into the evening. Adding 285 more student dwellings, which could bring 600 more young people to the area, will exacerbate the situation.
Traffic will be made even worse because more “Buff Busses” will be required to transport the additional students.
Where will all these people park? Six hundred and ten new housing units could bring 1,000 cars. While there will be onsite parking, there won’t be enough, and the rates will probably drive residents to park elsewhere, as they do now. Parking rates at the CU dorms are so high the kids living there can’t afford to park in the lots.
Oh, and the parking is planned to be “underground.” We remember the lost automobiles at Frasier Meadows with the 2013 flood. The Williams Village Development is near Bear Creek and Skunk Creek. Thinking you can outwit Mother Nature is a fool’s pursuit. The “diversion channels” in the engineering design are laughable. In our opinion, they won’t work.
Not to mention the danger to the residents in the case of a flood. One thousand more people endangered by high water. One thousand more people potentially needing emergency services. The fire station is far away. Ambulance service is not nearby. It is foolhardy to ignore this.
Heretofore we have a nice suburban neighborhood. CU’s Williams Village dormitories are a scenic display of architectural genius. But the Williams Village Development will add unsightly 55-foot-tall drab buildings, obscuring the view of the Flatirons and increasing the sound level of traffic in Martin Acres. The “green spaces” they offer are ridiculous. We will end up with another awful place like Boulder Junction. Haven’t we learned a lesson?
It breaks our hearts to see the Dark Horse, Carelli’s, Sprouts, Moes and all the other businesses close. The commercial space proposed will go unused. We don’t need any more fancy shops, and the rental rates are sure to discourage business. Look at the 29th Street center. Look at Basemar center, near where this development is proposed. We don’t need another shopping center. How long has the nearby Whole Foods Market retail space been vacant? A long time. The developer is likely looking for residential rental income, not commercial tenants.
And no affordable housing! No developer should be allowed to buy off on this crucial need. The inclusion of affordable housing in residential development not only provides more housing, but integrates the residents into the neighborhood, not in a cluster of affordable housing, but in a mixed neighborhood of people of all circumstances and income levels.
Williams Village Development Project should be stopped!
George Craft and Deb Craft live in Boulder.
