Project Narrative Leads to Resident Concerns.....

A potential development at the NW Corner of Blue Angel Pkwy and Hwy 98 in District 1 is creating a lot of consternation among nearby residents who oppose this....

A recent pre-application narrative describing a proposed shopping center at the NW corner of the Intersection of Hwy 98 and Blue Angel Pkwy in District 1 ( along with supporting documents )has led to some significant concern among many nearby residents.

My office has begun to see a steady influx of phone calls and emails about this potential development.

I've been asked to attend an upcoming Home Owner's Association (HOA) meeting for a nearby neighborhood--which I have agreed to do.

The main issues of concern center around the potential piping of sewage from this proposed development north east to an existing ECUA sewage lift station that sits within the Southbay neighborhood.  The residents I have spoken with are vehemently opposed to having any additional sewage routed to this lift station--which many have complained eminates a foul odor already----and they don't want that increased.  Of course, that decision about where sewage would go rests solely with ECUA, not the county.

The other concerns are the two chief concerns I hear about on every potential development:  Traffic and Stormwater issues.

This narrative, pictured above, has created some significant concern among nearby residents

The narrative presented with the pre-application, above, does nothing to assuage the concerns of nearby residents on either front--as it clearly indicates the intention of cutting and filling the parcel and raising elevations to overcome the topographical issues on the parcel.  This sort of language always sparks concerns among neighbors--as many county stormwater issues have been created when one development is permitted and builds "up" (to a higher elevation than nearby parcels) to mitigate stormwater impacts.  Often, even with the best engineered stormwater mitigation "plans" baked into the developments---the development itself leads to more stormwater dumping onto adjacent properties.  It happens and has happened.  So naturally--this gets neighbors' attention.  And mine.

The other issue is traffic.  This particular area has seen a tremendous impact from the traffic snafu created by a newly permitted "ER" facility that has subsequently utilized a portion of Hwy 98 as their defacto "helipad" for transfer of patients to other facilities.  And when Hwy 98 is shut down for a

helicopter transfer----this has greatly impacted nearby residents.  And this situation is still occurring--no plan has been put forth as of yet to curtail this practice.  Add to this concern an already difficult and sometimes dangerous left turn for residents coming onto Blue Angel from Southbay--which will be exacerbated if a new ingress/egress is permitted directly onto Blue Angel for this development--and yes--these neighbors are concerned.  And their concerns are legitimate.

Wetlands impacts also described in the narrative and the decimation of the majority of the trees on this parcel also greatly concern the nearby residents.

So, although this proposed development falls within existing county ordinances and will not come before the full board for approval--it will nonetheless require significant permitting from state and federal agencies for stormwater, traffic, and wetlands impacts.  And I will be watching this proposed development very, very carefully as it moves forward.