Dear Neighbors,
As you may or may not know Ponderosa homes has submitted a plan to build 84 houses on the Merritt Property. Several neighbors have met with Ponderosa homes and have been told that “all the other neighbors are in favor of this plan”. In talking with many of you we have found that is not true, but most don’t know what they can do to voice their opinions. We are forming a group of concerned neighbors to address the issues we feel are not being addressed at this time.
The response we received from Ponderosa about why homes should be built there was because they had a fiscal responsibility to the Merritt family. Remember, the property was purchased as agricultural land use. If every farmer who ever purchased land decided to have their property re-zoned and cashed in, we would be one solid housing track, which many feel is exactly where we are headed.
Here are some of the reasons we feel this housing plan needs to be carefully considered:
Foothill High School: The capacity plan for Foothill was 2000 students. They are now at 2337.
Delta water cutbacks: Water cutbacks in zone 7 will directly affect our water supply. 85% of zone 7’s water comes from the delta and there will be an estimated 30% cut per year.
Traffic: City officials have estimated an increase of 850 trips out of the proposed housing track.
Views: According to Pam Harding, the height of the smallest proposed one story home is 20 feet. That is the height of the average older home that has two stories. On the border, between our neighborhoods and the proposed houses, they plan to stager the 1 and 1.5 story houses (which are 26 feet).
Wildlife: At our neighborhood meeting we were told that all the Walnuts trees would be removed, the land would be excavated and the rodents exterminated (including the squirrels). There are raccoons, possums, foxes, deer and a large variety of birds that will be impacted by this as well.
The proposed project is not yet approved. Now is the chance to voice your opinion. The city council has the deciding vote. We are planning a neighborhood coffee where we can meet with city council member to voice our concerns. We will be contacting you with the meeting information in the next couple of weeks.