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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-19-2015 PH1 Kalkowski1= "41k1� COUNCIL MEETING: MAY 0 7 2015 Terrace Hill Open Space Plants NO..___ 1_ The Buena fsta --Est es Homowners Association (BVE HOA) wishes to express appreciation of Bob Hill's, Natural Resource Manager, effort to provide a plan to improve the Terrace Hill Open Space (THOS). In addition the BVE HOA appreciated Council Members Dan Carpenter and John Ashbaugh meeting with and reviewing several of Association's concerns, as well as walking the steep hillsides. The Association's essential THOS concerns: wild fire when campers and smokers use the hill; public use of Association's Common Area Lots (liability as well as potential for vandalism and burglary); the loss of privacy (steep hill sides look directly down into Association homes). 1. The BVE HOA has, by far, has the largest private property adjacent to the THOS (NOTE: Lots 28 & 29 on parcel map provided below). a. Twenty -seven single family homes and two large Common Area Lots — with four private streets (cul -de -sac). Both Common Area Lots (28 & 29) adjoin the THOS. 2. The BVE HOA supports managed public uses within the THOS. It is not uncommon to count 20 to 25 people on the hill during the sunset hours throughout the year. 3. However some THOS use - activities cause concerns: a. High school and college age parties. While the BVE HOA appreciates the recent stepped up police and ranger patrols, the activities continue. b. Smoking and drinking. It is common to see cigarette butts throughout the hill. With the significant dry grass and shrub on the hill, a single discarded butt on a windy day could set the hill ablaze with burning embers flying high and far. Likewise it is common to find empty liquor bottles and beer cans — and soft drink containers throughout the hill. Please NO SMOKING or DRINKING on the hill with frequent enforcement to support the bans. c. Encampments and open fires by transients and partiers. (One encampment was made on BVE HOA property above Kristy Court with the access to this camp almost certainly was through city -owned THOS. This included torn American flags, feminine hygiene items, food containers and more. When reported to the city, the BE HOA was told that the removal responsibility belonged with the HOA.) d. Bishop Street has approximately 400 linear feet of "no eyes on street activities" between the THOS main entrance and to past the water tank. Cars have been noted to be parked with occupants waiting for other cars to meet up with, where occupants from the latest- arriving car going to the original waiting car, then returning and driving off. e. Other less desirable neighborhood activities have also been noted on the THOS. f. The HOA would appreciate more frequent patrols, particular during the dark hours. 4. Proposed trail changes. The BVE HOA wants the plan to use some methods, heavy vegetation or fence, to discourage trespassing from and beyond the assigned trails and on to the BVE HOA Common Area property, and to keep fires, camping and discarded beer cans, liquor bottles from being tossed on to the HOA lands below. a. Along the trail immediately above Augusta and Kristy Courts, it is desired that brush be consistently planted along the downhill side of the trail to discourage activities invading privacy and the tossing of beer cans. The existing trail is immediately above the very steep HOA Common Area property and uphill Augusta homes. 5. Wildlife. In addition to the falcon, deer occupy the hill (in the middle of the city). Except for the last two years, fox and raccoons shared the hill too. Dog waste is consistently left along the Bishop Street sidewalk. a. The neighborhood would like see the enforcement of dogs on a leash and waste removed, not only on the hill, but in neighborhood surround the hill — as people pass through taking their dogs to the hill. 6. On the Planning Commission report, the city photos taken from the helicopter show the ± 20 feet fire prevention weed wacking by the city above the private properties butting up to the THOS. However, the BVE HOA Common Area lots are by far the largest private properties to the THOS, yet the city does not provide the same service to the BE HOA. a. The BVE HOA would appreciate equal city -made efforts as received by other private properties adjacent to THOS. 7. Drainage. A city drainage containment basin exists above the uppermost Binns Court Cul- de -sac. It drains a small natural circular basin below the hilltop split -rock with the tree. The outflow is to the BVE HOA concrete swale above Binns Court. However, when the eastern - northeastern side of Terrace Hill was removed to provide fill for the French Hospital parking lot (note the original slope as shown in an early photo — below). Just to the east and below the mentioned basin, a landslide (slippage) has been an on -going occurrence on HOA property. The City approved the HOA improvements and development in the area (The concrete swale immediately behind and above 2075 Binns Court is some 30 feet below the original /natural grade) with full knowledge of potential slides in the given area. Back during the mid- 1990's the BVE HOA made significant and costly repairs, and again in 2014 the Association paid more than $19,000 for restoration remedies to control the soil creep. Sheeting rainfall from the THOS above seeps into the slide area causing soil sliding. a. BVE HOA asks the city to find ways to redirect the majority of sheeting rainfall to the northern more gentle and tree covered slopes so that it does not flow down and into the steep cut noted above. &" rAMW_1 41 A Line in red represents where the BVE HOA exist today 8. THOS access limitations. At times dark hour THOS visitors sometimes access the hilltop from /through the Augusta Court Cul -de -sac. a. The Association would like the city patrols to keep an eye on these late night hill accesses at the Augusta Court Cul -de -sac location. :1�.� ,.- �� Binns Court Soil Creep (Slide) area n Cd` Indica/es wa//s /o be 1rUC1erI during the rough grodirq phrrJ Q / /o/%r wa /le !o ire con-9 I've eed a/ /he home cone/rudion, gee 9h /E//9 Ai IiU�T 1h F. i° J` JEfV 1FER 003- 888 -0 - -- � o� -2 u� �GLS DMison, C- of Sa n Us Ob'r Thank you. 64V ��dm"J& Buzz Kalkowski President Buena Vista Estates HOA May 5, 2015