17-75 Special Exception 806 Howard Street

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We,the undersigned,have owned and occupied the house at 917 North Saint Peter Street,South Bend, Indiana for eleven years. Prior to our move to St. Peter St.,we lived at 1004 Saint Vincent Street,three blocks away. We have lived in the neighborhood for forty-seven years. Our present house is situated a half-block from 806 Howard Street,the owners of which are appealing for several zoning variances. WE STRONGLY OPPOSE THESE VARIANCES. You will already have received letters from Rita Schmid and Adam Rebolloso, Elizabeth and Thomas Burman,James and Gia Haigh,and Sarah and Tom Mustillo,all of whom oppose the granting of these variances. Rather than repeat their arguments,we wish to underline or add to certain of them. STYLE. It is difficult for us to believe that the ABZA staff could approve plans for a structure which is so out of keeping with the neighborhood. To the east of the proposed building—on Notre Dame Avenue—are various versions of American four-square architecture. (This is the style which predominates in the SF-1 district bounded by the north side of Corby,the south side of Napoleon,the west side of Frances,and the east side of St. Peter. ) On the southeast corner of the Howard/Notre Dame Ave. intersection is a beautiful example of prairie-style architecture. To the south of the proposed building,are variations of bungalow,one of which is in a very attractive version of American Arts and Crafts. To the immediate south of the proposed property is a beautiful version of Georgian architecture,to be found both in England and the United States. It was designed by a faculty member of the Notre Dame School of Architecture. With the occasional exception,the houses in the above-mentioned SF-1 area conform to a broad architectural norm. (It must be said that even the enormous group home in the 1100 block of Notre Dame Ave.,,which we opposed, has tried to conform to this norm.) So,why would the ABZA staff approve a design which,at best,can be called a pseudo-collegiate gothic. That is a style which,in the United States, is reserved almost exclusively for churches and campuses. It is the default style of the whole Notre Dame campus. It does not belong in our residential area! SCALE. We almost feel that it is an affront for the ABZD staff to approve a building in a style as non-residential as collegiate gothic. But the real affront is to propose such a building AND make it eighteen feet taller than the present structure. Those of us who have lived in the neighborhood for a long time had to accept,because of a weird set of circumstances,the present structure,enormously out-of—scale as it was. Most of us,we're sure, have waited for the day when it would be demolished. Now we may have to look forward to a structure that is increased in height by two fifths! It will dwarf the beautiful Georgian house immediately to the south of it. The present structure already is taller than that house. And if the variance to reduce the side residential buffer yard is granted,the house to the south will be even more dwarfed. This,of course,will reduce the value of the house. Indeed,the whole immediate neighborhood will suffer some financial loss. If, indeed,the company wants to buy the property and remodel the building for commercial use—a use which it is already zoned for—then why not keep it at the present height as a goodwill gesture to the neighbors and fix it up so that it is not so ugly. What a gift that would be for all of us! PARKING AND SAFETY. Even keeping the building at its present height and "beautifying" it does not take care of the problems of parking and safety. Thirty-one more parking spaces would be on-street. We have not had time to measure just how many parking places would be on Howard and how many places would be on St. Peter, but both streets would be impacted heavily. This assumes that thirty-one spaces will be used,and that has to be assumed;otherwise,the zoning ordinance would call for fewer. 2