59-18 1405 & 1505 East Howard Street

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Jennifer Parcell From: Karen Jacob <lovekaren55@msn.com> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2018 6:21 PM To: Jennifer Parcell Subject: Comment for December 18, 2018 meeting regarding APC #2881-18,Howard Street Land Trust Dear Planning Commission Friends: We live directly across Twyckenham Drive from where the above mentioned development is planned. We have one of the larger homes on that part of Twyckenham with three city lots, and we invest a lot in maintenance of our landscaping and preservation of the century old trees in our yard. We are currently out of town, otherwise we would be attending the Planning Meeting in person. The proposed development will change our neighborhood dramatically.All the trees and shrubbery now in the proposed development spot will be gone. With 37 units, traffic will increase sharply where Howard opens into Twyckenham. We can live with the change, but we ask Century Builders to do a proper job of landscaping and planting new trees, and building attractive homes as they usually do. For cutting down so many trees they should make an extra effort to plant more. We appreciate very much that the builders came around the neighborhood to inform us of the development and met with us at the Boy Scouts center. There is one big problem that the developers and the city need to address, traffic flow. The exit road from the units in the development should intersect Howard where Jacob Street ends, flowing directly down to Corby and providing better options for drivers to reach either side of town and avoid a back-up at Twyckenham. Traffic on Twyckenham is already heavier than before and there have been a number of recent accidents at the intersection with Corby that we've personally witnessed. We've also seen cars speeding down Howard Street which is very narrow. Street parking on both sides of Howard during Notre Dame football games renders it a one lane street. Before the development is approved, attention needs to be paid to the intersection of Howard and Jacob, and Corby and Twyckenham. The South Bend City Department of Public Works statement that the development will not require additional public investment is probably incorrect. It is not possible to build a development of this scale in this location without making investments in improved traffic management.