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From: Danielle Holder To: Brian McCann Cc: Ramsey Planning Subject: RE -zoning of the property located at Variolite and 161st Avenue please forward to the planning commission Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 4:10:14 PM To whom it may concern: I am writing in opposition to the proposed rezoning at the corner of 161st Avenue and Variolite. There needs to be a significant amount of study into the impact of this rezoning to the community and the safety of that type of use. This request should be denied until this study has been done. This area is not typical of this type of use. It is non typical for school use because it is not safe for the users. Even though the applicant seems willing to accept the unsafe traffic conditions this presents to the people who need to get to and from the building every day, is the City of Ramsey and its taxpayers willing to accept playing catchup with the safety improvements in this intersection. No improvements suitable for this area are likely to make this area safe. Are we willing to accept a few crashes as the inevitable on this intersection or as the traffic drives though the residential road the parcel is accessed from. Do we have an idea what the cost is to the taxpayers that would not be needed but for this use? The current improvements planned for 161st avenue and variolite were not designed with this increased traffic in mind. When we are reacting to the safety concerns this traffic brings are we going to be assessing the applicant for those costs or all of the taxpayers of the City of Ramsey. Typically zoning is intended for reasonable transition from one type of area to another. It is meant to protect areas from non consistant use that disrupts the quiet enjoyment for at least the zoned use of their land. This is a completely different use and no other area rezoned to allow for school has such a striking difference. None of our schools are built in areas where there isn't direct access to a main road and do not exit onto a rural residential street. This is not consistent. Is it right that we should change how we transition zoning because we want this school? A school may be good for Ramsey but we need to consider is this a safe area for these students, staff and teachers to get in and out of the school. Is it safe for these residents, the adjoining neighborhoods. When considering the rezoning, I would urge you to determine the merits of this location and not the merits of a school in the community. Putting a school in an unsafe location means that we value a school above safety for that school. I am urging this commission to deny this application pending a full safety study on the effects of this traffic on Variolite and 161st Ave, a residential road and the roads in the adjoining