Agenda - Council - 03/08/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: ashley pflager To: Chris Anderson; Debra Musgrove; Dan Specht; Nicole Laubach;Brian McCann Subject: Zoning amendment and proposed new school Date: Thursday,February 24,2022 11:41:00 AM To Whom it may concern, am writing to you about the proposal for rezoning the land adjacent to Central Park. It is my understanding that there will be a hearing on Thursday February 24th for residents of Ramsey to discuss the rezoning of this land. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend in person or via the virtual meeting, so I am hoping this letter finds itself in the appropriate hands regarding concerns for the development of this land parcel. As a resident of Ramsey for more than twenty years, I have seen the progress and change of this beautiful city. When my husband and I first moved to Ramsey we were in love with the "country feel." Beautiful parks, majestic forests, and an extensive trail system. Sadly, we have watched the horizon of Ramsey change. Land developers have snatched up the land and built houses on top of one another. I understand with growth there also comes development. I also have noticed that Ramsey seems to have lost focus on what this City used to be known for, large land lots, nature parks and trails, quiet neighborhoods. Rezoning residential land for other purposes is the exact opposite of what Ramsey strives to be. Ramsey needs more homes to increase land value and have the money to improve the whole of our town, a community center, better parks and trails, more public schools. With such a beautiful landscape, Ramsey should be proud of how much natural and untouched earth we have. We are unlike any other suburb of the metro area in that we still have undeveloped land, and many of our residents were drawn to this area because of this. We live a few houses away from Central Park and in the twenty years we have lived here there has been no upgrade to the playground equipment. Central Park is a major hub for local city sport tournaments in the summer months as well as practice facility for spring and fall sports for the Anoka/Hennepin area sports teams. There are wonderful soccer and football fields, baseball fields with new dugouts, and new tennis courts. Central Park has the potential to bring revenue to the city with a Parks and Recreation program, employment opportunities for our young youth, and summer camp programs for the residents of Ramsey. It would be wonderful as a local resident to see the Park expand with an upgraded playground or splash pad. The nearby Lennar homes neighborhood house hundreds of young families that could utilize this expansion. Unfortunately, these residents will not have equal opportunity to utilize the PACT school seeing as it is a lottery system and proximity does not warrant priority. One single charter school will not improve the class sizes of our local public schools. Once single school will not benefit the whole city of Ramsey. Regarding the zoning issue of the proposed PACT Charter High School. It is my understanding that the proposed location for the new school is insufficient in many ways.There is not enough current land for future expansion possibilities. There must be contiguous acreage whenever possible and land for expansion of the campus. The land currently proposed for this school is 18 acres and the requirements for a k-12 or small high school would require 30-40 acres. In addition to the under sizing of the land is the issue of traffic. The proposed location for this school is not on an arterial roadway. The land was initially zoned for residential purposes. The adjacent roads are insufficient to handle the increased traffic from not only new developments north on Variolite Street, but also sports such as baseball, soccer, and football, that use Central Park in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Not to mention that the cost to residents for the reconstruction of 161st street with sidewalks and city sewer/water doesn't benefit all of Ramsey,just those on that road. Putting money into the Park would benefit the greater good.