Please ask each member of your household to sign and share with as many people as possible.  If you add a comment in addition to signing they are very impactful. Thank you.

Our community is once again facing the threat of significant disruption and inconvenience due to a proposed new student housing development.  Over the past several decades we have seen the degradation of the Old Glenridge/Oakridge area as a once wonderful and sought after community in which to raise a family.  This project will drastically alter the character of our neighborhood, as it proposes to bring even more students into an already dense area, disturb the peace, and strain our community resources.  There is as we see it, no benefit to this development to us as existing community members, only negative affects.

As of now, the proposed project has 6 required changes including a zoning change from Parkland/Green space to Medium Density and 5 changes reducing the requirements for greenspace surrounding the building .  The parking requirement is 1.25 spots per unit (previously 1.5)which the plan barely complies with.   The apartment building will have 58 bedrooms and only 22 parking spots.  The remaining cars will be looking for permanent  street parking on local streets of likely 36 spots not including students that share bedrooms and visitor parking requirements etc.  

We can expect the streets in the immediate area of Hillside Drive...extending down Riverview Blvd., and Rivercrest Drive to have permanent parking all the time with people competing for these spots on a daily basis.

The city in there initial letter recognizes 4 significant negative impacts of this development on our community;

1. Loss of already limited greenspace  for wildlife (deer and turkey), birds etc. , for dog walking, access to trails, skete boarding and tobogganing.
2. Negative impact on traffic flow, especially accesing Glenridge Avenue.  Trafic lights are no being installed. (expect numerous accidents)
3. Street parking which is already limited will be severely negatively impacted. (Further reducing visibility, increasing danger of collision and injury or death to pedestrians and our children at play)
4. Student housing can be expected to significantly impact property values in the area.  (Your home will be worth less due to excess traffic, parking, noise, street garbage and waste)

Additional traffic collisions can be expected at the intersection of Glenridge Avenue and Rivercrest Drive as the city has specifically indicated that no additional traffic control lights will be installed in this location.

Student housing developments have been proven to change the landscape of neighborhood living. Our community, previously known for its serenity and family-friendly environment, risks becoming overpopulated and excessively noisy. Studies show that student housing projects typically lead to increased traffic congestion, a rise in noise pollution levels, and a heightened demand on public services such as waste management and policing.  Reduced enjoyment of our R1 zoned homes, reduced property values, increased risk of collisions and personal injury even death.  This is an R1 zoned community, we have numerous young families with children playing on the local streets.  We have a right to peaceful and safe enjoyment of our community and expect our council to uphold the best interests of the existing community as paramount.

We are not opposed to student housing developments entirely; we recognize the need for students to have residential options. However, this project lacks adequate planning for integrated living that considers the existing community dynamics.   We object  to the need for numerous exceptions designed to protect our communities best interests.  Further, the current planned parking we view as dramatically insufficient.  As each student will in all likelihood have a vehicle of their own and students may double up on bedrooms in an effort to reduce rent, plus a need for visitor parking etc., we feel there is currently a lack of a minimum of 30+ permanent road parking spots that will be forced onto community streets and dramatically affect the enjoyment of our homes in this community.   Already these local streets are narrow, narrow ..made worse by street parking, a large influx of vehicles on our streets will reduce visibility resulting in numerous additional vehicle collisions, and the very real possibility of serious injury or death to pedestrians including our children playing in the area.  

As council members we encourage you to consider onus of responsibility that just meeting a bare minimum of 1.25 parking spots per unit puts on the surrounding community.  Local streets will will become full time parking lots with people competing for spots.  We all know there is a huge difference between the bare minimum requirement and what will be the reality with regard to parking requirements  for this project.  It's unacceptable. 

We are calling on our local council representatives, planning committee members, and concerned citizens to rise in solidarity against this development. By signing this petition, you are advocating for a strategic approach to urban planning that respects existing communities.   That goes beyond bare minimums and respects existing zoning requirements and respects the right to the peaceful enjoyment of our community.  A plan that does not require the need for numerous exceptions to current zoning and planning requirements that are designed to protect the surrounding communities best interests and respects and maintains our rights as long term residents of the area to continue to enjoy our community as a safe livable place to call home. Please sign this petition to voice your opposition and demand a future that values community cohesion over developers profits at the communities expense.