Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association

VDM February 2001 Newsletter Page 1

Feb 24, 2001

The next general meeting of the
Vista del Monte Neighborhood Association
Tuesday, February 20, 7:00 p.m.
La Mirada Apartments 4415 E. Grant Rd.

Please arrive by 6:45 to say ?“howdy?” to your neighbors and start on time at 7:00pm.



CHRISTOPHER CITY REZONING
First, thank you to all who attended the Neighborhood Council meeting on such short notice. It shows your commitment to the neighborhood.


You may have noticed articles in the Tucson Daily Star, Tucson Weekly and the Arizona Daily Wildcat regarding this issue. I went to the hearing for the rezoning Jan. 11. I then called a meeting of the Neighborhood Council on Jan. 22, at which I shared what I had learned. The Executive Council and Street Reps present then signed a letter to the Mayor and Council stating opposition to the rezoning. A copy of the letter was also given to Peter Likins the President of the UofA. Very briefly, the protests from most of the neighborhoods impacted are overwhelming. They all have one or more of the following protests: (Quoted from the letter sent to the Mayor and Council)
Regarding all of the public comments and objections mentioned thus far, the main ones seem to be:
1. The increase in residential density from low density (RX-1) to medium and high density (R-2).
2. Multi story/Multi residential housing.
3. C-1 Commercial and Retail where there currently is none.
4. The estimated increase of 6,122 vehicle trips per day on to Columbus Blvd. and Fort Lowell Rd from the development of this property as stated in the Rezoning Request.

For our neighborhood, the major impact of the proposed rezoning will probably be increased traffic, mainly on Columbus. You may obtain more information on this rezoning by contacting the CofT Planning Dept at 791-4571.There will be copies of the letter to Mayor and Council at the February 20 meeting. You can also read and/or copy the letter from our web page; www.neighborhoodlink.com/tucson/vdelmonte .Additionally, the letter and other pertinent information will be posted on the bulletin board at McCormick Park. If you should want to share your views on this issue you can call the Mayor and Council Comment Line 791-4700, or email to MCWEB@ci.tucson.az.us , or mail to PO Box 27210, Tucson 85726-7210. Peter Likins can be reached at 621-5511 or PO Box 210066, Tucson 85721-0066, or plikins@arizona.edu
There is a PUBLIC HEARING February 26, in the Council Chambers at 255 W. Alameda, regarding this issue.

FLOOD PLAIN SURVEYING UPDATE
The results are in. Yash Disai of the City Engineering Dept. informs us that there are 130 homes in our neighborhood that will now come out of the flood plain completely or at least have up to a 40% decrease in premiums paid for flood insurance.

There is not enough space in this newsletter to print all of the addresses concerned. There will be a list of the addresses at the Feb. 20 meeting. I will also attempt to input just the addresses on our web page, if time permits

The process starts by calling Yash at 791-3115 ext. 319. Next, he will have you go downtown to fill out some paper work and then send the documents given you to FEMA. After 4-6 weeks later you will receive your official elevation certificate, which you get to your mortgage holder. Depending on when you have paid your flood insurance, you may have some of your paid premium refunded.

We owe a big thanks, at least in part, to Barbara Rountree and the folks at the City of Tucson for work done on this project.
Thanks to all involved, Richard SS


SECURITY SCREEN DOOR UPDATE
As of this writing, the doors are being installed. There are some people who did not get the chance to receive a door because of the amount of money left in the remainder of the Back to Basics Program, and the other criteria established. There may or may not be a few more doors available once the fees are tallied up for City Employees time on this project. If more doors are available on the contract, the next people on the list will be the one?’s to receive a door. There are a few people who have indicated that they would like to purchase a door from the contractor who got the bid. The contractor has some of these people?’s names and phone numbers. If you would like to make an arrangement to purchase a door, call Security Ornamental Iron at 746-1110. Be sure to mention that you are with Vista del Monte Neighborhood Association and would like to buy at the discounted price. This arrangement is between the individual and the contractor.