Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieFoos
Not sure if anyone caught this, but a fight appears to be brewing over the redevelopment of the parking lot of the Shepard of the Valley Lutheran church and it's trees off 15th Ave and Maryland. The current plan is to build 34 two-story single family homes in a gated lot. The church did not inform or disclose the plans to the are residents and will be removing the 50 year old pines and a few of the buildings.
Read more at: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news...unity-11356975
Also, Talton has his take on it even though think most of his articles are mostly too opinionated: https://www.roguecolumnist.com/rogue...hade.html#more |
I suspect that two-story houses would provide enough shade to offset the removal of mature trees. The bigger impact of losing mature trees is more in terms of their absorption of carbon dioxide. I'm surprised Talton ignored that argument.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DesertRay
BTW, the article states that there were disclosures--a meeting, hearings, and a sign (the neighbor said that it was on 15th and Maryland--that's a corner of the lot). Maybe there wasn't as much as they like, but it wasn't a secret.
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First law of NIMBYism: Claim no one ever told me, even if they did tell me several times, several ways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieFoos
I suspect as you suggested, this is more an aversion to 2 floor homes in a single story neighborhood than wanting to save the pine trees. In all reality, the homes will contribute less to urban heating than a vacant blacktop parking lot. However, I can't tell if there will be room for vegetation in front of the proposed homes, so not sure where the developer would plant equivalent trees as required by city code. I'm guessing around the remaining lawn of the church?
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I'm not crazy about the loss of mature trees, but the aversion to any height at all is the epitome of NIMBYism. My biggest complaint about the project is the plan to make it gated, which will diminish walking and bicycling routes through the neighborhood. With bike lanes on both Maryland and 15th avenues, as well as two light rail stations nearby, the street grid should be as uninterrupted as possible.