HomeMy Public PortalAboutCanyon Springs DEIR Public Comment #68 (Oberriter)February 28, 2013
To: Town of Truckee, Tony Lashbrook
From: Carl Oberriter
Subject: Comments to Canyon Springs DEIR
To begin, I would like to thank you and your Building Department for keeping the
Glenshire residents informed on how this particular project is progressing. I would also
like to thank the Town of Truckee for the use of its meeting hall to help generate the
many concerns that the community has towards such a large project.
I have been fortunate to be able to attend many of the meetings dealing with this
project. In the past, it appeared that many of the surrounding communities were also
present (Hirshdale, Olympic Heights, Cambridge, and Juniper Hills), at this last meeting
I noticed very few of these residents from these areas. Were these communities
informed of the project?
In reading the paper work that was handed out at the last meeting December 18, 2012,
I could not find my paperwork concerning the original project plans that the county of
Nevada approved in 1990. If I recall, the original plans of 1990, were for a development
of far fewer residences than the current proposal. The lot sizes were substantially larger
than the new current plan allowing for more open space for the wildlife that inhabits
this area, is this true?
I know the meeting that I attended had some serious time constraints and in order to
save time, I was encouraged to write a letter to you with my concerns. In looking at the
power point information that I received, I noticed on Pg. 8 project alternatives and 5
different alternatives. I have many questions dealing with a few of these alternatives.
During the presentation, one of the speakers mentioned Alternative A: No project. He
then went on to say or suggest that there might be another alternative besides the
current one being presented. Just what did he or the developers have in mind for this
parcel of land if this project is not approved?
Alternative B: Edinburgh Drive Open Access: Please correct me on this, but I thought
this alternative was off the table from the last meeting. That it was then agreed, that
this alternative was to be used only for emergency purposes on any project that was to
be brought forth.
I have more concerns/questions on this Alternative B. It appears, according to the map
that this development is quite a bit larger than that of the combined residents that live
on and the side streets of Regency Circle. By opening up this street to traffic flow to the
new development, it would create many more problems. The consultant from Berkley
made a reference to the number of trips that would be generated from this community
at 2,578 vehicles per day one way. He went on to mention that equates to
approximately 1 car every 45 seconds. Then, he said that he would be happy if that is
what he would see on his street in Berkley. Two things come to mind here: first off this
is Truckee not Berkley, two completely different communities, and second this number
is actually going to double because all those trips one way need to come back home.
So if this is true, would the correct number of vehicle trips be more like 5,156 or 1 car
every 23 seconds? Another concern, that I was unable to find any data on was the
extra amounts of noxious fumes that will be generated by the increase of vehicle travel.
Again, please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the state of California has
stated that these gases can cause Cancer. Why would we want to expose more of our
citizens to increases of dangerous fumes?
It was also mentioned that the residents of this community would most likely travel the
shorts distance and time route to get to town. This route was for these residents to
travel on Juniper Hills Rd. to Glenshire Dr. then down towards Interstate 80, and off to
town or Reno. I have to disagree with this statement that they will mainly travel this
route, because they are here to see the beauty of our community and Glenshire Dr.
with the Truckee River flowing past is fantastic at the least. There is much more to our
community than breaking it down to the fastest route!
The Traffic consultant that spoke at the meeting addressed the current dangers of
traffic going down Glenshire Drive and White Horse intersection, but failed to address
the dangers that currently apply to the intersection of Edinburgh and Belford. Before
this project gets approved, I feel that this needs to be addressed immediately even for
the use of emergency vehicles. He also failed to mention any of the dangers that would
exist on any of the other connecting streets for example Courtney and Summerset.
It was encouraging to hear that the Town of Truckee at least acknowledges that there
is a problem at the intersection of Glenshire Dr. and Donner Pass Rd. and that they are
looking at solutions to fix this problem. It was mentioned that this would have to be
resolved before this project would get the go ahead. A few questions come to mind on
this topic: Who would fund this project? Is there already money set aside for such a
costly change to the road system? When would this project start? Other problems that
exist on Glenshire Dr. that made very little notice are turn lanes or lack of to enter
Olympic Heights and that there is NO bike lanes on Glenshire Dr.
One of the consultants mentioned that he looked into the police reports dealing with
accidents involving bicycles on Glenshire Dr. and that he found few. This is not a
surprise to me since few people ride on this road. The local residents are scared to ride
this stretch of rode do to fear of getting hit by a vehicle. When my family rides our
bicycles to town, we are forced to ride along the train tracks; I guess the better of the
two evils.
I also have a few concerns dealing with the wildlife in the area. On Page 4 of the power
point paper at the top under the heading of Impacts and Mitigation Measures of
Biological Resources, it states seasonal vegetation and tree removal of nesting sites for
Bats and Yellow Warblers. Correct me on this, but would this not help eliminate both of
these species from our community? If we remove their homes, they will either die or go
elsewhere. This program of seasonal tree removal goes with the residential lot fire
suppression clean up, but is not conducive with a healthy coexisting lifestyle with nature
that the Town of Truckee projects.
Thank you for your time in considering all the problems that could or can arise from
such a serious project for our community. Truckee is a wonderful place to live and raise
our families. It would be horrible to see the destruction of so many awesome resources
due to this project. I would also like to see in the final EIR a series of fines that would
be generated by those responsible for failure to complete any of said safety concerns.
Thank you again and I look forward to any more discussions on these topics.
Your neighbor in Truckee,
Carl Oberriter