Caldwell Planning and Zoning will hold a "special meeting" Monday September 14th to fly this request below the radar of Caldwell Citizens. One has to ask why this request could not wait until the regularly scheduled meeting.
The above graphic shows the layout for TVCC in relationship to the Dept. of Labor building and Thomas Jefferson Charter School and the parking spaces for the TVCC project out at Sky Ranch. Why isn't Team Garret providing the same graphic to the citizens of Caldwell showing the same content. The P&Z meeting on Monday evening at 6:00 PM will be the first of many variances to the downtown ordinance. We like to call it governance by Mayoral Proclamation.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Dear Caldwell Planning and Zoning Commissioners:
I am writing to ask members of the Caldwell Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a request by the Caldwell East Urban Renewal Agency to include TVCC as an educational facility per the agenda before you today.
This move by CEURA is a precursor to locating TVCC in downtown Caldwell. If you approve this request it will clear the way for millions of property tax dollars (tax increment on Caldwell property owners) to be spent on a facility that has no room for expansion. Also, parking in downtown is inadequate to accommodate the suggested 800 students that will attend TVCC.
Caldwell Downtown Zone Ordinance says there can be no surface parking within 150 feet of the Indian Creek Corridor as the creek project develops. City ordinance parking schedules call for 8 additional parking spaces per classroom and two per administrative office. Or one additional parking space per 300 square feet of floor space as an alternative.
CEURA presently owns nearly 3 acres in Sky Ranch Business Park in East Caldwell. (CEURA had a ground breaking ceremony last year for TVCC on this property.) TVCC would have access to nearly 900 parking spaces in Sky Ranch via cross access agreements that already exist with the Thomas Jefferson Charter School, an existing park, and the Department of Labor.
CEURA already owns a complete set of architectural plans for a 64,000 square foot facility for the original TVCC project that was to be located in Sky Ranch Business Park. Taxpayers paid $150,000.00 for these plans.
If you approve this request by CEURA they are going to build a structure that will allow TVCC to occupy only 20,000 square feet of space. This is not a plan nor is it a solution to any educational needs of our community. It is, however, an ill conceived project for downtown Caldwell. TVCC downtown is quite simply very poor planning for our community.
I thank your for taking to time to consider this request to Not Approve CEURA’s request in this matter.
respectfully submitted,
Paul L. Alldredge
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