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Key Comparisons- 2525 vs Current Zoning When comparing the current proposed housing development versus the existing zoning of a 3-story office building, it is important to consider the following: · Traffic- An office building of this size will produce more traffic than the 2525 proposal. If traffic is a concern of the opposition, then they should not be in favor of the current zoning but instead be in favor of something else. A 3-story office building as allowed under the current zoning simply has the potential to be much worse for our community traffic-wise as compared to a residential alternative. Certainly, the residential proposal may generate more traffic during off-peak times such as late night and weekends but that is not when traffic is bad/worst on Main Street…it is bad during peak commute times which is where a residential development has a better traffic impact as compared to the existing office use. · Traffic Flow- An office building will not have just one entrance on Main. Instead, it will have its entrance on Edgewood as is currently provided for. They may be able to add a secondary entrance on Main, however since the entrance is already on Edgewood, a developer of the property as an office building can keep it there. This appears to be worse for the Park Santiago neighborhood and the resulting cut through traffic. Not to mention that those travelling North on I-5 will simply exit 17th Street and cut all the way through Park Santiago making a morning commute even worse with cut through traffic. With the current Main Street only exit/entrance, the cut through traffic, although likely not eliminated, should be significantly less than the existing proposal. · Parking- An office building of this size will likely provide enough parking for tenants and guests. However, this size of a building will also often have paid parking. This means that some guests and even some tenants may be tempted to save the parking fees and park in the residential area. Overflow parking is a concern of the neighbors but it should also be a concern under the existing allowed zoning. With the residential usage, there seems to be ample parking with the new proposal (2 spots per unit) whereas with an office usage there will be an economic advantage by parking in the Park Santiago streets because they will be able to save parking money. · Green Space- We all love green space. I believe that the current housing development proposal would provide for more overall green space. Now, it will not necessarily be public greenspace, but it will be good for the environment and since the Park Santiago residents may be able to use it, it may also be good for them in certain instances. Currently, the property is a dilapidated and underutilized office building and a surface parking lot- a lot of asphalt. A new development will certainly bring more greenspace to the corner lot. · Low Income Housing Fees- We have a lot of concern about housing the homeless and otherwise our city's homeless problems in our area town. An office redevelopment will not provide the in-lieu of fees associated with a multi-family residential development. These fees, which likely will exceed $6M, will help our city with our affordable housing crisis. · Visual Appearance- 2525 will be situated next to a very charming and historic