Dear Editor:
I am writing about 6230 Claremont Avenue, which is two blocks from my home.
Let me be clear: I support this development. However, I am opposed to an eight-story building with more than 200 units that sits right up against my neighbors’ modest (for Bay Area costs) single-story family homes.
We all know that seniors, like so many others in the Bay Area, need affordable housing. We also know that $13,000 a month is not affordable housing.
This proposed development will not block my sunlight, nor will I have someone peering right into my bedroom window. It will definitely affect my ability to park on my own street, which is already difficult. And the current design will change the character of this neighborhood.
As you know, we have a bucolic, walkable community, with lots of trees, people who maintain their own gardens and homes, and College Avenue with many locally-owned businesses.
Being a good neighbor means having regard for your neighbors, their homes and community. We need a good neighbor who can help us enhance the neighborhood, making it more livable, not less. That means:
- A design that reflects housing, not commercial real estate
- Landscaping that reflects the character of the community
- Fewer stories that will lessen the impact on sunlight and community density
- Step-backs from our neighbors’ properties
- Ample parking
And, finally, regard for the residents that will live in the building and be paying a lot of money to do it. They are moving here for the neighborhood, and where they live should continue to reflect that character. They need studio apartments with sizes that are livable, a traffic intersection that will accommodate elderly people, and ample parking spaces so they, too, can park near their homes.
I hope the community will come out to press the developers and our elected representative to support our requests. They are not unreasonable.
