Dear Neighbor:

Many ot the people in the Don Diego neighborhood have voiced their support for our proposal. Others have said that they like us and our project but expressed concern over the possibiiity that the site has been used as a cemetery. it has not.

Last week, the archaeologist completed his investigation. His report verified that the land under the fill (there has been 2-3 ft of soil trucked in over the years from near-by building sites) is undisturbed and he found no evidence of grave sites or any previous digging. The site has never been used as an active cemetery.

We would also like to take this opportunity to clarify what we are proposing:

1. SITE CONCERNS
   1. WALLS & LANDSCAPING If the neighbor is happy with their existing walls, they will remain. if not, we can provide a 6' to 8' wall and additional landscaping. As requested we can use evergreens and deciduous trees.
   2. STUDY/SIGHT SECTIONS See Attachment I and II
   3. EASEMENT RIGHTS It is our understanding that Joe Labato is concerned about providing street access to his parent's backyard. All existing easements will be respected. We are also in agreement on lowering the site leveL
   4. LOWER LAND LEVELS: YES! We are dropping the building elevation between 3' and 8', to minimize impact of new buildings on the neighbors.
   5. LOCATION OF DUMPSTERS/UTILITY SERVICES Will be located according to the wishes of The City of Santa Fe.
2. CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS
   1. HEIGHT We have revised our plans so that the tops of the buildings on our site will be level with the tops of two story buildings on neighboring properties. In addition, the eight units closest to the single-family neighbors will be single story units, reducing the number of two story units by 35%.
   2. LOOKING INTO BACKYARDS No two-story buildings will be closer than 70, and the average unit is now over 100' from the neighbors.
   3. DRAINAGE Meeting City standards.
   4. CONSTRUCTION TIME FRAME Four weeks of site work. Each building takes 100 days to build, and we hope to build at least two buildings simultaneously. Cumulative construction time is less than one year for the exteriors.
   5. EXTERIOR LIGHTING Meeting City code for off-site and building lighting, which prohibits lights on our property from spilling beyond the property line.
   6. WIDTH OF SIDEWALKS City standard of 4' and handicap accessible.
   7. NOISE AND DUST No boom boxes on construction site. Hours of construction are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 p.m.
3. TRAFFIC CONCERNS
   1. TRAFFIC Mixed-use projects minimize traffic for the entire city because people do not have to commute. Currently 1/2 of The Lofts are residential.
   2. PARKING The Lofts is currently draffing plans to offer parking to Hacienda Cordova, for additional twelve off-street parking spaces in a shared Loft lot. This is an increase of almost 50% for off-street parking for Hacienda Cordova and is subject to design approval by The City of Santa Fe. Also, we are maintaining City parking standards for the remainder of the project.
   3. SPILL OVER INTO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD We are meeting city-wide C-2 standards, not the lower BCD standard, as was allowed for Whole Foods.
4. TYPE OF NEIGHBOR CONCERNS
   1. TYPES QF BUSINESSES Low-impact, information type businesses, professional and artists.
   2. HOW MANY BUSINESSES Typically 50%, approximately twenty businesses.
   3. TYPE OF PEOPLE The majority of people who buy lofts are from Santa Fe. Evenings and weekends are exceptionally quiet.
   4. PROPERTY VALUES Will not be affected. The Lofts are affordable because they are not excessively large. Appraisals on The Lofts on Cerrillos Road are $1581/sq.ft.
5. QUALITY OF LIFE CONCERNS
   1. PRIVACY See HEIGHT and WALLS & LANDSCAPING
   2. NOISE The Lofts has Condorninium Covenants limiting any objectionable noise.
   3. HISTORIC An Archeologist will be doing a test excavation. A Historic study is underway.
   4. CRIME CONCERNS We have set-up an appointment to establish a neighborhood watch with Officer Webb, the Neighborhood Crime Watch Liaison. At the 3600 Cerrillos Rd project we have had no incidences of crime in our 3 years.
   5. SAFETY Reducing unsupervised, off-street parking to safer, on-site locations. Providing a twenty-hour neighborhood presence. We are not sending traffic into the residential neighborhoods north of the site.
   6. RESPECT We are committed to working with the neighbors adjacent to 1010 Marquez, in an effort to build a safer, community-oriented project that serves the needs of your neighborhood and the future of Santa Fe.

Click on the picture for a bigger view. This one shows the building heights, setbacks and distances to existing houses.
Cick on the picture for a bigger view. This one shows layout of the parking spaces