It has happened again. Homeowners are up in arms over something they should have known before they purchased their homes. This time it's a sidewalk.
A few homeowners in the area of Lucile Dr. and Pioneers Blvd. are peeved because their developer built a sidewalk in a commons area behind some of their houses. The sidewalk connects the neighborhood to the adjacent Billy Wolf Trail, which winds its way toward 70th Street and eventually toward Downtown. The residents don't like the fact that sidewalk users could see into their back windows if they were so inclined.
One might feel a bit of sympathy for the homeowners if it weren't for the fact that the sidewalk has been part of the development's plans since the very beginning. The City has made it very clear that they want its bike paths to be connected to neighborhoods, and in this case the developer obliged. The only ones at fault here are those who purchased homes without understanding their homes' surroundings.
This is a common pattern. This time it's "just" a sidewalk. A couple months ago it was a Walmart. Who knows what monstrosity will come next. Folks: study your homes' surroundings before signing on the dotted line! Nobody's going to feel sorry for you if you don't do your due diligence. Many thousands of dollars and your family's peace of mind are on the line. Surely that's worth a day of research.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
I wholeheartedly agree. People are stupid. I don’t know if the covenenants prevent any form of fencing, but they could put up even one or two sections of privacy fencing. Here’s the flaw in their logic - neighbors that back up, or perhaps live next door, can also see in. A person behind my house could theoretically look into my home. However, I put up a fence. I also have blinds on all my windows. It’s not that tricky.
With that said, I think that particular spot for the sidewalk is kind of stupid. I use that trail quite often, and know exactly the location of these homes. There are 3 little circles there. I would think that it would have made more sense to put the sidewalk north by one circle instead of where the graphic in the LJS shows it. As is, it’s really not far from Pioneers - so someone wanting to use the trail could use that handy sidewalk that is on Pioneers, which also is adjacent to crosswalks and traffic lights.
Secondly, there seems to be more room/green space between the top two circles than the bottom two. That would help a little with the concerns of the home owners.
Thirdly, moving it north would make it closer, and in my opinion more useful, to the neighborhood in general.
But the bottom line, is that your post is 100% spot-on.
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