Privacy, traffic concerns delay Fremont housing development

FREMONT A housing enhancement along East Warren Avenue is on hold after neighbors brought traffic and privacy concerns to the attention of the city s planning commission The planning commission this month delayed approving the Warren Place Maturation a plan for six two-story homes on undeveloped land formerly owned by Caltrans after several residents complained the road is already too dangerous and the new neighbors would be able to see into their backyards from their second story homes Harry Wei who lives on Crawford Street directly behind the proposed advancement mentioned he worries the new homes would invade his privacy adding in an interview that it s just weird that someone can look into your house if they demanded to The master bedroom of the home his parents purchased and he now lives in would face the improvement I don t want it I m utterly against it the -year-old revealed I m not trying to think the worst of people but it is something you have to consider It s just going to be annoying He also echoed several other residents concerns about drainage which has been an issue during rainy months in the neighborhood Because of the sloped Interstate overpass behind the Crawford Street homes rain has for years drained directly into the backyards of neighbors often causing flooding on their properties At the May meeting of the planning commission Commissioner Ben Yee disclosed he s seen a mud river there before during storms caused by a storm drain on Warren Avenue being inundated Dave Ayers the architect for the project with Herald Ayres Architects advised the commission the developers plan to work with the city to rehabilitate the water infrastructure in the area to appease neighbors worries of flooding Ayers also disclosed the second story of the homes are planned to further setback from original plans to provide more space between the new and existing residences The new homes first floor would be setback a minimum feet from the existing neighbors rear yard property lines along Crawford Street and second floors would be setback to feet according to the design plans Developers also plan to install smaller windows to further limit views from the second floor into neighbors properties But Wei is still not happy with the changes I still think that doesn t really fix it utterly Wei disclosed You kind of can t trust them on that The proposed Warren Place Progress in Fremont a plan for six two story homes along E Warren Ave and I- in Fremont Calif on Friday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Other neighbors are concerned about the entrance to the proposed evolution where they say there is already safety concerns regarding speeding cars and cyclists At the May planning commission meeting one resident noted that an elderly man was killed in a hit-and-run in December along Warren Avenue near Bradley Avenue According to a police review the man was hit in the roadway not the crosswalk on the evening of Dec and pronounced dead on the scene Police arrested the alleged driver after apparently finding the supposed conveyance with front end damage in a nearby shopping center Residents have gathered over signatures in an online petition to request the city install a stop light in the area to avoid accidents But the city never installed a stop light there Other neighbors such as Arun Kumar wrote to the commission complaining they would lose precious views of Mission Peak from their properties if the new homes were constructed Kumar who owns two properties on Crawford Street mentioned he bought his first house for the view He bought the second home he revealed because he lost the view when Caltrans built a sound wall along I- behind his first home With the new homes I will lose it again Kumar wrote Paul Castro who has owned his home on Crawford Street since also has concerns over the invasion of his privacy In an interview he revealed he would like to know how long the construction would take because he had not heard from the city or developer about the duration of the project Other than that I don t have any trouble with the maturation Castro mentioned The commission decided on May to continue to evolution s discussion to a later date