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WCHOA September 2002 Newsletter
Main points:
There will be a petition going around to all residents against the US-31 alternate "G" highway plan.
- We will have a meeting at Christ United Methodist Church on Monday September 16th at 7:00pm to discuss and kick-off the petition (we need volunteers!) and discuss the school land use proposals.
- We have the opportunity to provide input to the school about the layout and use of the land north of Willow Creek subdivision behind the new Washington Woods Elementary School.
- For future communications on community-related topics, we are asking residents to provide email information. Please check out the web site at wchoa.org for an on-line registration form.
Much has been happening in the areas surrounding Willow Creek and we wanted to communicate to you what is happening.
US-31 Improvement Project
Plans are being made to improve US-31 by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). One of the alternatives being seriously considered in the plans is called "Alternate G" which involves putting an interstate-grade highway bypass around east side of Westfield from 161st street to SR-38. If traveling north, the proposed route would come from the current 161st & US-31 area, go up by Carey Ridge elementary school, pass just behind Westfield Lighting and the Grassy Knoll subdivision, and then head northwest back towards the current location of the intersection of US-31 and SR-38. We (the board) believe that this would be detrimental to our subdivision as a whole due to noise pollution and long term depression of property values. At a public meeting at the Westfield High School that was held on July 30th, we signed a letter stating our position against the alternate G plan along with leaders from eight other home owner associations in the area including Grassy Knoll, Carey Commons, and Silver Lakes. The Westfield Town Council is also unanimously opposed to this and presented its postion also. The feeling was to go with proposal "F", which would keep the highway in its current location along US-31.
The board will actively participate in this project, but we cannot do it alone and encourage any and all residents to participate in local hearings and meetings when possible. We will keep our wchoa.org website current with the latest developments on this matter. One thing we do not have is any real list of resident's email. If you would like to receive updates via email, you can let us know by filling out a form on our web site. Sometimes things develop quickly and it is not always practical to communicate via mail.
We have coordinated on this effort with several other home owner associations in the area. This group is called the Westfield-Washington Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (WWANA), and will coordinate petitions with other subdivision including those mentioned above.
Washington Woods Elementary School
By now we've all heard those machines busily moving soil around the site to the north of Willow Creek and can begin to see the framing of the building. The school owns the land on Grassy Branch road which runs west over to the Silver Lakes subdivision and also hooks around the west side of Willow Creek section 2. The school is proposing using the land down near the creek on both sides for soccer and football practice fields, and also a small park. A *DRAFT* map is enclosed of what is being considered.
In the past we had received inputs from residents that it would be nice to have some sort of walking trail in the flat areas down by the creek, and the school was also wanting to have jogging trails along the creek. Also, we have had inputs that it would be nice to be able to walk from the main Willow Creek section to the Westfield Crossing strip mall without having to go on SR-32. The thought is to get input from residents to come up with a trail plan that can accomplish these goals so that our area can connect with the school's trails and the strip mall in a sensible way. If done right and coordinated, we could have a "linear park" along the creek that connects both areas with senic walkways, which would be a benefit to our community.
Here are some items as far as we know at this point:
- The school fields are for practice and will not have lighting.
- A water detention area will be put in so that water does not run into Willow Creek from the fields as it currently does.
- A trail was initially suggested to go along both sides of the creek, but after walking the area, we felt that the trail should not be on the south side of the creek where the homes of Amberwood Court, Lucas Circle and Lucas Drive are. The area on the south side of the creek along the back yards of these homes should be left as-is.
- We have spoken with the schools about these details and they have been very coorperative; their desire is to leave as many trees as possible standing to keep the area "park like".
- The board will have a chance at the end of this month to provide input to the school land use planning.
Again, like the US-31 issues, these projects are successful when active participation from the community happens. We can discuss and get input from the community so when we meet with planning officials at the end of the month we can adequately represent everyone's interests.
THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF EVERYONE HELPS! VOICE YOUR OPINION.
Remember the meeting is at Christ United Methodist Church on Monday September 16th at 7:00pm.
