If you want to
contact me
concerning this web site
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Buckley Estates information
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This page is being supplied to provide information concerning the development of Buckley Estates.
Location and Sketch Map for Buckley Estates
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009...
This flyer was emailed to me and I am presenting to you for your information.
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Wednesday, August 15: A note from Don Broughton...
There is not alot to update at this time. In the last update I gave in July, I stated that the City Public Works
would include us in a meeting to review the construction drawings once the City completed their review.
That meeting has not yet been held. I spoke with Nate Bottom, Public Works Subdivision Engineer,
on Monday, August 13th regarding the status of everything.
He said that he expects a meeting will be held no early than two weeks from now.
I am thinking that it will probably be early ot mid September.
The City has asked Ryan's engineer to revise portions of their drawings and resubmit for review.
Once the City completes that review to their satisfaction, they will contact me 4-5 days in advance
to set up a meeting for a few of us (including Meadowbrook Road representatives) to meet with the City, Ryan and his engineer.
I hope to hear something from the City by the end of August or the first week in September.
Thanks, Don
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Wednesday, July 11: A note from Don Broughton...
It has been some time since I last updated you on the new subdivision being developed by Mike Ryan.
Many of you have seen the removal of trees on the Buckley Property. The tree removal is a stark (and depressing)
visual reminder that this development is going forward.
Here is the latest:
Tree Removal: M. Ryan has Throop & Sons removing trees along the outline of the proposed roadway. I spoke with Mike
today and he expects Throop to be done in a couple of days. I expressed our disappointment that Throop used our subdivision
as their means to access the property every day. I heard that the resident whose driveway is on Buckley was not pleased
with this. I shared this with Mike. He assured me that he instructed Throop to keep his vehicles inside the Buckley Property.
I requested that he remind Throop of this. Mike also reiterated that the road with be blocked off to all construction
traffic once Throop establishes a clearing at Meadowbrook Road. I reminded of his promise to keep construction traffic
out of our subdivision and that residents are skeptical the way the tree operations have progressed.
I also talked with Nate Bottom at Public Works Dept. He is the Subdivision Engineer who will review the final construction plans.
He has received the plans but has not yet done an exhaustive review. He did say that Ryan has not yet obtained all of his
approvals from other agencies and he will note that in his review. I do not know what approvals his is referring to
(maybe DNR and others). I reminded him that we expect to be invited to a meeting at the City to be able to comment on the
submittal. After his memory came back to him, he agreed that Tim Sheehan, City Engineer, had extended that invitation to us
and they would contact me when they are ready to meet. He said that since the tree removal is not something they review on the
construction plans, Ryan is able to remove trees at any time. He cannot, however, do any other work. As a note: Ryan told me
in his phone call (without reminder) that he wants us to be present when he meets with the City.
I do not know when the City will be ready to meet with us. I suspect it will be within a few weeks. They had an outside
engineering firm review the preliminary plans. I would not be suprised if they had them look at the construction plans.
I will keep you posted on that.
We all have our work cut out for us when construction begins. We will need to monitor the progress to see that all requirements
are met. As Susan Poludniak, from the Regional Planning Commission, advised us months ago: "monitor the design and monitor the
construction." If you see any activity that bothers you or that you don't understand please do not hesitate to contact the
City Public Works, or contact me and I will do what I can on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Don Broughton
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Tuesday, May 18: A note from Don Broughton...
DNR Section Manager for Waterway Permits actually came out to Harrison park and looked over the old Dam and berm.
It was his opinion that if asked he would say there is no reason to remove the trees and lower the berms at all.
If the developer tapers the ends of the berm and clears the channel along with the other water storage plans within
Buckly Ridge the remaining berm and trees should stay in place. I did stop by the developers office this am to let him
know of the meeting with the DNR manager and the result and he seemed pleased. I know this will save him substantial
money in not removing the tress and 7 ft of dirt. In addition it will provide a nice visual divide between subdivisions.
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Tuesday, May 1: A note from Don Broughton...
Dave Janssen, David & Anne Haaker, and I met with Mike Ryan, his engineers, and the City Engineering
(Director Mike Norris, City Engineer Tim Sheehan, and Subdivision Engineer Nate Bottom) at the City's office to discuss
the Preliminary Plan. The meeting was very productive and I believe the proposed compromised is the closest thing to a
win-win situation for all concerned regarding the drainage issues. The City has decided to not require separate detention ponds.
This is good news for Indian Lands and the north area of Tecumseh. This means that your trees will be preserved in your area.
Also included in the compromise is that the dam will remain. This is good news for the Thames River folks who were concerned
with the flow of water if the dam was removed. For safety purposes, the dam will be lowered by seven feet.
The flood plain will be widened behind the dam to ensure that no increased water flow will be realized downstream from the dam.
Again this is good for Thames River properties.
The City said that they will review the flooding situation at Whig and Tecumseh to see if it is a City or property owner issue.
The engineering for drainage near Barnes's property will continue, however, Ryan is willing to provide hookup for future piping
to help reduce water runoff south of Barnes. These are good developments that give homeowners options to improve individual
drainage issues.
DNR's Division of Water Resources will need to approve the dam upgrades. That could take 30-45 days.
The City would like to go ahead and approve the Prelim. Plan this Thursday. I think this Thursday's meeting will be un-eventful.
I do encourage you to attend if you have concerns about any of these issues. Ryan expects to hurry up the final engineering
and begin construction by September.
Trees: it looks like the tree buffer will remain at 20 feet. This is disappointing, but there is no ordinance that
forces Ryan to increase this. He will, however, only remove enough trees to build sewers, roads, and grade lots that
need extreme cut/fill. The new homeowners will be responsible for the rest of tree clearing outside of the 20' buffer.
Meadowbrook Bridge: the City says that they are working with the County on this issue. There will be no de-annexation
of any properties as suggested during the election campaigns. There is no timetable for the construction of the bridge.
This issue, however, will not impact the Buckley development.
Take care,
Don Broughton
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Monday, April 30: A note from Don Broughton...
The developer is on the agenda this week for the Preliminary Engineering Plan approval at the
Land Subdivision Committee meeting at the Lincoln Library on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 1:30 pm.
It is 7th on the agenda. If you recall, they have withdrawn from this approval meeting two months in a row
due to drainage issues.
I will know more tomorrow, however, Nate Bottom with the City Public Works, tells me that they are reaching a compromise
on the detention and dam issues. The summary is that the detention areas will be greatly reduced,
the dam will partially remain and will be lowered slightly, and the flood plain will be regraded.
It sounds like a compromise for all parties concerned. I will let you know the details as I find them out.
The City feels that Ryan has provided what the City needs to approve the Prelim. Plan.
Nate also told me that Ryan has many more hurdles to cross to complete the Construction Plan.
This means, in my opinion, that this development will move forward, it is just a matter of when.
I am sure that Ryan would like to start yet this year, but that remains to be seen.
Ryan has been advertising lots and prospective buyers are roaming the woods.
If you can, please attend this Thursday at 1:30 pm. If any of you have any major concerns you want addressed,
this is the time to speak to the committee. I know some of you have hinted about lawsuits.
The more you know about the City's compromise could help you decide whether you pursue any legal avenue.
Regarding the bridge issue on Meadowbrook Road, this became a campaign issue between Tim Griffin and Tim Davlin.
I do not know how this will affect the Buckley annexation agreement (probably very little).
Please do not hesitate to contact our new Alderman Steve Dove.
He may not be able to solve everything for us but I know he will listen.
Thanks for your involvement,
Don Broughton
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Wednesday, April 4: A note from Sheila Bishop...
On page 11 of today's newspaper, there is an ad for Buckley Ridge.
Buckley Ridge, formerly known as Buckley Estates, has a web site -
click here to visit
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If you need to download Adobe Acrobat to view this image,
click here.
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