Page | 1 <br />Testimony For Planning Commission Public <br />Hearing , Braewood Hills Subdivision <br />January 14, 2025 <br />RE: PDT24-1 and ST24-3, Applicant appeal Issue #8 <br />By Larry Smith on behalf of Videra Drive HOA <br />Early on a Sunday morning in early March last year we were startled by loud knocking at our door. There was a <br />large group of policemen and firemen, obviously in a hurry. Behind them we saw a dozen or so emergency <br />vehicles with lights flashing. They demanded that we evacuate immediately out of fear that a landslide could <br />destroy our home at any moment. Earth movement had occurred on a lot uphill from us and it appeared to be <br />growing [1]. <br />Fortunately, for our family, no further ground movement occurred. Unfortunately, for our neighbors, it has taken ten <br />months and hundreds of thousands of dollars to stabilize their foundation and take measures to prevent further <br />movement. <br />It is a sign of our changing climate that the Videra Drive neighborhood, which has been stable for over 35 years, is <br />now experiencing this kind of threat from increased rainfall. <br />I appreciate the role you have volunteered to serve in our community as Planning Commissioners. Your judgement <br />on land development is critical, adding an element of common sense to a process which often gets mired in the dry <br />arguments of lawyers, confusing calculations by engineers, and conflicting motives of advocates and opponents as <br />we have here today. Fortunately, lawmakers have seen fit to empower you to step back from the gory details and <br />view each proposal as it fits in the “big picture” to benefit our community needs which evolve over time. <br />Given the thousands of pages of documents already on record, it must be an onerous task to come up to speed on <br />the proposal here. I hope that my comments here will help you to see the big picture. Everything I discuss here is <br />already covered in detail within existing documents and testimony. Citations are referenced in brackets [*] and listed <br />at the end of this document. <br />I am testifying today, representing the Videra Drive HOA, on behalf of all our neighbors. We urge you to deny the <br />Braewood Hills subdivision proposal, which poses a significant risk of similar disasters due to its fundamentally <br />flawed stormwater plan. It is deeply concerning that the City Planning Department has recommended approval of <br />this plan, especially given the Hearings Officer's well-reasoned denial. This recommendation flies in the face of <br />established science, existing data, and common sense, and I will explain why. <br />Appeal Testimony (PDT 24-01 & ST 24-03) - Batch #1 Page 27 of 43