08/08/06 McCready Letter and ResponseX,_,in,::�MZTF_adty 1,19 97EE�zAiaL
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ATTN: Narda Wilson
Kalispell Planning Board
17 Second Street East, Ste. 211
Kalispell, MT 59901
RE: Westwood Park Development
I have decided to contact you, and several others, regarding what I consider to be problems with the construction taking
place in the Westwood Village development adjoining the east side of my property. Since construction began I have
talked to Bill Rice at Denman Construction and Schillinger Construction regarding my concerns but they were non-
responsive.
Some months ago I contacted the primary contractor (Denman Construction) about these issues, and was basically told
there was nothing 'hat could be done, and I really had no right to suggest that there was a problem. So, I am writing this
letter to document these issues, and to find out if any person, or agency of the city or county, has any authority to
address these types of concerns.
Some of my concerns are listed below in no specific order; though, I feel that there are several serious issues to be
addressed here. Please let me know if any of you (city or county) have any authority to moderate these concerns —
something has to be done soon, I can no longer sit by and do nothing about this very disturbin activity.
01) Since construction began, the noise from the heavy equipment operating in such close proximity to my home has
been completely disruptive, disturbing and nerve racking. I am at home most days, so I feel the full effect of this
activity. Initially, the one redeeming factor was that construction seemed to be limited to Monday — Friday from 8a —
5p. I could at least look forward to relatively normal evenings and weekends. However, after a brief winter hiatus,
construction resumed and has occurred any day of the week with hours ranging anywhere fi-om 6:30 a.m. to nearly 10
p.m. Several times I have been roused from a sound sleep at 6:30 a.m. and the noise did not stop until as much as 13
hours later, at 7:30 p. in.
02) On several occasions, while compacting the soil, or doing other work, excavators and other equipment have
impacted the ground with such force that my house literally shook. Then later, a roller -compactor was being used. The
ground vibrations from this machine rumbled and shook my house so severely that, for a few seconds, I honestly
believed we were having an earthquake the first time the roller -compactor went by. After a few seconds I finally heard
the engine noise, looked out my window, and realized what was actually happening. I am yM concerned that these
violent vibrations could undermine the long-term structural integrity of my house and/or cause immediate damage. I am
already seeing a separation of a window casing, a crack in the drywall has developed above an interior door and the
roof support system on my back porch is being twisted apart. I have been in this house since it was built 6 years ago,
and these are new problems, except for the porch support which was slightl off center from settling soon after I moved
in. However, it has been stable for the past 4 years, until this construction began.
03) 1 recently saw ajob posting that was of interest to me. That is, until I found that it was a graveyard shift. With the
construction noise nearby there is no way I would be able to rest during the day, and so no way I could even consider a
graveyard shift.
04) It was suggested, by Bill Rice, that the noise from the heavy equipment is only a problem when the equipment is
warming up in the morning. Actually, diesel engines are not a problem only when being warmed up in the morning.
When a piece of heavy equipment is running under load (which is the case most of the day), the engine speed is
necessarily accelerated and so too is the noise level. When this is happening as near as 30 feet from my home, 5 or
more days a week, 8-10 hours a day, or more, it is enough to drive anyone to distraction. It is rather annoying (to say
the very least) to have to listen to the noise of a compactor, a front-end loader and other equipment thundering about
while trying to have an evening meal.
05) The speed of some of the large vehicles being driven through Westwood Village is also a concern. Since this is a
construction area I would think the traffic speed should be somewhat restricted?
06) June 7 Ih : A surveyor was working nearby with the tailgate of his van open and his stereo blasting. fn my house all I
could hear was the boom, boom, boom of the base line. I had to yell at him 3 times to get his attention to turn the noise
down. He did not seem very pleased with my request — apparently I was disturbing him!
07) June 8h: The roller -compactor is at work, again, shaking my house. In addition to the sometimes violent vibrations
hitting my property, the noise is extremely disturbing. I contacted Schillinger Construction and they were non-
responsive.
08) On more than one occasion, while stopped shooting the breeze with another individual, the equipment operators left
their vehicle in reverse which caused the back-up beeper to continue blarin unnecessarily.
09) My home is getting filthy from the clouds of dust sometimes kicked up by the development activities. I have had to
wash my house three times so far, and it needs to be done again. Last Thursday and Friday they were at work sifting the
rocks from their top soil, and where doing it right next to my backyard facing my house. My house and yard were
covered with dirt.
10) It appears that a street light will be erected which will point directly into my bedroom window
11) On Friday I had to go out and yell at the front-end loader operator to get him to stop slamming the bucket into
ground — once again my home was being severely shaken. The oper&or was at least responsive an agreed to be more
observant. This was the last straw — I will tolerate no further instances of this kind of activity!
Mr. Rice did respond, so to speak, to the letter I sent him though his response was evasive, not on point and
condescending. He suggested that the development of Westwood Village was only a "temporary inconvenience." As
you can see from the few items I have mentioned here, that suggestion is rather short of being accurate - especially
now. I understand that these developers have requirements and specifications to meet in order to successfully complete
this project. However, I do not believe that I am under any obligation to put myself or my property at risk so that their
objectives can be achieved. This has all been much more disturbing and disruptive than they may be willing to admit.
And now it appears to be aftecting my home — this must STOPN
Are there no restrictions on the level of disturbance and disruption that can be visited upon residents who happen to live
so near this type of project? Must my home be knocked off its foundation before the developers are made to act
responsibly?
Mr. Rice:
Since it appears that the residents of Greenbriar who will be most affected by the development in Westwood Village
are apparently not going to receive any type of consideration from those parties doing the work, as evidenced by the
continuing problems, you leave me with no alternative but to take steps to protect my interests and property.
Disturbance of my property, unlimited hours of operation and unlimited amount of noise are my primary concerns, and
further activity of this kind is not going to be acceptable to me or, I dare say, other residents of Greenbriar. My first
letter was an attempt to alert you to these concerns, and I was hoping for some intelligent discourse on the matter. But.,
you have obviously chosen to simply ignore the adverse effects your prcject is having on others.
Thank you,
Kevin McCready
406-752-8299
kevinmc@bresnan.net
cc: Flathead County Attorney, Kalispell City Police, Kalispell City Attorney, Kalispell City Counsel, Residents of
Greenbriar, Kalispell Mayor, Denman Construction, Schillinger Construction
City of Kalispell
Post Office Box 1997 - Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 - Telephone (406)758-7000 Fax -
(406)758-7758
August 8, 2006
Mr. Kevin McCready
149 Greenbriar Dr.
Kalispell, MT 59901-3378
RE: Westwood Park Development
Dear Mr. McCready,
Thank you for your letter concerning the Westwood Village development. Planning Staff
has spoken with the contractor and he has indicated that he will try to be a better neighbor.
There are no ordinances governing noise pollution or limiting developers and contractors
from constructing infrastructure and buildings. Hopeftffly this inconvenience will improve
with the assistance of the developer, and the completion of infrastructure and final
construction of homes in this new area.
If you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 758-7703
or jpattick@kahspell.com.
Sincerely,
City Manager
cc.: Mayor and City Council