Moselle and Dan Ball 7-24July 24, 2017
Honorable Tammy de Weerd,
Mayor of Meridian and
Honorable City of Meridian Council Members:
Keith Bird, Anne Little Roberts, Genesis Milam,
Joe Borton, Luke Cavener and Ty Palmer
Dear City of Meridian Leaders,
Your upcoming decision regarding the Linder Village development is going to affect the lives of thousands of
residents in the nearby communities. We am urging you to do some soul-searching during the process of
making your decision.
The rumors have been fast and furious for months about what is coming. Things keep changing. What hasn’t
changed is the fact that your decision will have a big impact on our quality of life. If both Costco and Winco
decide to build in that area, the additional traffic just from those two businesses will be enormous. There has
been talk of at least 2 additional stoplights being added, one on Chinden and one on Linder to accommodate
the new businesses. That is contrary to what we have all been told the “rules” would allow. It is supposed to
be one stoplight for every ½ mile, NOT every ¼ mile. That is an unacceptable alteration. The flow of traffic at
this time, in and around the Eagle Island shopping area, is already a problem, but adding two more stoplights
AND all the additional traffic is a nightmare waiting to happen.
In this area, there are 5 LDS Churches, a Mormon Temple, 3 elementary schools, a High School and a Middle
School. Each of those creates a traffic issue. Also, there are several other new businesses in the general area
along Linder and Chinden.
My husband and I have lived in Paramount for almost 12 years. We selected this community after many visits
to Paramount and to several other communities in Meridian. We are NOT opposed to development and have
been expecting something would eventually happen. We have welcomed all the new businesses that have
been built around us. But now that the time has arrived to finalize the development of Linder Village, we
believe a lot of promises have been tweaked without any consideration to the concerns and/or needs of the
surrounding communities.
Having a large 24-hour business just over your back fence is not ideal. Home values will be affected and NOT
in a positive way. But this is a lot more than a “not in my backyard” scenario. I think it is important that our
concerns be addressed. Both Winco and Costco are much larger than the current zoning allows. Changes to
that zoning appear to be up for debate in order to accommodate those 2 businesses.
The other major concern for Paramount residents is the additional traffic inside our subdivision. There is no
doubt many shoppers will seek a short cut through Paramount to avoid Chinden and/or Linder. We have
already seen the impact of additional traffic from the Rocky Mountain H.S. students driving through
Paramount rather than using Linder Road. A large number of these drivers do NOT live in Paramount.
I can assure you many of us will be following this as the process moves forward. On a positive side, this has
gotten most of us activated and getting to know our neighbors.
Sincerely,
Moselle and Dan Ball
Paramount Subdivision
moandan@msn.com