Jeffrey Badigan - Copy Of past email 8-2007Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 4 of 8
August 12, 2007
In regards to: Development of the southeast corner of Linder and Chinden
roads
Tammy de Weerd
Mayor
33 E. Idaho Ave.
Meridian, Idaho 83642-2300
Anna Canning
Planning Director
660 E. Watertower
Suite 202
Meridian, Idaho 83642
Dear Mayor and Ms. Canning:
My name is Jeffrey Badigian, I live at 6161 N. Booth in Meridian, ID. I am
a resident of the Paramount Subdivision. I am writing to you today because
we enjoy living in Meridian and are concerned there is a situation evolving
that may threaten the safety and well being of our family, as well as the
value of the homes in the Paramount subdivision.
I am married and have two young children. When we moved here, just over
one year ago, we had chosen a lot that has approximately eighty to ninety
acres of undeveloped land behind it, which is located on the southeast corner
of Chinden and Linder. Prior to purchasing our house we did our homework,
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and asked a lot of questions. We consulted sales people, developers,
builders, realtors and also checked the city's future development plans to see
what they would be developing on this land behind our new home, if we
purchased here. The current city plan illustrated as "mixed use - community"
with medium density residential near the subdivision. The plan showed that,
by our best guess, we would have at least another couple of streets of
residential area behind our house followed by an area where there would be
some mixed use community. In this mixed use community area we, and
others, envisioned some small businesses / shops, or restaurants. There was
also the issue of traffic in our neighborhood. Because we have young
children, we did not want to live in a neighborhood that had more than light
traffic, so our children could safely play outside. So, based on those future
development outlines that the City of Meridian has presented to the public,
the quite family friendly atmosphere of an "out of the way" subdivision like
Paramount, which has lots of families with young children just like ours,
nearby schools and the way the street layout was somewhat isolated from
the main roads, we felt this was perfect for us!
On August 8, 2007 our subdivision was presented with a development
proposition that, to us, is extremely disturbing. We were gathered together at
a neighborhood meeting and shown plans by Landmark Development
Group, DMG Real Estate Partners, and CSHQA Architects that they will be
submitting for approval to the City of Meridian. They are proposing that the
City annex the entire eighty acre area on the Southeast corner of Linder and
Chinden to be zoned as a what I believe is mixed use - regional. This would
allow the developer to bring in two "big box" stores and a strip -mall to this
area. We believe these stores to be Fred Meyer and Home Depot, although
the developer would not confirm that at the meeting. Their plan shows these
"big box stores" located where the current plan has medium density
residential, right next to the subdivision. The developer claims that they are
dedicated to plan this build so that it will not have any major negative
impact on our subdivision. Yet, at the same time they are proposing that two
thoroughfares pass directly through our neighborhoods into their
development. Additionally, if the annexation progresses in favor of their
plan, there would be another entrance off of Chinden to their development
which would utilize the current north entrance gate to Paramount.
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A few of the conditions that are unacceptable to us are as follows. We will
have these "big box" stores right in our back yards. During construction
these stores will create enormous environmental impacts through air and
noise pollution. As I'm sure you know, the current traffic on both Chinden
and Linder streets during most of the day, but especially in the morning and
the evening, is terrible. The traffic that would result from the construction of
this project, and the draw of customers from around the community to the
stores when they are finished, will only worsen the stress that is being put on
an already congested highway. Especially when they can't even offer
adequate access to their stores from the highway. There will be delivery
trucks to add to the noise and air pollution. I am positive that I do not want a
diesel truck idling behind my house for twelve hours a day. In their
development plan there is also a fast food restaurant that would be in very
close proximity to the new high school (Rocky Mountain High School)
which I believe will be an open campus. The quickest way from the school
to the shopping center will be through our neighborhood. I can only imagine
how many kids will be driving forty miles per hour down the residential
streets (Arliss & Bergman) at lunch time, from the school to the restaurant
and back. My parents live on Arliss and this is where my children are at
during the day while myself and my wife are working. This would introduce
more traffic through the neighborhood, introduce more air pollution, noise
pollution and danger to the neighborhood and all of the residents children.
Any parent would be alarmed by this alone, but as the parents of a child
with severe asthma I can tell you that this is completely unacceptable to us. I
would also like to mention the parking lot lights that will be on continuously
and will be a huge nuisance. Second to the pollution and traffic problems is
the issue of declining property value in an already unstable market. We are
simply not willing to compromise the value of the equity in our home so that
some financial giants can come in and squeeze more money out of our
community than they already are. We also believe that the developer may
have been derelict in his duty to adequately inform all residents within 300
feet of this development, which is apparently required prior to the
application being submitted. I am aware of several people who did not
receive notice of the preliminary neighborhood meeting. The only way these
neighbors found out about the meeting was through a networking system of
concerned neighbors..
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It is our opinion, that this is an impetuous plan made by people who are
only interested in making a profit, with no consideration for our community.
We are strongly opposed to their project and would like the City of Meridian
to deny the annexation and variances proposed by the above. We would like
to see the City of Meridian to stand behind the Comprehensive Plan already
in place for this land.
We have made life decisions to live in this community based upon this
Comprehensive Plan and feel that it is unacceptable to change it or to
compromise the type of environment that we are striving to create for our
family as well as our fine city. The Paramount subdivision is currently a
quite somewhat secluded family friendly environment and we believe it
should remain this way. We are not opposed to developing this land
however, we would like the city to follow the current plan.
I appreciate you taking your time to address this matter. I look forward to
working with you and your office to find an acceptable alternative that will
benefit our city as well as our community.
Respectfully,
Jeffrey D. Badigian
(208)846-9017
jdb30@cableone.net
Msg sent via CableONE.net MyMail - htip://www.cableone.net
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From: Tammy de Weerd
<deweerdt@meridiancity. org>
RE: [QUAR] Development of the
Subject: southeast corner of Linder and
Chinden Roads
To: jdb30@cableone.net
Anna Canning
Cc : <canninga@meridiancity.org>
Dear Mr. Badigian,
Sun, Aug 19, 2007 06:02 PM
Attachment 1 attachment
Thank you for your email and taking the time to share your comments.
Your concerns are very valid and I understand why you are writing to
express them. The City just received the application for annexation and
zoning regarding development on the SE corner of Chinden and Linder.
First, our planning staff will need to determine if the proposed development
conforms to the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan or not.
I can tell you that the City Council follows our City's plan very closely; it is
our blueprint for how our City should grow and as you noted has been
developed through an extensive public process. If this development does
not fit within the land use designation in this plan, the applicant would have
to first apply for a Comprehensive Plan amendment before any request for
annexation and zoning could be accepted. It would then be considered
through public hearings at both the Planning & Zoning Commission and a
second public hearing at City Council. Certain types of amendments to the
comp plan can only legally be considered every six months; this does not
happen often in our current City Area of Impact boundaries. This process is
heavily scrutinized as it has ripple effects on many different services; and is
rarely successful particularly in areas that are already developed unless the
requested change is supported by the surrounding development.
If the application filed is determined by staff to fit the definitions of the
City's Comprehensive Plan and the Unified Development Code, it will then
be scheduled to begin the public hearing process. Staff will evaluate the
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application on a number of considerations that would include compatibility
with surrounding land uses and how it would transition fiom the existing
residential to a higher use; transportation related issues on access to state
and local roads as well as the existing internal infrastructure; comparable
design standards; availability of services; safety; etc. This evaluation is
based on the applicable City ordinances and the comprehensive plan.
Although the City is not the road planning agency, Ada County Highway
District is the road authority, traffic and safety will be a large consideration
as well.
A request for annexation and zoning requires two public hearings. The
Planning and Zoning Commission is the first public hearing; they are not the
final decision maker. They will make their recommendation to the City
Council for their consideration. It is important to get your feelings about the
project known to the Commission first before the Council even sees it. The
second public hearing is before the City Council; where the final decision is
made. I facilitate these Council meetings and only vote on land use
applications if there is a tie vote.
Notification of the public hearings once set are mailed to homeowners that
live within 300 feet of the project boundary. The City also publishes notice
and the property is required to have a sign posted notifying others as to
when the hearings are to take place. In light of the number of emails we
have received I will ask staff to send notices to those interested parties that
have provided use a mailing or email address. We hope that you would all
share that notification with your neighbors for their information. Testimony
can be done by a homeowners association spokesperson, individually, or in
writing. Your email will be part of the public record.
It has been suggested by a few that the City should not accept an application
by these developers. It is their right to file their application and proceed
through the defined process by Idaho State Code. We can not deny them
this right. The process must be fair to all affected property owners.
We appreciate and encourage neighborhood participation. Our process must
be fair and unbiased, therefore, Planning and Zoning Commission members,
City Council, nor myself, can have dialogue about any of the specifics of
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this proposal. This limits me and the others from being able to respond to
questions you might have; all comments must be made in the public forum
above. Please feel free to call and ask Planning staff questions you might
have about an application once the City has received it. Their phone
number is 884-5533. Planning staff or the City Clerk's office (888-4433)
can answer procedural questions and inform you of hearing dates once they
are set.
We have been told the developers have misrepresented the process through
their notice of the neighborhood meeting. We require that developers hold
neighborhood meetings prior to the official public hearing process through
the City so that neighbors are informed of what will be proposed to the City.
In our experience this process has been beneficial to both the neighbors and
applicant because they find common ground before the public process
begins. It doesn't always work that way; needless to say, the community
voice is not only important but vital and is seriously considered by the City.
I apologize for the length of this message. Your concerns are important, and
it is important to provide information about our process and assure you that
your voice on this is encouraged and appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tammy de Weerd, Mayor
From: jdb30@cableone.net [mailto.jdb30@cableone.net]
Sent: Sun 8/12/2007 10:23 PM
To: Tammy de Weerd; Anna Canning
Cc: saveparamount@gmail.com
Subject: [QUAR] Development of the southeast corner of Linder and
Chinden Roads
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