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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, file:///C:/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 5 of 8 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. -file:///C :/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 6 of 8 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.. file:///C :/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo. 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 7 of 8 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 file:///C:/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 8 of 8 Unknown <text/rtf> 30 KB View Download file:///C:/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 1 of 8 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 file:///C :/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 2 of 8 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 file:///C:/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017 Cable One Webmail: RE: [QUAR] Development of the southea... Page 3 of 8 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 file:///C :/Users/mhill/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Tempo... 7/25/2017