Jonathan and Betsy Kahnoski 7-25 1
My wife and I write to ask the Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission, and the
City Council, to reject the changes to the city’s Meridian Comprehensive Plan and
Future Land Use Map as proposed by the developers of Linder Village. We do so for
a number of reasons as discussed below.
Quality of life in Paramount
My wife and I moved to Paramount going on four years ago from Central Oregon
(Sunriver), where we lived in the peace and quiet of a national forest. Since moving
here, we have commented how quiet the neighborhood is, especially in the evening
and on weekends. This is one of the qualities of Paramount we treasure. We have
good recreation facilities, wonderful neighbors who look out for each other, and
interesting architecture. In short, we have a lovely neighborhood, and we wish to
protect it.
On the negative side, we have our suspicions about how many cars we see on our
streets Monday-Friday mornings actually originate inside Paramount and how many
are commuters using our streets to bypass traffic signals on Chinden at Linder and
perhaps even Meridian. We are concerned traffic is getting worse, and are
concerned that the ACHD is not planning the needed improvements soon enough to
prevent worse congestion.
Beyond Paramount, we like that around us there are smaller retail services for the
local neighborhoods rather than big-box retailers that attract shoppers from afar.
Something went terribly wrong with development along Eagle (the concentrated
retail and services at the Village at Meridian being an exception) and we would hate
to see the same thing happen to Chinden.
Concerns of Others
My wife and I share the concerns others have discussed and, no doubt, brought to
your attention. These concerns include the impacts of the proposed Linder Village
on:
• Traffic on Linder, Chinden, and in our neighborhood. We believe permitting a
huge shopping district on our doorstep will create a significant increase in traffic
on roads not designed for such a load. We also believe the proposed traffic
signal at Chinden and Bergman is a particularly bad idea, as it only will worsen
traffic flow on what the ACHD has designated as an “expressway.” Rather than
adding a traffic signal, we would be willing to give up the traffic signal at Fox
Run, even though that would divert more traffic seeking to egress from
Paramount to Director, near our home.
• The quality of life in Paramount, Foxtail Estates, Lochsa Falls, and other nearby
neighborhoods. The presence of big-box stores, one of which is adamant it must
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operate 24/7, can’t help but increase noise, crowding and congestion. Some may
think close proximity of such desirable shopping will increase our property
values. We believe any advantage of nearby shopping will be overwhelmed by
the negatives of noise, congestion, litter, etc. As our streets become short cuts to
reach Linder Village from the south and east, they become less safe for the many
children who live in Paramount.
My wife and I want to focus your attention on some other issues, namely what
happens to the City of Meridian if the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City
Council approve the radical changes being requested by the developers. These
include:
• If the changes the developers have requested are approved, what happens to the
credibility of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map? The
developer isn’t requesting just minor tweaks in the existing plan and zoning.
Essentially, they want to tear up the existing plan and replace it with their own.
We find this arrogant in the extreme. They seem to believe their project is so
desirable the city will acquiesce to any and all changes to accommodate it. We
find this offensive, and would like to see the Planning and Zoning Commission
and the City Council take a strong stand by rejecting the entire development as
proposed outright. Perhaps, the developers are making such outrageous
requests to establish a bargaining position. If so, the best way to demolish that
strategy is to reject it completely, advising the developers to propose something
more in line with the current zoning or take their project elsewhere.
• Certainly, any city acceptance of the radical changes the developers propose will
indicate that whatever plan the city develops and adopts is vulnerable to radical
change or even being overturned. Failing to deny these developers’ application
makes it all the more difficult to deny the next set of developers when they want
to re-write our zoning. Two or three such surrenders to developers’ wishes and
we no longer have a comprehensive plan; we just have the whims of developers
and acquiescent commissioners and councilors. At that point, we don’t need a
planning department and can dispense with developing plans.
• As discussed above, failure to defend the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Future
Land Use Map puts the city’s planning process in jeopardy. It also calls into
question the Planning and Zoning Commissioners’ and City Councilors’
commitment to this plan, or even any plan. Commercial developers from around
the state, region, even the country may well conclude the City of Meridian is for
sale – offer a development with a huge impact on property tax revenue and city
officials will re-write any plan to accommodate them. Is that the reputation we
want for our city?
• We have made only a quick review of the city’s comprehensive plan; but, even
that cursory review shows the city wants to keep dense commercial
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development closer to the city’s core in downtown Meridian. The plan shows
several small islands of commercial that can provide localized or neighborhood
retail services, but nothing on the scale of Linder Village. The plan appears to be
a reasonable mix of commercial/retail and residential land uses, and should be
adhered to, with only minor adjustments.
• What happens to the future quality of life in North Meridian, in particular?
Currently, North Meridian is zoned for residential and smaller-scale commercial
development. This creates a more tranquil environment that enhances the
quality of life of the residents. The proposed development will disrupt, if not
destroy, the tranquility we currently enjoy. It will create a regional shopping
center drawing shoppers not only from north, east and west of the
Linder/Chinden intersection, but also from central Meridian to the south. Where
we have been a quiet, generally residential area on the city’s periphery, we will
become a retail shopping destination more akin to being in downtown Meridian
than on the outskirts.
• What happens to traffic flows in Meridian? As an example of what not to do, we
offer the city of Bend, OR, in Deschutes County (Central Oregon). This society is
not quite as large as Meridian, by population, and is not part of a major
metropolitan area. Over time, it has allowed major retail developments
scattered around the city: a Fred Meyer complex on the south end of town, an
older indoor shopping mall (Bend River Promenade - Sears, Macys, Kohl’s) just
north of downtown, a major big box retail (Forum Shopping Center. - Costco,
Safeway, Whole Foods) development on the east side, another major retail and
restaurant development (Cascade Village – including Home Depot & Lowe’s,
Michael’s) at the north end of town, and a newer, more upscale retail
development (Old Mill District) just south of downtown, all in addition to a
downtown of unique shops, restaurants and boutique hotels. We urge city-
planning officials to review this situation, how retail is decentralized to a point
where any mass transit system is impossible because there is no central core.
Shoppers go north for one store, east for another, and south for another.
Allowing the Linder Village to go forward as proposed starts Meridian down the
path to becoming Bend. Please do not allow this to happen.
• What happens to the future quality of life in Meridian, in general? For a city to
have a character, a “there there,” it has to have a central core of commercial and
industrial zoning, with surrounding residential and smaller retail areas. The city
has started the process of developing such a core with its master plan for
downtown. Unfortunately, less thoughtful growth in the past has left Meridian
with decentralized retail corridors such as Eagle Road and Fairview/Cherry, etc.
I-84 separates the south side of town from the rest of Meridian, constricting
traffic to those roads that have overpasses over the interstate highway. What
the city does not need is to further decentralize major shopping by approving
the proposed changes to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use
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Map to accommodate the Linder Village development. Such approval will be bad
not only for North Meridian but for all of Meridian.
Conclusion
We sincerely and strongly urge the Meridian Planning and Zoning Commissioners
and the City Councilors to reject completely the proposed re-write of the city’s
comprehensive plan as it applies to the property on the southeast corner of Linder
and Chinden. We request city officials inform the developers that the city welcomes
development proposals for the southeast corner of Linder and Chinden that meet
the current planning and zoning restrictions, and that the city is not interested in
major changes to those restrictions.
We thank you for listening.
Jonathan M. Kahnoski
Betsy M. Kahnoski