04-01 Paul Adams1
Christopher Johnson
From:PAUL ADAMS <rpadams51@gmail.com>
Sent:Sunday, April 01, 2018 6:49 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:DENY the Lost Rapids H-2018-0004 application:
City Council City of Meridian:
I am requesting that you deny approval to Brighton Development and Costco Warehouse Inc. to
proceed with construction at their requested location.
I resided in Washington for 28 years and have watched Price/Costco Warehouse Club and now
Costco Warehouse Club grow to a very successful enterprise. That being said, this company
typically does not build their warehouses in residential neighborhoods consisting of upscale homes,
a country club golf course, Church building and in heavily congested traffic areas. I understand
that Brighton Development and other private money facilitated the Costco Warehouse project, and
that Costco Warehouse could not have done advanced this project without a local highly influential
developer such as Brighton. Of course Brighton Development is highly praised by the City of
Meridian not to mention in very good standing. Accordingly, they have an extremely effective
suasion element to employ. The City Council is all about the revenue this project will generate for
the city coffers, and you are not giving ear to the residents, who will be adversely effected if this
the warehouse is allowed to be constructed.
Further, it is incorrect not to consider that the N Ten Mile Road dead ends into W Chinden
Boulevard and accordingly is not a complete intersection. This condition compounds the traffic
issues and it cannot be resolved by widening Ten Mile Road and Chinden Boulevard. It is a fact
that must be considered.
This is a fundamentally flawed project and extremely problematic for the reasons set forth
below. Personally, I am convinced that our objection to granting Brighton/Costco Warehouse's
request, is an exercise in futility, due to the highly influential entities involved in promulgating the
project. Never the less, allowing this type of development in this particular area, is
incongruent with City of Meridian Comprehensive Growth Plan, and the prudent action to take, is
to decline their request.
Respectfully,
Paul Adams
4295 W Greenspire Dr
Meridian, ID 83646
2
REASONS FOR DENIAL OF the Lost Rapids H-2018-0004 application:
o Deny Annexation
o Deny the change to the future land use map designations
o Restore the Meridian City Comprehensive Plan, and all of its dependent
associated requests for the parcels at the south west corner of Chinden
Blvd and Ten Mile Road.
We believe the proposed changes are NOT in the best interest of the City of Meridian
and would adversely affect the quality of life of its citizens and those of neighboring
communities, and would negatively impact city and state economics:
Costco is a regional destination business, and will create multiple transportation
issues:
o This business will generate 11,000 new trips to this site, which requires traffic
mitigation. If the developer built what that parcel was designated to be by the
Comprehensive Plan (MU-C), widening Chinden to support those businesses would
likely not be needed.
o Costco is NOT paying for the improvements – it is a temporary loan, that is paid back
with our sales tax dollars, with interest – money which is removed from our local
economy, including schools, parks, fire, and police.
o The traffic flow proposed directs a large portion of the traffic onto Lost Rapids, a
residential collector street which contains a park, a safety concern for our kids.
o More than 20 semi-truck trips per day (100+ trips per week) will go up and down
the length of Ten Mile Rd, which is not a dedicated freight corridor. This is compared to
a typical big box like Lowe's that has 5 to 6 trips per week.
o The two existing Costco stores are properly located in industrial and commercial areas
– this was done for a reason,intensity of use at these sites.
o Chinden Blvd is a designated expressway - this cannot happen when variances to
allow traffic at random intervals to occur.
o Approving the variance will only set a precedent that will make Chinden worse, not
better.
3
Direct impact on thousands of Bainbridge, Spurwing, Irvine Meadows, Silverleaf,
Olive Tree, and surrounding homeowners:
o Noise. Early hours truck delivery from 20 trucks does not belong in a residential
neighborhood. This is on top of the noise that will come from motors and fans on the
giant industrial building.
o Gas station impact. 75 idling cars in the middle of a residential neighborhood is a
huge pollution impact, a visual blight, and a safety hazard.
o Safety. Children of Bainbridge have welcomed the new Keith Bird park, but due to
this development, their free play is threatened.
o Overcrowding. The Costco proposal would eliminate the opportunity to make this
corner a truly mixed-use community development with appropriately scaled resources
and amenities that many community members could walk to and enjoy and be an asset to
the city.
o Property values. While some potential home buyers might like the convenience of
having Costco close by, we believe the negatives would greatly outweigh the positives
for buyers. We have already heard from realtors of the loss of sales of several homes in
these neighborhoods due to even the thought of a Costco going in.
Costco environmental violations are a concern in a residential neighborhood that
will soon contain two new schools:
o Freon released at over ½ of their U.S. facilities – EPA fined
o Fined for inappropriate handling of drugs – EPA fined 11.7 million
o Dumping of hazardous wastes – EPA fined
o 39 violations can all be viewed at http://bit.ly/2GwNClY
Costco will not bring the jobs we have been told:
o While Costco quotes an average wage of $40,000 per year, the reality is that
a small handful of employees make higher wages, while the majority make
$20 to $25K per year – this is not a living wage and not enough to buy a
home in most of Meridian.
o This site is not designated as an “employment center” per the city plan.
4
Ignoring the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning, places all Meridian homeowners at
risk:
o It allows developers to make the own plans, and ignore your rights to private
enjoyment of your home.
o It doesn’t matter if homeowners adjacent checked the plan or not, what the
applicant is asking is exponentially larger than what was planned which
negatively affects us all.
o You have a right to peaceable enjoyment of your property, and this
project impedes on that right.
Threat to the integrity of the City planning process:
o Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map. The City of Meridian states
explicitly that a goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to “sustain, enhance, promote and
protect elements that contribute to the livability and a high quality of life” for Meridian
residents. We believe the current plan is a good one that supports this goal and the city
should adhere to is. What value is such a plan if it can be altered as drastically as the
developers are asking?
o The future of North Meridian. Far from being opposed to commercial development,
we welcome it. Most of us would love to see a greater variety of small-scale stores,
restaurants, services, and family-owned businesses in a pleasant, attra ctive setting that we
could walk, bike or drive to. If the City approves this application as submitted, the
message will be loud and clear to future developers that years of city planning can be
brushed aside without concern for the “high quality of life” we have been promised.
Join your neighbors in calling for the developers, Brighton & GFI, and Meridian
City Officials to support and uphold the Meridian Comprehensive Plan, and work
with the community to develop a mixed used community (MU-C) development that
will be an asset to the neighborhood and city, and is in the best interests of all.
Thank you.