Jonathan Kahnoski1
Chris Johnson
From:jmkahnoski@q.com
Sent:Tuesday, July 24, 2018 5:11 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Proposed Costco Warehouse Store
Ladies and Gentlemen of Meridian City Government:
So, Costco’s developer has submitted their proposed building elevations and, no surprise, the proposed
structure looks like a big box store/warehouse, just like every other Costco Warehouse. Surely, the City of
Meridian can demand something better.
The proposed structure is ugly, like all big box stores. In an area of Meridian zoned for
commercial/industrial structures, it would be at the top of the class. In an area of the city that was zoned for
neighborhood commercial, it is totally unacceptable. My wife and I implore you to reject this proposed
structure out of hand and insist the developer design something with architectural character that is
compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.
We also ask you to consider what Meridian is becoming. The City Council’s approval of the Costco
proposal was a tremendous mistake because it opens the door to W. Chinden Blvd. becoming an east-west
version of Eagle Road. We can forgive the city for the poor planning that resulted in the horrendous traffic
and ugly strip malls that is Eagle Road. We cannot forgive you if you make the exact same planning and
design mistakes now on Chinden. One ugly boulevard per city is more than enough.
If this structure is not rejected, indeed, if the entire project is not rejected (one hopes the lawsuit against the
city prevails), Meridian will be well on its way to becoming a a textbook case of poor planning, urban
sprawl, strip malls and big box stores. Whatever nice, even upscale, neighborhoods are developed will be
under siege from the ugly commercial properties and traffic that overwhelms the road network. Those
neighborhoods will suffer, and eventually decline, impacting property values and quality of life in
Meridian. Who will want to live here then? Who will consider Meridian a good place to raise a family
then?
One hopes you ladies and gentlemen see this. The city’s planning department certainly does. The city’s
comprehensive plan tried to prevent what is starting to happen. If the City Council and the Planning
Commission aren’t going to abide by the comprehensive plan, then the city is lost - mundane commercial
design (one cannot call it “architecture), suffocating traffic and simply “no there there.” Whatever hopes the
city has of developing a character and quality of life will be gone.
Please reconsider this project. Please don’t let Meridian become a 21st century example of bad city
planning. Instead, please set your standards higher. Please manage the development and growth so that
people will see Meridian as a place of charm and quality. Please reject this structure, this project, and return
to the standards set in the comprehensive plan.
Thank you,
Jonathan Kahnoski