Beth LucasChris Johnson
From: Beth Lucas <blcoupons25@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2018 10:45 PM
To: City Clerk
Subject: H-2018-0096 BUYRITE APARTMENTS
Dear Mayor and City Council:
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the City of Meridian. I am writing this letter to oppose the
Buyrite Apartments application. The letter I sent prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission's hearing
summarizes my concerns and I was glad to see that both city staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission
are recommending denial of this ill-conceived development proposal.
As stated in the staff report, this proposal:
1. Does not comply with the Meridian Comprehensive Plan.
2. Does not contain a mix of uses as required in this area.
3. Is too dense (20 units per acre) for this part of the city.
4. Does not comply with the development agreement requirements for access and connectivity.
5. Does not have the architectural quality or amenities expected with this type of development.
Please follow the recommendation of your staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission and do not
change the Comprehensive Plan, zoning or development agreement designations on this property. Let's be
patient and allow the original plan (which makes sense) on this property to occur. The developer has
completely failed to clear the high bar that should be set for rezones and modifications to
existing development agreements.
If this is somehow approved you would have three-story apartments with a ten -foot setback directly adjacent
to single-family parcels and no mixed used in this area. This just doesn't work.
Thank you so much for all you do!
Sincerely,
Beth Lucas
1
Chris Johnson
From:Justin and Beth Lucas <jblucas@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, October 09, 2018 5:35 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Public Hearing H-2018-0096
To the Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission,
First off, thank you for your service. Being a volunteer and listening to land use applications and public
input on development projects is a big job and I know that you typically don't receive a lot of praise for your
hard work.
Growth and development is inevitable and I support a vibrant and growing community. My issues with this
application have nothing to do with wanting to stifle growth in Meridian.
This specific location is inappropriate for large 3-story apartment buildings for the following reasons:
1. The current zoning of the property is community commercial which is appropriate and fits in
very well with the comprehensive plan designation of mixed-use community on this site. The
original plan for small-scale commercial that is described in the development agreement for this
property is a good plan and although the property hasn't developed yet, as Meridian grows,
commercial space on corners like this one will be needed to meet demand.
2. Tall, 3-story buildings are not appropriate for this part of Meridian . This area is primarily
single-family residential. Although apartments can work next to single-family residential in some
cases, large 3-story apartments are more appropriate for large roads like Fairview, Franklin, and
Overland.
3. Another very significant concern is school overcrowding. Hunter elementary is already
overcrowded with some of the largest classes in the district. My daughters are in 3rd and 5th
grade and each has over 30 kids in their class despite additional classrooms in portables. This fact
alone should reinforce that the current zoning for commercial is more appropriate than any type of
residential and especially high-density residential.
4. Right now Meridian is undergoing a detailed review of its Comprehensive Plan and is identifying
ways to mitigate many of the issues that come with growth. Until this process is complete, it's
inappropriate for the city to make major changes in zoning such as is proposed. Zoning is critical
and the city should only change zoning when there is a clear need to do so . In this case, it
appears obvious that the only beneficiary from re-zoning this area would be the developer of
this high-density apartment complex.
5. The height and architectural style are not in line with the surrounding neighborhoods and do not
reflect the quality that would be expected in the city. Very few amenities with no swimming pool and
a very small play structure make the proposal inappropriate for this location.
There are many reasons that this re-zone is a bad idea (as outlined above) and there appear to be no good
reasons to re-zone the property and amend the development agreement.
I respectfully request that you deny this application for a conditional use permit, re-zone of the property, and
amendment of the development agreement. If this project is chosen to move forward (which would be a
mistake) the buildings must be limited to 2-stories and many amenities and architectural enhancements
should be added to improve the quality and decrease the impact on schools and services in this area.
Thank you for your consideration and your service to the city.
Sincerely,
2
Beth Lucas