Carl & Carla Wibel1
Chris Johnson
From:Carl Wibel <carl.wibel@gmail.com>
Sent:Friday, October 26, 2018 12:48 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:P&Z Item H-2018-0096 Rezoning and Apartment Complex Construction
To the Planning & Zoning Commission
My email is to provide discussion items regarding the pending zoning change
request and conditional use permit submitted to the City of Meridian by Buyrite
LLC Apartments and NeUdesign Architechture LLC for property located at the
NW corner of W. Ustick Road and N. Linder Road to construct four (4) multi-
family structures containing 96 residential units on 4.772 acres.
The first item I would like to clarify is that neither I nor the other neighbors I
have been in conversation with in our neighborhood are members of the NIMBY
or BANANA tribes. For those in attendance that may not know what the
definations of these acronyms, they are “Not IN My Back Yard, and Build
Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything”. We understand growth for our
community is ongoing and healthy, provided everyone sees the big picture as to
the benefits for the community and its residents.
Upon receiving the official notice through our HOA of the proposed zoning
change, I wanted to insure my neighbors were aware of the upcoming meeting
and project. I was able to personally talk with fifteen of them over the past
week to make sure we all were on board with what the application was asking
for. I made sure I did not begin the conversation with a negative view of the
project, but wanted them to be aware of what the application was asking for
this property.
All that I spoke with were in agreement with the following:
-the property is currently zoned C-C which is designated b y City Code as “Use for
retail, wholesale, service and ancillary office uses, including government offices”
-Upgrades for the Linder Road north route from Cherry to W. McMillian Road
are in the ACHD plan to go from two lanes to five lanes within the next 2-4
years.
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-Upgrades for the W. Ustick Road west to Ten Mile Road are also in the ACHD
plan to go from 2 lanes to five lanes within the next 2-4 years.
-The established subdivisions bordering the property on the application to the
north, west and south are zoned R-4 (residential 3 homes per acre).
-Egress and ingress to the property on the application currently would be
accessible from Linder Road southbound from McMillian and from Ustick
westbound from Linder. However, there are no turn lanes designated for entry
into the property at this time. Additional egress and ingress could be
designated through the Bridge Tower subdivision to the west.
-Commuter traffic on weekdays (east bound on Ustick Road in the morning
during the hours of 6-9 AM, and westbound during the hours of 4-6 PM; and
north and south bound on Linder Road during the same hours) is what could be
considered very heavy.
Everyone I have spoken is OK with the current zoning of the property in
question. C-C zoning would allow for businesses to locate there that would
benefit the neighborhoods, provide jobs, and bring additional tax revenues to
the City. Many voiced their requests for having any of the following businesses
locate there, including - hair salon, nail salon, dry cle aners, ice cream shop, brew
pub and restaurant, Thai or Chinese restaurant, coffee shop, all with the
availability of outside patio dining. Also some think a small pocket park on the
west side as another positive amenity that would draw families there aft er work
and school hours and on weekends.
What we also believe is positive for this corner remaining commercial is to
expand the concept of a “walkable neighborhood”. This type of development
has been an economic development buzz word for quite some time. I became
aware of it during my time as the Director for a Regional economic development
agency in northern Arizona. The criteria for a walkable neighborhood are:
-people
-mixed income/mixed use
-parks/public space
-pedestrian designed
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-school/business/workplaces
-streets designed for bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit
-a center (main street or public use space)
This commercial property meets many of these criteria already.
Our community in Tumble Creek and our neighbors in Bridge Tower are a mix of
young families, work from home people, dual income families, commuters, and
retirees who would like to have the option to walk or use a bicycle to go to a
nearby restaurant or shop instead of having to drive and find parking. This
property is prime for this type of use and is currently zoned for that type of
development. Access via bike lanes, sidewalks and cross walks are already in
place
To change the zoning for this 5.9 acre parcel to R-40 (which according to the City
code we bsite) would allow high density use and to quote “ in residential districts
zoning does not specify minimum or maximum densities. R-2, R-2, R-8, R-15,
and R-40 zoning districts have no direct bearing on minimum or maximum
allowed densities.”
I agree that there is the need for new apartments in Meridian based on influx of
new people and the skyrocketing cost of stand alone homes. But, anyone
driving north on Meridian Road from Cherry, or south on 10 Mile to the freeway
can see the substancial increase of apartment complexes already.
Bottom line, is this rezoning and CUP the best use of the existing 5 acres of
commercial property at this already extremely busy intersection? Will this
change provide new jobs, services and additional tax revenues for the
community? I think no, this is not in the best interest for our community and for
those people living adjacent to the property being considered for rezoning.
Please, I ask all of you on the Commission to take the time to take a field trip to
view this project first hand – look at the parcel, look at the surrounding use and
community before making a decision for rezoning for high density apartments.
I realize this is only a piece of the large puzzle in regards to the ongoing planning
and zoning for our city. However, keeping balanced and sustainable growth a
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primary vision is crucial. And this small piece of the puzzle is VERY important to
me and others in our neighborhood.
Thank you in advance for your review and consideration.
Sincerely,
Carl & Carla Wibel
3045 N. Springtime Way
Meridian, ID 83646