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2019-03-06 Linda KeesChris Johnson From: Linda Kees <Ijkees@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2019 8:46 PM To: Meridian City Clerk Subject: Three Corners Ranch subdivision access road March 5, 2019 Attention: C. Jay Coles, City Clerk Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council City of Meridian RE: Three Corners Ranch ALT, AZ, PP, PS, H-2019-0006 1890 E. Dunwoody Cr. Meridian, Idaho Dear Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, The following is a discussion of our concerns regarding the Three Corners Ranch development, a private gated subdivision and an extension of the Dunwoody and Three Corners Subdivisions. Although our community appreciates the development will not include high density housing, we are very concerned about the negative impact of the additional burden of vehicles, and how this will affect our community and quality of life. BACKGROUND In October 2018, the developer conducted a meeting to notify a select few surrounding residents that the above noted property will be developed to include 44 new homes. The main entrance for this gated community is proposed to be located off Barclay Street which is in the Bristol Heights subdivision (City of Boise). The developer is also proposing the residents of Shandee Drive, another 33 homes, use Barclay Street as their only means of ingress and egress. According to Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), the residents located along Shandee Drive will not be able to use Chinden Boulevard for access once the improvements are completed. TRAFFIC IMPACTS AND SAFETY ISSUES A conservative estimate of two cars per household (Three Corners Ranch and Shandee residents) indicates approximately 154 vehicles will be accessing Barclay Street and the Bristol Heights Subdivision. The potential traffic impact may result in a 430% increase of vehicles accessing Barclay Street. This is not including the original Dunwoody subdivision, Vienna Wood subdivision, visitors, landscapers, home services, or delivery vehicles. Bristol Heights already has issues with vehicle traffic using our subdivision as a short cut from Chinden Boulevard to Eagle Road, and visa versa. As a result, we have observed vehicles speeding down Bennington Way/Bristol Heights Drive, vehicles not observing the stop signs or yielding the right-of-way, vehicles going around school buses with stop signs displayed, and we are also noting an increase in pedestrians being struck by vehicles. The latest pedestrian accident occurred on October 16, 2018 involving a neighborhood child. In addition, the developer indicated that all construction traffic will use Barclay Street as access during redevelopment activities. This will include graders, loaders, soil trucks, cement trucks, and material deliveries. The impact to the Bristol Heights community will be very high during construction. i RING ROAD AND ACCESS DESIGN ISSUES The developer is proposing to use a ring road around Dunwoody/Three Corners Ranch to focus all new traffic impacts to solely be burdened by Barclay Street and N. Stafford Place (Bristol Height Community). Dunwoody/Three Corners Ranch is not sharing the impacts their development is creating. This ring roadway layout and private access does not comply with the requirements of the City of Meridian's Comprehensive Plan or Architectural Standards. • The development is not improving on the unique elements of the natural and built environment that contribute value to the quality of life and livability. o Segregation. The new roadway or walking paths through Three Corners Ranch is not accessible to Bristol Heights or surrounding subdivisions creating non-integrated communities. This does not strengthen community pride per City objective 2.01.03, or support beautiful development per 2.02.02. o The ring road and private pedestrian access also does not meet Meridian Architectural Standards for cohesive design: R1.1A limit circuitous connections and maintain clear visibility. The ring road is creating convoluted connections through the adjacent neighborhoods, and the narrow ring road with 90 degree turns and fencing on both sides will not provide adequate pedestrian or vehicle visibility. Shandee Dr. residents should be provided with shorter access routes through Dunwoody Ct. or E. Three Corners Dr./N. Sweet Valley Avenue. In addition, pedestrian access through Three Corners Ranch is gated and pedestrian traffic from Vienna Woods or Bristol Heights will need to walk around Three Corners Ranch on the ring road. o Traffic is increased to a part of the community (Bristol Heights) that will not be benefiting from the development. The main entrance should be located off Dunwoody Ct. o The surrounding communities cannot access the new green space within the new development. Three Corners Ranch is gated to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. • The developer indicated that this will be a low density residential development. The following criteria are not met with the design. o Residential developments should orient to surrounding uses, including residential and non-residential areas, in a way that encourages compatible development patterns, character, and appearances. The ring road and private pedestrian access does not match the character or appearances of the surrounding sub -divisions. It is a narrow roadway bordered on each side by fences with blind corners and no street lights. This design is creating unsafe traffic and pedestrian usage conditions. In addition, the development is not encouraging compatible development traffic patterns because the main burden of traffic impacts and associated risks are solely on the Bristol Heights community and not shared with Dunwoody. 3 o Appropriately address the critical issues of site layout that influence a compatible and integrated neighborhood character, including, but not limited to, vehicular access, pedestrian connectivity, building orientations, and common spaces. The new subdivision negatively impacts the traffic pattern in Bristol Heights, and the new common space and walkways are not accessible to surrounding subdivisions. This design does not create an integrated neighborhood character. o Limit street connections for residential developments off major roadways, including highways, principle arterials, and other designated mobility corridors, to mitigate development impacts on the roadway system. All the traffic impacts will be focused on Barclay Street. The proposed main entrance to Three Corners Ranch and new connections (Shandee Drive, Stafford Place, and Handel Street) funnel traffic onto Barclay Street. The main entrance to Three Corners Ranch should be located off Dunwoody Court and residents off Shandee Drive should have a shorter access route off Three Corners Drive/Sweet Valley Avenue. o Encourage safe and secure common and open spaces by avoiding dead areas, unusable spaces, dark areas, and hidden corners. Provide public and neighborhood views for casual monitoring of common spaces and facilities. The whole ring road does not comply with these criteria. Both sides of this narrow road will be surrounded by back yards and fencing creating a dark corridor (no street lights) mainly used for vehicles, not safe and secure for pedestrians, and creating hidden/blind corners. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Bristol Heights community is very concerned about the negative impact to the safety and quality of life for residents in our neighborhood. We are already feeling the affects of increased traffic racing through our community to by-pass the Eagle/Chinden intersection with the most recent pedestrian accident in October 2018. The increased traffic from the Three Corners Ranch, Dunwoody, Vienna Woods, and Shandee Drive residents will greatly increase the traffic risks to children and pedestrians in our community. In addition, the feeling of being in a segregated subdivision and using circuitous routes will lead to excess speed through our neighborhood. In particular, the 20+ or so children that currently live and play on Barclay Street will have to contend with this increased traffic risk. Barclay Street is only 2 feet wider than Dunwoody Court; however, there are more pedestrians that use the Bristol Heights walkways day and night. Pedestrian traffic will increase with the connection to the surrounding subdivisions. In addition, there are two pathways that enter midway on Barclay Street that have limited sight lines which will be an issue with the increased traffic particularly in the morning and evening. As proposed, a very low conservative estimate of an additional 154 vehicles will have access through Barclay Street. This is not including the original Dunwoody subdivision, Vienna Wood subdivision, visitors, landscapers, home service, or delivery vehicles. 4 Barclay Street only has two street lights that are separated by approximately 450 feet which was designed to provide a country feel and limit light pollution similar to the existing Dunwoody subdivision. With the houses setback on Dunwoody Court and a larger horizontal separation between each house, it provides better sight lines than the congested housing and multiple 90 degree turns that must be negotiated through the Bristol Height subdivision. In addition, the relatively smaller garage space and shorter drive -ways in Bristol Heights necessitates the use of residential streets for parking which reduces the effective width of the roadway. To address these issues, the following is proposed: • Construct the main gated entrance for the Three Corners Ranch, extension of Dunwoody subdivision, on Dunwoody Court and/or Three Corners Drive/Sweet Valley Avenue. This entrance should be used by Three Corners Ranch and supporting services. • Construction vehicles use Dunwoody Court for their main access point. Restrict use of Bristol Heights subdivision for construction access. • Provide a shorter route for Shandee Drive residents to access their homes through Dunwoody Court or Three Corners Drive/Sweet Valley Avenue. • Evaluate an alternative to the ring road and replace access roads (Bristol Heights and Vienna Woods) with pedestrian and emergency access on Barclay Street, Stafford Place, and Handel Street. o Traffic patterns in Vienna Woods and Bristol Heights have been established over the past 15 years. The majority of both communities would like to keep the traffic patterns the same. There is not a major advantage for the circuitous access routes and associated increase in traffic/pedestrian risks. o Remove the ring road and replace with emergency and pedestrian access. This will reduce the amount of building materials/equipment required (sustainable development), allow larger lots, provide better walking paths for the surrounding communities. Notification Process Improvements Many residents, particularly those that live near Barclay Street, feel the notification process can be improved. Receptors that will be experiencing the majority of the impacts should be notified. In our case, this is a major impact to safety and quality of life along Barclay Street and all those residents should have been notified. Also, the notification period before the meeting is too short (10 days). It does not provide enough time for the public to be aware of the meeting, review the information, discuss with the community, and formulate a response. In addition to this letter, I have signed the Bristol Heights Petition and obtained signatures from our community supporting the above recommendations. Ron Santos will be presenting the petition. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Linda J. Kees, resident of Bristol Heights since 2001 5875 N Rosepoint PI Boise, ID 83713 208-939-2980 Linda J. Kees, RDN, LD, CNSC The Nutrition Expert