HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ - Public Testimony - Southernland Downs HOASutherland Downs Homeowners' Association
August 25, 2015
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City of Meridian
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Attn: City Clerks
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Meridian City Hall, Suite 104
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33 E Broadway
Meridian, ID 83642
RE: EASY JET SUBDIVISION APPLICATION (RZ 15-12, PP 15-016, CUP 15-017)
Ms. Holman:
The Board of Directors of Sutherland Downs, representing the owners of the seventy-nine properties,
wish to express their strong opposition to the proposed Easy Jet Subdivision. This subdivision is in
conflict with several of the key community values stated in the City of Meridian Comprehensive Plan.
Many of our residents attended a neighborhood meeting on February 24, 2015 where the developer's
representative, Mr. Dave Evans, described the proposed project, listened to resident's concerns, and
answered questions. Approximately 120 people attended this meeting and were strongly opposed to
the project. A second neighborhood meeting, attended by about 150 people, was held on June 10, 2015
and led by Ms. Kristi Watkins, J -U -B Engineers, who described the project but most of whose
presentation was directed at convincing residents that their concerns were unwarranted. Residents
were unconvinced and again residents were strongly opposed. Unfortunately, the application shows
that residents' concerns were ignored since there have been no changes from the original project
description other than the three 3 -story buildings have grown five feet to a height of 39'4".
Our residents are concerned that (1) the dwelling unit density is too high for both the area and the
proposed R-15 zoning, (2) the three 3 -story multi -family buildings are way out -of -scale with the
surrounding residential community, where almost all (88%) of the residential units within 300' of the
development are single story, (3) there is no transitional density or significant landscape screening with
the existing low density land use, (4) insufficient residential parking is provided since subleasing of
bedrooms is likely to occur, (5), traffic issues will occur due to the large number of people coming and
leaving with the only two entrances/exits both being on Easy Jet, (6) additional high density housing will
further increase crowding at local schools that are already overcrowded, and (7) potential maintenance
issues will result since the developer plans to sell each building to separate investors who likely will have
different ideas concerning maintenance investments.
Many of these concerns would be lessened if the density of the multi -family housing were reduced to
the 6-15 units per acre under Comprehensive Plan guidelines for the Mixed Use—Community (MU -C)
designation. Eliminating the third story on each of the three 3 -story multi -family buildings would reduce
the number of dwelling units by 20 to 56 units, for a gross density of 13.5 dwelling units per acre on the
4.15 acres used for residential purposes. This change from 3 -story to 2 -story buildings and the
concurrent reduction in dwelling unit density would improve the out -of -scale appearance of the project
and also with fewer residents would reduce parking, traffic, and school overcrowding issues.
Significant changes to this project are needed if the key value of "enhance Meridian's quality of life for
all current and future residents" is to be upheld. We request that this project be rejected unless
significant changes sufficient to address residents' legitimate concerns are incorporated in the final
development application.
Yours truly,
Rollie Hewitf, President
Sutherland Downs Homeowners' Association
3440 E Quin Drive, Meridian, ID 83642