HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ - Public Testimony SD HOA Input on Revised Application - 10/1Sutherland Downs Homeowners' Association
October 1, 2015
City of Meridian
Attn: City Clerk
Meridian City Hall, Suite 104
33 E Broadway
Meridian, ID 83642
RE: REVISED 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 revised application for the proposed Easy Jet Subdivision.
This subdivision as described in the revised application is in conflict with several of the key community
values stated in the City of Meridian Comprehensive Plan.
The revised application itself is contradictory in several locations, so it is not exactly clear what is being
proposed. Examples include: text referring to three 3 -story apartment buildings, but drawings showing
one 2 -story apartment building and two 3 -story buildings; R-15 zoning is requested for 4.25 acres, but
the site plan drawings that do not appear to change the multi -family apartment area from the 4.15 acres
in the original plan; 131 residential parking spaces in the site plan legend, but a multi -family land
property table indicating 138 parking spaces. So, the revised application begs the question "What will
we get if the revised application is approved?"
Our residents are concerned about the following:
(1) The 3 -story multi -family apartment buildings are way out -of -scale with the surrounding
residential community where almost all of the residential units (88%) within 300 feet of the
proposed development are single story. (The nearest residential property is only 40 feet from a
3 -story apartment building. At a five foot eye level, a person at the corner of this property will
have to look up over 31 degrees above the horizon to see over this apartment building!)
(2) There is no transitional density between the 3 -story apartment buildings and the existing low
density land use. If approved R-15 zoning will be next to R-4. (An example of good transitional
density is with the 3 -story multi -family apartment buildings at The Fields at Gramercy [R-40],
which are surrounded by 2 -story apartment buildings [R-15], and then 2 -story homes by the
same developer. The pre-existing residential area in this case is about 750 feet from the 3 -story
multi -family apartment buildings.)
(3) The dwelling unit density is too high for both the area and for the proposed R-15 zoning. The
Comprehensive Plan guidelines for Mixed Use - Community (MU -C) is 6-15 dwelling units per
acre. With the proximity of the medium -low density residential area, a dwelling unit density
near the midpoint of the guideline range would be appropriate while the revised application
density is slightly above 15 dwelling units per acre calculated using the multi -family housing lot
area in the proposed development.
(4) Neighborhood property values will suffer. While the developer's representative cited a study
saying that multi -family housing does not affect neighborhood property values', the study,
which is actually a compilation of findings from six separate studies, indicates that neighborhood
property values typically do not decrease when the multi -family housing is attractive in
appearance and is of a scale compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. The 3 -story
buildings and density of the proposed development are not of a compatible scale with the
surrounding neighborhood.
(5) Renters will park in the surrounding neighborhood since insufficient residential parking is
provided due to subleasing of bedrooms that is likely to occur and because Easy Jet is posted
.no parking'. (This has been reported for the new apartments on Overland at Cloverdale.)
(6) Traffic issues will occur for the existing neighborhood due to the large number of people coming
and leaving the multi -family housing and commercial properties with the only two
entrances/exits both being on Easy Jet.
(7) Potential maintenance and appearance issues will result with the multi -family housing since the
developer plans to sell each building to separate investors who will likely have different ideas
concerning maintenance investments and because there is no apparent on-site rental
management office.
(8) The high density housing will further increase crowding at local schools that are already
overcrowded.
The Sutherland Downs HOA recommends that the following be required as conditions in the
development agreement if the Easy Jet Subdivision is approved:
(1) Building height should be limited to two stories (with a maximum height of 29 feet)
(2) The number of dwelling units in the multi -family housing should be reduced to 48 or fewer. This
could be accomplished by eliminating the third story on the two 3 -story apartment buildings.
(This would result in a dwelling unit density of about 11.3 dwelling units per acre on the 4.25
acres occupied by multi -family housing, which is above the mid -point of the Comprehensive Plan
guideline, or equivalently 8.9 dwelling units per acre on the total 5.41 acre development site.)
(3) Subleasing of bedrooms should be prohibited and management systems provided to ensure that
this does not happen formally or informally.
(4) Residential parking significantly in excess of code requirements should be provided and
contracts for the commercial building pads should prohibit "customer only parking' signs for the
commercial parking spaces to ensure multi -family apartment residents do not have to park in
the surrounding neighborhood.
(5) The developer should be required to have all of the multi -family housing buildings sold as a
package to investors to ensure consistent maintenance and a full-time management office
should be required on the site. Owner -occupied dwelling units (apartments, condos, or patio
homes) would be preferred.
' Obrinski and Stein, "Overcoming Opposition to Multifamily Rental Housing', Joint Center for Housing Studies,
Harvard University, March 2007.
Dwelling unit density reduction is key, since it would eliminate the need for 3 -story buildings, help
address the out -of -scale appearance of the project, and 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. The suggested conditions would also help address the
values "manage growth to achieve high-quality development", "prevent school overcrowding and
enhance education services", while allowing "expand commercial... development" and the goals,
objectives, and actions that support these values.
We request that this project be rejected unless significant changes to address residents' legitimate
concerns are incorporated in the final development application.
Yours truly,
Rollie Hewitt, President
Sutherland Downs Homeowners' Association
3440 E Quin Drive, Meridian, ID 83642