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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC - Petition Woodbridge HOA - 5/11WOODBRIDGE MERIDIAN • IOAHO Meridian City Council Mayor de Weerd, Meridian City Council 33 E Broadway Ave Meridian ID 83642 May 9, 2016 Re: File No: H-2016-0006 Pope's Garden 2662 E Magic View Drive Dear Members of the Meridian City Council: RECETVED r� aAI 1 i 2016 CITYOFC4f „nx CITY CLERKS OFFICE On behalf of the Woodbridge Home Owners Association we are submitting this letter to you to request denial of the Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan land use from Light Office to Medium High Density Residential. We do not oppose development. This is inevitable and we realize the lands around Woodbridge will eventually be developed. We are concerned however with the type and quality of development in this area as there is great potential to have a significant impact on the quality of life for the residents of Woodbridge. We believe the City of Meridian supports that quality of life and wishes to select the right developments and projects for the benefit of its residents. In addition to our request for denial of the zoning change mentioned above, we are also requesting that you deny the developer's request to go back to Planning and Zoning to re- submit their "design changes". Our original attendance at the meeting held on 3-17-16, resulted in both the commissioners and the residents hearing not only the objectives of the developer, but the opposition as well from the testimony given by both Greenhill Estate and Woodbridge subdivision residents. The entire lengthy discussion can be found in the meeting minutes, which we are sure all City Council members have read. Some quotes from the commissioners: • Do not like the property being broken into separate lots • Rezoning that is being requested is not appropriate for this area • Too big a jump to go from dedicated office to R-15 • We have future land use map for a reason, to show it's predictability aspect — the residents understand what we are planning for the future —this would undercut that predictability • Unique situation — too big a jump from R-1 to R-15 with no buffer— not correct for this area • Landlocked in one of the most difficult transition areas around We do not feel any changes to the plans by the developer i.e. changing the number of units; adding a pool; a clubhouse; a playground; moving units further back from the proposed Hickory Lane or moving units further to Magic View Drive etc., have any bearing on the zoning change we are opposing. We have already experienced "several delays" and "changes" to this process due to a variety of reasons. By allowing this file to go back once again to P&Z who has already given their decision on the zoning change, would accomplish nothing and cause further deferral of this process. Traffic is our primary concern. Woodbridge is uniquely positioned between Locust Grove and Eagle Roads, which are two of the most heavily, traveled roads in Meridian. As a result, Woodbridge has a large amount of cut -through traffic using the subdivision to get from Locust Grove to Eagle or vice -versa. (See figure 1.1 — bus stop/backed up cars on Woodbridge Drive). This is especially noticeable during morning and afternoon commute hours and has become problematic as many children play in yards and areas that face Bowstring & Woodbridge Drive which are the roads primarily used to cut through the subdivision. The original design for Woodbridge would have routed traffic through the neighboring Greenhill Estates subdivision to the north. A change to that plan re-routed the traffic to run straight through Woodbridge instead. We do not believe that the City of Meridian's intent was to design subdivisions where a main corridor cuts directly through residential areas. We feel this proposed apartment complex is the wrong development and transition for this area. The residents trusted the City's long range plans for the area east of Woodbridge to be light office/industrial. We do not understand the consideration of placing a 76 unit apartment complex onto an undeveloped street with no egress onto major roadways. This poor planning asks the current residents to endure more increased traffic and the new residents an inadequate means to enter and exit their units to commute to work or amenities There is no way to explain why an R-15 development should be abutted against R-1 lots and within walking distance of R-4 and R-8 lots. Magic View is currently 2 travel lanes, 24 -feet of pavement with no curb, gutters or sidewalks abutting this site designated in the MSM as an Industrial Collector Street located from Eagle Road to West of Wells and is not a good choice to become a thoroughfare. (See figure 1.2 & 1.3 — traffic exiting onto Eagle via St.Lukes Drive and Magic View). The infrastructure of this area is taking on a Hodge podge approach in spite of careful city planning. We continue to have questions and serious concerns such as how the city proposes to maintain the Hickory Lane pathway as an easement in the conditional approval by ACHD. We do not see conditions for the standard construction of this pathway. We heard from the commissioners at the P&Z meeting that any development at the intersection of Wells and Magic View should contain conditions to straighten that road. We have yet to see this intersection addressed by planning and any proposed development would only make this intersection worse. The fact remains that no viable infrastructure exists to make Magic View a satisfactory egress for a 76 unit apartment complex. Drivers will use Woodbridge to get to Locust Grove and avoid Eagle Road almost all daylight hours. In light of these concerns, Woodbridge has been overlooked. City staff has failed to look at the traffic flow and failed to see how a development such as this, would impact nearly 300 homes (many more counting Greenhill estates). We do not believe re -zoning from light office to medium-high density residential to be either a good transition to a residential neighborhood or a plan that fits harmoniously with Meridian's overall plans for growth. A complex of this size should not exit into residential streets but rather should egress on to more major roads. Meridian is a fantastic city to live in, work, play and raise a family. The quality of life here has been wonderful and its communities like Woodbridge that makes it so appealing. We believe Meridian has a great plan for growth and development overall as outlined in the Master Plan. A decision to change the Master Plan will affect us immediately and in 10, 20 & 30 years from now. We, the residents of Woodbridge in this great City of Meridian, respectfully request the council to deny the proposal to re -zone from light office to medium high density residential and seek other developments that fit the current zoning and Master Plan for the benefit of Meridian and the Woodbridge and Greenhill Communities. Thank you for your consideration. Woodbridge Homeowners Association. id l:. J� � •S -; AWE I