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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ - Public Testimony by Kathleen Gallagher 10/26October 23, 2016 City Clerk's Office City of Meridian 33 E. Broadway Avenue Meridian, Idaho 83642 �F K Re: Application H-2016-0102 requesting an Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map, Annexation and Zoning Dear Sir or Madam: I am a resident of the Tuscany development and live on Mount Etna Drive. I will be unable to attend the public hearing on November 3, 2016 for the referenced request. The following are my objections to amending the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and allowing for portions of the property to be zoned C -C (16.33 acres) or potentially R-15. 1. AESTHETIC CONFORMITY will not be maintained. The property in question is adjacent on two sides to single-family homes in the Tuscany development, a peaceful planned community with beautiful architecture and landscaping. The change from Low Density Residential to Mixed Use Community, with concomitant changes in zoning (C -C) to allow Commercial properties, i.e. Grocery store (57,500 square feet), fast food restaurant with drive thru, bank with drive thru's, fuel center/convenience store, and various shops & restaurants (based upon a presentation we saw in May, 2016) does not reflect the aesthetics of the community. The proposed hours of operation of the commercial sector are 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., which would allow those of us in the nearby single-family homes a whopping four hours of undisturbed sleep before the semi -trucks and vendors arrived to deliver goods to the commercial sector. Of course, that Commercial space will be well -lit through the night also. The change in Future Land Use of 26.81 acres of land from Low Density Residential to Mixed Use Community allows for housing densities of up to 15 units per acre. The application also references the potential for attached housing in the area behind the shopping center, along Amity, and backing up to Montague. The fact that the future land use plan would allow up to 15 units per acre would seem to make the possibility of later rezoning to R-15 much easier to occur. Attached housing most definitely does not reflect the aesthetics of the community. 2. AMOUNT OF VEHICLE TRAFFIC: Allowing a commercial plaza with all the retailers, food services and drinking establishments listed in the application will increase traffic into and out of the plaza. South Eagle Road will not be widened for four more years, and neither it nor Amity Road will be able to handle the additional traffic. There is currently a lot of traffic at that intersection when people are going to or coming from work, even though a traffic circle was implemented to ease congestion. Drivers approaching from the west on Amity currently attempt to circumvent the intersection of Amity and Eagle by cutting through Tuscany on Montague to Zaldia, and then onto Eagle. Since ACRD installed no speed limit signs throughout that route, it has become a speedway instead of the 25 mph observed through the rest of Tuscany. The applicants' proposal to extend Mount Etna Drive, which currently exists wholly within the Tuscany sub -division, through the referenced plaza to Eagle Road would alleviate some of the traffic concerns at the Amity/S. Eagle intersection. Drivers would be able to cut through Tuscany and bypass the intersection, whether they were going to the plaza or not. This increase in vehicle traffic is potentially dangerous to the families living in the development. If allowed, I can only hope that ACHD would then consider new traffic signs for Tuscany stating: We have plenty of children, but none to spare. Please slow down and drive safely. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: Excerpted from the Scientific American blog, "Is it safe to live near a gas station?" "Despite all the modern health and safety guidelines they must follow, gas stations can still pose significant hazards to neighbors, especially children. Some of the perils include ground -level ozone caused in part by gasoline fumes, groundwater hazards from petroleum products leaking into the ground, and exposure hazards from other chemicals that might be used at the station if it's also a repair shop.... Higher ozone levels can lead to respiratory problems and asthma, while benzene is a known cancer-causing chemical, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)." Fast food businesses are one of the biggest sources of urban litter in the country. Disposable wrappers, bags, cups, straws and boxes IA411 be scattered throughout the roads and residential developments in the area. Foodservice operations, which include both supermarkets and restaurants, generate a lot of solid waste in the form of packaging, cardboard, etc. It would not be unusual to see some of these materials blowing from their parking areas to our streets. They also generate a lot of food waste. They can be expected to dispose of this waste in suitable containers, but this waste can also attract vermin. I understand the property developers' wish to increase their property value by changing the land use designation and, subsequently, the zoning of the referenced property. Who doesn't wish to make as much profit as possible from an investment? However, the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map designation of Low Density Residential for this property indicates that those tasked with planning thought single-family homes were the best outcome for this property. I agree with that. I believe that the proposed changes would be a safety and security issue for residents of Tuscany, and that the changes would also reduce home values in the area. If you look at the houses currently listed for sale in the Tuscany development, the prices run from $250,000 to $450,000 - the latter listing on Mount Etna Drive. It isn't a stretch to wonder if this house might be for sale so the owners can get out before their property values fall. Perhaps the property developers would consider a fenced development of higher - end single family homes ... one in which they might choose to live ... instead of trashing our neighborhood, pocketing the money and going on their merry way? Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to express my concerns with this proposed project. Sincerely. Kathleen Gallagher 2747 E. Mount Etna Drive Meridian, Idaho 83642