HomeMy WebLinkAboutBrenda Blitman1
Chris Johnson
From:Brenda Blitman <brenda.blitman@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, July 11, 2018 6:28 AM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Timber Creek Recycling H-2018-0042
Meridian City Council
My name & address: Brenda Blitman 8460 S Locust Grove Rd Meridian, ID 83642
I live 1/4 mile South of the property, just outside the 1,000 foot notice range, so I was not included in any of the neighborhood meetings. Some of
these issues may have been addressed at those meetings.
I am out of town on July 17th, so I am entering this as my public testimony.
I am not opposing the proposed commercial composing operation, I do ask the Meridian City Council address the following concerns:
1) Trucks entering/exiting the property. I notice large tractor/trailer rigs entering/exiting the property heading South on Locust Grove, then turning
right (West) on Columbia. In order to make that turn, the trucks have to use both lanes on Locust Grove and both lanes on Columbia to make the
turn. When you inspect the property, you will notice that the pavement is degraded on Locust Grove. This corner is very tight because of the
irrigation ditches and power lines. During commute hours this causes delays. Please limit the times that large trucks can enter/exit the property to
reduce commute hour conflicts - maybe 10 am to 3 pm- and work with ACHD to plan the traffic flow for large commercial vehicles.
2) Dust mitigation. We get a lot of dust from the property currently. When the grinders are working, you can see the dust being released into the air.
Recently, I noticed a water truck on sight, I am hopeful that using a water truck will reduce the dust. Please require the commercial recycling facility
to follow all of the best practices for dust mitigation to keep dust on site and reduce the impact to neighbors. When I moved into my house the
property housed dairy cattle, we had less dust from the dairy than we have from the current recycling operation. Please include requirements in the
development agreement to not increase the amount of dust and chemicals being released into the air.
3) Size and heights of recycling materials piles - There have been 2 large fires that burned for days on that property. The size (both height and cubic
yards) of the recycling piles seem large to me. Please research best practices for the size in both height and cubic yards of the piles of recycling
materials and place these limits in the development agreement.
4) Odor/pests - I was recently at the Ada Co. dump and there was a smell and there were a lot of seagulls. If the site is not properly managed, I can
envision that the same situation could occur just 1/4 mile North of me. I do composting at my house and know that with proper management that both
odor and pests can be mitigated. As part of the development agreement, please require regular audits by an outside party (or another similar function,
maybe inspection by the City of Meridian) to ensure that best practices for recycling/composting are being practiced. For example, I was told that the
best practices for the size of the windrows of composting materials was 10 feet. Currently, the windrows are much larger contributing to the odor in
the Fall/Spring. The application package (page 35) states that 7 garbage trucks of garden and food waste will be accepted every day, this is 35
truckloads a week and 210 truck loads a month. As part of the public hearing, I ask that the City Council critically evaluate the applicant's expertise
and commitment to manage the volume of materials that is being proposed in this location. The composting of wet materials (like garden and food
waste) is different than the current dry wood-based waste. Over the past years, I have noticed that the management of recycling operations at that
location appears to an outsider to be reactionary and not planned. An increase in the complexity and the size of the operation will require more
expertise to manage the odor and pest issues inherent in composting process.
5) Business hours light pollution & noise - Please limit the business hours that the recycling operation is open to the public and engaged in recycling
activities (deliveries, grinding, crushing etc.) in the development agreement to reasonable hours for a commercial operation. I appreciate that I live in
a residential/agricultural non-industrial area and do not want that to change. Please include a plan to mitigate light pollution to the neighbors in the
development agreement.
6) Perimeter fencing - The majority of the property is open without any perimeter fencing. Because there have been cattle on the property, there is
some open wire agricultural fencing. It's my understanding that much of the surrounding property was annexed into the City of Meridian and is zoned
residential and a public park is being built less than a mile from the property. It is anticipated that many of Meridian's residents will live and play
close to this property. Including a requirement to adequately fence the property in the development agreement will prevent future conflicts between
residents and the applicant.
My phone number is 208 846-8495. I am glad to visit with a member of the City's Planning & Zoning department or the applicant about my specific
concerns.
Please send me a return email to confirm that this will be included in the public record for this project.
Regards
Brenda Blitman