HomeMy WebLinkAboutSusan Denniston1
Chris Johnson
From:Susan Denniston <CachetSilks@live.com>
Sent:Thursday, September 13, 2018 4:57 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:MDA H-2018-0042 Timber Creek Recycling
Dear City Mayor and Council Members,
I urge you to avoid further delay and vote against the proposed Timber Creek Recycling proposal. Your own staff
recommended against this proposal the first time it was presented and again after it was modified. This input,
combined with the significant outcry of the community against the proposal and the firm’s existing operations,
should make rejecting this proposal an obvious decision for the council.
The site remains on land designated R-4 for residential, not industrial purposes and is surrounded by existing
residential homeowners who have testified to the noise, dust, odor, and increased truck traffic which impacts their
daily lives and home property values. It is beyond my comprehension why the council asked the applicant to modify
his proposal for a second try.
I live within 2.7 miles of this facility. Based on my research, the odor of compost dumps impacts a 5 mile
radius. Consider the recent Kuna pond smell we suffered through a few weeks ago. This facility is 5.3 miles from my
home in Meridian. The Timber Creek impact will be well beyond residents who live off Victory Rd. Why would the
city want a dump so close to residents? We all know of towns associated with smells such as Nampa and the beet
factory. There’s also Gilroy, CA where you can smell garlic before you enter the city. I lived in a town with a Malt-o-
Meal factory and the smell was not as pleasant as the finished product. Why would the council opt to approve an
expanded dump within its city borders? If I had known this proposal was even seriously considered by the council, I
would have purchased a home in another city.
If the city wants to boast of food waste recycling capability, there are other ways of doing it. Professional waste
treatment facilities have anaerobic methods which eliminate the odor. Or, the city could contract with a company
that manufactures compost bins (for back yard use) at a discounted rate for residents to purchase. This would
require finding a recommen ded source, negotiating best price and posting the purchase information for residents on
the city website. Only those residents truly interested in residential composting would opt to participate.
In the city of Meridian, if R-4 zoning means one can have an industrial use facility to pollute the air with
decomposing garbage, add dust from industrial equipment, increase road traffic with industrial haulers without any
oversight, then please update the City of Meridian website so residents will be advised before they buy a home
here. Please vote ‘no’ on this proposed dump as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Susan Denniston
Chris Johnson
From: Sonya Allen
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2018 8:12 AM
To: C.Jay Coles; Charlene Way; Chris Johnson
Subject: FW: Opposition to proposed DA conditions - Timber Creek
Attachments: Timbercreekl.jpg; Timbercreek2 jpg
From: Susan Denniston [mailto:CachetSilks@live.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2018 3:18 PM
To: Sonya Allen; Caleb Hood
Subject: Opposition to proposed DA conditions - Timber Creek
Dear City Council and Planning Staff,
The Timber Creek Recycling proposed D.A. conditions do not meet the concerns of residents living near the site. The
proposed D.A. conditions for this industrial use facility are so lenient they represent an even worse set of revised
guidelines than those liberally proposed in prior city hall meetings.
Landscaping requirement:
*Recommendations by city staff for landscaping were to be completed within 1 year of the date of the
agreement. Now the timeframe is based on when the facility is upgraded to a Tier 2 composting facility. However,
Timber Creek is allowed to do "pilot programs" without installing any landscaping. The result is Timber Creek will
never install any landscaping.
Boundary enforcement:
*To drive home the point above, current photos of the site were taken from Columbia Road (pic 1) and the backyard
of 7838 S. Tranquility Lane (pic2) which show Timber Creek is operating outside the designated areas of the original
D.A. agreement. As neighbors have reported many times during hearings, this facility does not operate within the
bounds of the existing DA agreement and certainly will not do so under the newest revisions. A C.U.P. is needed for
enforcement and without a C.U.P., this operation will continue to be lawless.
Solid Waste Maintained on the Property:
*(11/12)The latest revisions indicate solid waste can be stored and/or buried and accumulated on the property. This
will further attraction of rodents to the area and increase odors from the site. This does not represent good faith
oversight by the Council to protect the interests of residents nearby.
Compliance with all Federal/State/Local laws:
*(13) Why is the language for compliance with federal/state/local laws being removed? Removal of this express
language removes future City staff from forcing Timber Creek to comply with federal and state laws. To restate,
without that provision the City cannot shut down Timber Creek for a violation of the federal Clean Air Act... only the
federal government has jurisdiction over it. Without this language specifically included in the agreement, the city
will have no way to force compliance "with all federal, state and local laws" as a group.
Odor Management:
*The proposed revisions include complete deletion of the requirement for Timber Creek to submit and odor
management plan to the City. This is outrageous.
These proposed conditions will make life more miserable for those proximate, downwind and within a several mile
radius of the dump site. Please consider restoring the language for oversight as originally recommended by staff.
Sincerely,
Susan Denniston
Meridian Resident
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