Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity response to emails recieved1 C.Jay Coles From:Cameron Arial Sent:Friday, September 28, 2018 5:08 PM To:Tammy de Weerd; citycouncil Cc:Jeff Lavey; Mark Niemeyer; Robert Simison; Kaycee Emery; Caleb Hood; Sonya Allen; Bruce Freckleton; C.Jay Coles Subject:Draft Owyhee HS Response Hello Mayor and City Council Members – I hope you are well. In response to the many communications the City has been receiving regarding the Owyhee HS application, we have prepared the email below that we will be sending this evening. “Dear , Thank you for sharing your comments. The Mayor and City Council members value your opinion. We as a City recognize the need for another school in Meridian and will continue to work with West Ada School District (WASD) to find a solution that is safe to the public and that makes sense for taxpayers. Because this project is part of an open application, the Mayor and City Council members are prohibited from commenting outside the public hearing. They take public feedback seriously and as a City we want you to know that we have received your email and have read your comments. Your email has been provided to our City Clerk and will be included in the public record. Please check the City’s website, meridiancity.org, for additional information and we invite you to attend the hearing(s) on this issue. The City Council will discuss this topic on Tuesday October 2 nd at 6:00pm at City Hall. Also, the City wanted to provide you some additional context on this application. There were several issues raised from the Planning Division staff and the Police and Fire Departments at the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing. Those comments are listed below. • Growth – Previous applications in this area have been denied as the City has not been ready to develop in this area. In addition, it is well known that schools drive additional growth near them – both residential and commercial. Since this application has been discussed, several other property owners in the area have had conversations with the City about their desire to develop. • Access – The school district has proposed a high school with only one public access. Not only does this raise concerns from our police and fire departments due to limited ability to access or leave the facility in case of an emergency, it also is not practical as we have learned through the development of three other high schools in Meridian. The traffic impacts of only having one access point creates problems for students, faculty, and community members who need to access the school in a timely and orderly manner; especially in the event of an emergency. • Services – The school is located in an area where the Closest Fire Station is approximately 6 minutes away, 1 minute more than the current 5 minute level of service expectation and has an operational risk factor of 4 as schools are viewed as a building that requires a multiple unit response for any fire related calls for service. Additionally the current closest fire station has a reliability factor of 84%, meaning 16% of the time that station is on another emergency response. For our Police Department, while the building will have a School Resource Officer, additional response time to this rural area of the community is expected to be 4 minutes for an emergency call. • Infrastructure – The area surrounding this proposed property lacks basic infrastructure that the community has indicated is important for safe routes to schools. The roads are two lane rural roads with no curb, gutters or 2 sidewalk. There are also no pathways in this area leading to the school. This lack of facilities puts any person walking, biking or otherwise trying to access the school by any means other than an automobile at risk. Necessary improvements in the area are not scheduled for at least another decade. Here is a link to a copy of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation to the City Council http://weblink.meridiancity.org/WebLink8/PDF/t4jv2kipzvmjxvizq5hfaa55/2/CC%20-%20Staff%20Report.pdf and here is the link to the actual Planning and Zoning Commission hearing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig5tzu99J_4&list=PL2i_hVahWFbBWQwlLmJo1v0Xe6_cVaZon&index=6&t=4218s . The specific information begins at 1 hour and 10 minutes. The Commission’s deliberations will provide you valuable insight into the Commission’s recommendation to the City Council. Please contact me or our Planning staff Sonya Allen at 208-884-5533 or sallen@meridiancity.org if you have further questions.” All the best, Cameron Arial | Director City of Meridian | Community Development 33 E. Broadway Ave. Meridian, Idaho 83642 Phone: (208) 489-0570 Built for Business, Designed for Living www.meridiancity.org All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law, in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law.