HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-17 Sally Reynolds1
Adrienne Weatherly
From:Sally Reynolds <sally_a_reynolds@hotmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, October 17, 2019 5:05 PM
To:mayortammy; Meridian City Clerk; Luke Cavener; Treg Bernt; Genesis Milam; Anne Little
Roberts; Joe Borton
Subject:Meridian Comprehensive Plan Thoughts
Hello Mayor Tammy, Planning and Zoning Commissioners, and City Council Members,
Thank you for allowing me to be part of the Meridian Comprehensive Plan drafting process. I've
learned a lot about the different organizations that need to collaborate if a city is to function, grow,
and thrive. I've also reviewed all the survey results fr om the website, the Town Hall survey, Menti poll,
as well as read the various comments and letters submitted through the website. I'm grateful for the
input I have had as a member of the steering committee; however, I still have some concerns with the
current comprehensive plan as it is written and presented.
First, some of the policies in comp plan don't align with the FLUM. For example, policy 4.5.3 and
4.5.3A address preserving rural character; however, the rural designation is no longer part of the
FLUM. If Meridian is truly committed to providing a wide variety of types of housing options(Goal
2.2.1A-G), the rural designation should be maintained. Or at the very least, some sort of rural
residential designation.
Secondly, residents provided feedback that Meridian is becoming too densely populated for the
current infrastructure. The city cannot continue to make land use decisions without having all the
information from other agencies that will be affected by that decision. Recognizing that the city has
limited control over these agencies, goal 6.1.2F can still use stronger language, such as: "The city will
require applicants to submit all ACHD, ITD, VRT, COMPASS, and other agency comments in
addressing transportation issues to the city planning department before the city will begin drafting a
staff report. These comments, including other school and transportation agency comments, will be
submitted with adequate time to allow for review by the City staff before the staff report is written. The
staff report with these agency comments will be available at least 1 week prior to the application's
public hearing at the P&Z level." I still strongly believe the City Council should not be approving
conceptual plans, but only final plats.
In conjunction with the overall feeling that Meridian is becoming crowded, I would like to see an
overall increase in percentage open space required in each FLUM designation, and the term "open
space" specifically defined in the UDC. Goal 2.2.1B vaguely addresses this, but giv en that the specific
percentage of open space is defined in the plan, I think "Open Space" and "Amenities" should be
strictly defined and support the Southern Rim's movement to articulate a UDC for open space.
I believe we discussed putting parameters around how designations can be "floated" across
several parcels . On page 1-6, the last paragraph says that the plan will be used "in earnest" as a
roadmap. If staff reports continue to float designations across parcels, I think that practice should be
mentioned somewhere in the document, so residents understand that a "Mixed-Use _______ " area
could actually end up with far fewer uses than what it looks like on the FLUM. Without that disclosure,
the FLUM is misleading. It could be included somewhere in pages 3-12 to 3-16 and/or as a disclaimer
on the FLUM itself.
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At the other end of the spectrum, various interested landowners contacted the city to request
modifications to the FLUM. While some changes may make sense, it seems the city and steering
committee have unilaterally selected which changes to implement without any notification to
surrounding neighbors. This completely undermines the public process and lacks transparency,
especially since several members of the steering committee are large landowners/developers who
stand to potentially profit from changes.
Overall, the Comp plan is almost there,but I would recommend a much longer, in-depth look at the
FLUM , especially since the future FLUM has already started to come into city council decisions. The
city council should not be making decisions based on part of the comp plan/FLUM without taking into
consideration that entirety of the document. The FLUM almost needs a separate task force by itself.
I can personally appreciate the time, dedication, and organization it took to develop this plan and
bringing different groups together to collaborate. It's almost there and has a lot of improved aspects.
For example, I believe the organizational aspect of the plan, how it is presented, is clear and concise.
I also believe the new website is user-friendly and will inform/educate the public well. I look forward to
continually working with the city in the effort to help Meridian thrive.
Have a great evening,
Sally Reynolds
1166 W Bacall St