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Home My WebLink About2019-12-17 B ValdezDecember 11, 2019 Mayor Tammy DeWeerd Meridian City Council Members Ada County Commissioners Planning & Zoning Members Greetings, This letter is the fifth in a series responding to the proposal to include rezoning in the Future Land Use Map from residential to mixed use in the Locust View Heights Subdivision. Residents began in February, 2019 to express their opposition to the building of a road through their subdivision, having not been consulted earlier in phases gathering input. As the matter has evolved, various reasons have been presented, from Opportunity Zones to septic systems to "connectivity" to "premier" to urbanization, none of which seem compelling enough to justify the projected displacement of almost fifty longtime homeowners, especially at a time in their lives when many are retired, disabled, have limited incomes, are still raising children ranging from babies to teenagers, and care for elderly parents. The Future Land Use Map of the Meridian Comprehensive Plan throws more than 50 people into disarray. It casts doubt on their sense of their futures, especially when many have retired from careers which enabled them to purchase these properties over many years. Suddenly they cannot plan on having the assurance of ongoing occupancy or estate planning for their children. A proposed or future change in rezoning and configuration may seem and is said to occur far in the future but given the pressures that exist on Individual landowners, including rising taxes, neighboring subdivision aspirations, and monetary interests, their sense of well-deserved security is shattered. The community which they have built and which is presently unified and peaceful is projected as divided, its traffic and noise increased, its social connectivity compromised, and its healthy habitat and natural environs lost. Meridian and Ada County have a rare opportunity to demonstrate what their true colors are, that is, by what values they guide their decisions regarding land use. The lure and glamour of unprecedented new, upscale growth tend to obscure—as many Meridianites have witnessed—a foundational rural past which has links to other parts of the state, for example, where dairy farming is ranked third in the nation. Rather than compete with the urban character of Boise, for whom Meridian had been a bedroom community, or identify with Nampa to its west, Meridian midway can be unique in bridging and sustaining what counts for most important in each place. But is it currently doing that or is it engaged in a development race claimed as meeting a "desperate" need, justifying extreme densities, insensitive to existing property owners' needs, and disregarding aesthetics in many cases. What is most important anyway? The current projection for our land not only foreshadows recasting a road which would divide a unified, quiet, safe and healthy neighborhood but along with such construction absorbs homes along that road into the adjacent newer subdivision, taking with it the contour, live stream, and treeline which are among the most attractive features of Locust View Heights —the very sources of the name itself. The years and costs of planting trees, enhancing homes, building fences, extending lawns, arranging irrigation, pasturing animals, paving streets, growing gardens would be swallowed up by building which could be redundant given existing medical facilities in the area. If in fact health and safety are prime considerations, the irony is apparent: within our subdivision live persons themselves or their children who are now active in medical communities, who evaluate medical equipment statewide, maintain and dispense medical equipment, manage a unit at a major coast hospital, do radiologic exams, and serve as nurses and medical office staff, not to mention counselors and teachers, guardsman and guards whose contribution to education and safety undergirds a healthy community. Several neighbors have recovered from cancer in these environs, one such a WWII veteran living to age 93. We rely on fresh air created by living organisms with space to thrive. Walkers and children can safely maneuver the limited, lightly traveled roads. Taken together, these contribute to the health of this and other communities in ways that buildings proposed to displace them would not. The subdivision gives the gift of a rich gathering of resources including trees, streams, and creatures that depend upon us to a world increasingly described in the news as changing in climate. Appearances are not always reality./ If Meridian is fragmented because of uneven or unplanned growth, note that Locust View Heights currently forms an essential part of a residential corridor if new dwellings on Franklin and Woodbridge homes are considered, a band that protects natural features and combines similar functions across a broader space, if busier areas are kept together on the south side of Overland. We ask you to do the right thing, in this case to delay this designation to allow us to make our own plans, to decide our own destiny. To that end, we have met with Central District Health and obtained their recommendations for ensuring continued health of our wastewater systems. We have investigated grant monies which could be used to enhance several properties. At a time when food production is a consideration, our gardeners and gentlemen farmers have the option of expanding their acreages to accommodate organic commodities. Continuing the less restrictive IL-1 zoning allows for change that can respond to such trends as concern about losing agricultural land and stemming air pollution. Already at federal levels, Opportunity Zones are being questioned as to fairness and transparency. Untrammeled urbanization reverses affordability. Our acreages are ideal for families, given services and schools within reach. and generate less traffic than would commercial structures housing numerous workers with vehicles each day. Locust View Heights is an efficiently functioning subdivision. From here each day depart and have departed those who teach your children to sing, write checks for the school system, keep bees, own and operate restaurants, clean restaurant kitchens at night, supply dentures, volunteer for church and refuges, publish medical newsletters, serve in national guard positions, keep electricity flowing, provide vehicles for sale. The list goes on. Can we risk scattering and dispossessing these vital members of a dynamic, sustainable community. The FLUM referred to as a harmless guide is much more than that. It sets a precedent which defies the character and values of the people it can affect, and it can be used and misused to further subordinate vulnerable persons. Thank you, 40v4e�4;;�,� Barbara Valdez 2220 E. Continental Drive Meridian ID 83642 z L� rn 0� `,J w LL m E cn LL L) 0