HomeMy WebLinkAboutMessina Meadows Reconsideration
July 19, 2005
Honorable Mayor De Weerd and Members of the City Council
C/o City Clerk
33 E. Idaho
Meridian, ID 83642
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RE: Proposed Messina Meadows Neighborhood Park - Request for Reconsideration
Dear Mayor De Weerd and Council Members:
This letter is in response to your request for input from the Park and Recreation Commission
regarding the proposed neighborhood park in the recently approved Messina Meadows
Subdivision. This matter was discussed at the July 13,2005 Parks and Recreation Commission
meeting. I was chosen to write this letter to inform you ofthe Commission's concerns.
The first issue that raised concern for most everyone present was the shape of the parcel. The
thin strip of land in the north east comer of the plot is virtually unusable for most park events,
presents a challenge to the maintenance group, and does not fit in with the goals established in
the city's comprehensive plan for a neighborhood park. It was the opinion ofthe Commission
that this land should be used in one ofthe subdivision lots and other land allocated in a more
useable location.
The next area of concern is the location of the park. Accessibility consists of the southern side of
the proposed lot borders the incoming road for the subdivision. There is also a small residential
road on the southeastern side of the plot. While this provides two forms of access to the land,
there are serious concerns that this configuration will limit the accessibility of the park and drive
undesired traffic through narrow subdivision streets. There was a general conclusion that this
park would better serve the community and the subdivision occupants if the park land was
shifted to the west, allowing two sides of access to the land from larger arterial roads. The
current proposed lots on the west side ofthe land can be moved to the east side of the property.
There is also concern that this land is of poor quality and grade. There were several
commissioners and a superintendent who believe this land may be very difficult to keep
maintained properly. Current grade has the park land as the lowest point in the subdivision in an
area that seems to flood easily. While this land can be backfilled to prevent the collection of all
the water from surrounding areas, it has happened in the past that this backfill material is of poor
quality (such as the gravel like mix that was used to fill in Bear Creek), making it nearly
impossible to keep the grass properly watered during hot summertime months.
Finally, it came to the attention of the Commission that this plat, which includes a neighborhood
park, has received approval without ever being reviewed by the Parks and Recreation
Commission. The Parks and Recreation Commission has great interest in devising a system that
will allow the Commission ample time to review and provide input on park issues in these plats,
as well as doing so in a timely manner so as to not require the applicant to absorb undue costly
delays.
For the reasons set forth in this letter, the Commission made a motion on the record to request
that the City Council reconsider its decision to approve the Messina Meadows preliminary plat.
The Commission would like an opportunity to work with the applicant to address these concerns.
In the event that the City Council does not wish to move to reconsider its approval of this matter,
and if the applicant is not interested in addressing the issues raised in this letter at this time, the
Commission has serious reservations about accepting this parcel as a public neighborhood park
and would recommend that the Council consider this park to remain as private property. .
On behalf of the Parks and Recreation Commission, I would like to thank you for your time and
effort on this particular subject. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to give input on matters
of this nature and would look forward to future opportunities to do the same. Please know that
we are anxious to work closely with you in resolving these issues and for a smoother future
process.
Respectfully,
James E. De Boer
Meridian Parks and Recreation Commissioner