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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-20 Ronda Unruh Charlene Way From:Ronda Unruh <runruh@maf.org> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 9:27 PM To:Robert Simison; Liz Strader; Joe Borton; Brad Hoaglun; Treg Bernt; Jessica Perreault; Luke Cavener; City Clerk Subject:Compass Pointe Subdivision H-2020-0100 External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments. Dear Mayor Simison and Councilmembers for the City of Meridian, I would like to respectfully submit this email to communicate my objection of the proposed R-15 rezoning and the current plan of the new Compass Pointe Subdivision on the southwest corner of Locust Grove and Victory roads. I would like to first acknowledge how each of you have and how you have diligently asked questions and pursued a better proposal from the Owner and Developers of this property. I feel as if we are being heard and hope that this will end up with both parties (the Owner/Developer and the surrounding neighborhoods) being in agreement on the final “product.” We are not anti-development, we are residents who live on or within close proximity of this intersection and property who must carefully navigate this area each and every day. I understand that the road systems and transportation are not within your jurisdiction; however, I do want to ask you when looking at a project such as this, does the current and proposed future traffic issues ever come up when deciding if adding more housing options is actually a wise decision in that area? How often do you, Planning and Zoning and ACHD come together to discuss these specific projects so that a bigger picture is seen together and how it affects not just that area but the surrounding neighborhoods and the City of Meridian as a whole? I have read through the city’s Comprehensive Plan and have read that one of the Outcome Measures under Public Health and Safety is, “Improvement on how well the City is ensuring public safety.” I also read that one of the City’s Goal Statements is to “Prioritize investment of city infrastructure and encourage road and school facilities in identified areas to grow responsibly and maximize the delivery of city services.” It also states that the City would like to “encourage affordable, diverse housing options…” “Improvement on how well the City is ensuring public safety” can absolutely be applied to this proposed addition of 37 housing units on a small, and unusually shaped piece of property that only allows for one exit and entrance due to the complexity of the current intersection. Granted, there is a circle coming in the near future. However, I see this upcoming circle as only adding to the complexities and it will encroach even closer to the proposed Compass Pointe Subdivision. I can go on and on here regarding circle intersections (I have lived over 20 years in several different Asian countries who used circles for many years but are now getting rid of them and installing lighted intersections because the circles do not work for high density traffic) but my point here is rezoning this property to R-15 is not ensuring public safety but complicating and increasing the current dangers of an already high density traffic and housing subdivision area. I realize that “public safety” can also be understood to mean policing and safe neighborhoods. Ok, do we have sufficient amount of police departments, officials and equipment to ensure this for our current neighborhoods and 1 communities? We all know that the answer to this is no. Why then are we even entertaining the thought of future housing developments if our police and other security officials are already not able to properly care for us? We must support our police, encourage them and help them grow in ways that allow for adequate and even stellar public safety before we even think about adding to their already overflowing plates. Prioritizing infrastructure that is strengthening and encouraging our current needs plus planning for future growth is absolutely a must. We know that our schools are over populated and the teachers overwhelmed. We know that the fire departments are feeling the sudden growth pains as well and are not adequate to supply what our current communities need when it comes to an emergency. Again, why is the City of Meridian looking to continue adding more and more subdivisions before we even address strengthening our current public safety, increasing our school systems and teacher capacity, and fire response capabilities? And now I touch on “encourage affordable, diverse housing options.” The estimated “Assessed Property Value” that A Team Land Consultants has given for each housing unit in this proposed Compass Pointe subdivision is $525,000.00. In the Planning and Zoning meeting at City Hall this was touted as an excellent place and opportunity for “first-time homebuyers”. May I share that my 2,081 sq foot home with .26 acres of land doesn’t even cost that amount of money in this current housing market!! How is this $525,000 figure a great opportunity for any home buyer who currently resides here in Idaho, much less a first-time homebuyer? Yes, it offers diversity but when you look at the current situation that this area is facing every single day and how with each new subdivision going up in the surrounding areas how is adding another R-15 zoned area making Meridian a better place? If you want diversity, please consider rezoning this to R-2 or R-4, for safety’s sake. We don’t have any R-2 subdivisions in our area. For sake of your time, I will end here. I know that many of my neighbors in the surrounding subdivisions are probably writing to you as well. Please listen to us and carefully consider what Meridian is becoming. It is growing faster than what we can keep up with. The City desires to be a place that is safe and has minimal traffic (I now deal with lines of traffic on Victory Rd, Locust Grove Rd, Meridian Rd, Black Cat Rd every day, and I mean lines that can be as long as a mile or more). By continuing to approve new subdivisions like Compass Pointe we are only adding to the complexities that our citizens have to navigate each and every day now. In talking to my neighbors about this issue this week, there is anger building up. Many of my neighbors moved here because of the small, community feel, the agricultural community and the space. I have one neighbor that moved from Chicago to here because of the very reasons I mentioned above. He is angry and feels like we have lost the community that Meridian once was and the reason why we all moved here. Thank you for reading through this and for “listening” to your constituents, Ronda Unruh 3246 S. Murlo Way Meridian, ID 83642 2 3