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Home My WebLink About2021-05-26 Sally Reynolds Adrienne Weatherly From:Liz Strader Sent:Wednesday, May 26, 2021 4:51 PM To:Sally Reynolds; Luke Cavener; Treg Bernt; Brad Hoaglun; Jessica Perreault; City Clerk Cc:Greg Reynolds Subject:Re: Orchard Park Development Agreement and Roadwork Thank you Sally I'd like to make sure the clerk adds this to the public record so we will have an opportunity to discuss the specifics when this comes up in the June meeting. Appreciate all the info., please always feel free to send additional materials to the extent you believe them relevant to the issues at hand. Have a great day, Liz Liz Strader | City Councilwoman City of Meridian | City Council Office 33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642 Phone: | 208-546-9501 Online Meeting Scheduler: Click Here Built for Business, Designed for Living From: Sally Reynolds <sally_a_reynolds@hotmail.com> Sent: Friday, May 21, 2021 1:25:20 PM To: Luke Cavener; Treg Bernt; Brad Hoaglun; Jessica Perreault; Liz Strader Cc: Greg Reynolds Subject: Orchard Park Development Agreement and Roadwork External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments. Good afternoon City Council Members, Thank you for your service to the city of Meridian. Last week, I had a conversation with city staff that I would like to bring to your attention. 1 Recently, I heard that the WinCo in Orchard Park would be opening in June. On May 7th, ITD sent a letter to residents stating that the Chinden improvements along that corridor will be completed in late summer. My understanding is that the Chinden and Linder improvements had to be completed prior to any Certificate of Occupancy being granted to the Orchard Park development, per pg. 59 of the development agreement, item L. When I contacted City Planning Staff to inquire about this, they informed me that WinCo has approached them about getting a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy so the store can open before the road is done. Staff stated that while they didn't like to use the word "waive" when talking about development agreements, they would be in favor of recommending that WinCo receive the TCO. Granting a temporary certificate of occupancy for WinCo to open will create a public safety hazard along this vital commuting corridor, endanger children in the Paramount Community, and show Meridian residents that a development agreement is not worth the paper it is written on. 1. Allowing WinCo to operate before the road improvements are done will create a public safety issue for anyone who uses Chinden. Usually, commercial developments are not allowed access off a state highway (think of State HWY 44 in Eagle) because it slows traffic down and increases accidents. Part of the reason Orchard Park was allowed TWO access points off Chinden is because they agreed to widen it. This widening agreement was a crucial part of why the development was even approved. The construction in the Chinden/Linder area is already creating delays for East/West commuters and unsafe conditions for people shopping at the three commercial centers on that corner. Opening another grocery store in the midst of all that chaos will only exacerbate what is already a dangerous situation. The prior City Council agreed that the road MUST BE COMPLETED prior to any stores opening - that is why it was included in the development agreement. 2. Opening WinCo prior to have Chinden done will encourage cut-through traffic through the Paramount Subdivision. Residents in the Paramount community actively participated in the public hearings of Orchard Park for three years during which they amply showed that over 1,000 school-age children live and play in that community of pools, parks, and crosswalks (per Eric Exline of West Ada School District). Originally, the connection from Bergman to Orchard Park was not supposed to even be connected with Phase 1 of the development (the developer didn't want to pay for it and the residents didn't want the cut-through traffic). However, City Staff (not under advisement from ACHD) made the requirement for Bergman to be extended during phase one. Therefore, if Chinden is not complete before WinCo opens, traffic from the East will cut through from Meridian Rd onto Director road and traffic from the south will cut through Paramount to get to Bergman Rd (see attached maps). WinCo shoppers will become accustomed to using these shortcuts and even when Chinden is complete, Paramount will experience increased traffic from people who learned how to avoid Chinden and Linder road. 2 3. If City Staff and/or the applicant can unilaterally, substantially modify a development agreement without public notice and input, what is the point of a public hearing in the first place? The Orchard Park application received input from hundreds of Meridian residents; however, almost every request from the residents to the prior City Council was denied*. The ONE THING the City Council felt strongly enough about was that the road improvements needed to be completed before any OP business can operate. Therefore, it was included in the development agreement. A substantial change from this development agreement, which affects not only Meridian residents, but also anyone using Chinden, at the very least merits a public notification and hearing.** No public notification has been sent. City Staff mentioned that the TCO request "might come up" in the June 1st City Council meeting when the Orchard Park applicant is seeking to change a restaurant use to a financial institution use. Modifying such a crucial part of this DA, which was so heavily weighed in on by residents, without going through the proper channels is dishonest, not transparent, and undermines the trust the public places in its elected leaders. I am happy to e-mail my closing remarks with the slideshow presentation and the two petitions (one regarding limiting through traffic on Bergman St) that the residents submitted at the final hearing, if you would like them for reference. They are included in the 2017 Linder Village public record as well. I sincerely hope that this City Council, who I have observed has been more open to citizens' concerns, will seriously consider the ramifications of reneging on a critical safety condition in a development agreement, which is tantamount to a promise to our citizens; especially if this dangerous waiver is granted without requiring traffic mitigation and calming measures to protect Paramount residents and children. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, Sally Reynolds (208) 794-5145 *Please see attached document 2021 Orchard Park Summary for a brief summary of the history of this application and why residents would vehemently oppose opening WinCo prior to Chinden's completion. Specifically, look at the attached documents of "Traffic Patterns" and "Traffic Patterns 2." **In order for a development agreement to be substantially modified, the applicant is required to notify the public. Meridian City Code section 11-5B-3, subsection F1 states that, "The city and/or an applicant may request a development agreement or a modification to a development agreement consistent with Idaho Code § 67-6511A." Idaho Code § 67-6511A states that, "A commitment may be modified only by the permission of the governing board after complying with the notice and hearing provisions of section 67-6509, Idaho Code." Section 67-6509 states that, "Following the commission hearing, if the commission recommends a material change to the proposed amendment to the plan which was considered at the hearing, it shall give notice of its proposed recommendation and conduct another public hearing concerning the matter". 3 P.S. I did not copy Joe Borton on this email because he recused himself from all Linder Village/Orchard Park hearings so far. 4