HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-07-16 Amy Johnson
Charlene Way
From:Amy Johnson <amy97008@gmail.com>
Sent:Thursday, July 15, 2021 10:17 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Proposed Centerville Development
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
To Whom it Concerns:
I am opposed to the proposal as written for the reasons outlined below. As a community member and resident in the
area I sincerely hope the issues raised will be addressed. We all want the best Meridian possible and this development
is anything but.
1. Safety. The amount of dense housing proposed will create too much traffic and pedestrian traffic to safely
accommodate--even with new sidewalks. The kids that will be headed to Hillsdale Elementary will have a bit of a hike to
walk and will need to cross the very busy Hillsdale Lane to get to the overcrowded school. The apartment dwellings also
have high density and more pedestrian traffic in an area not set up for it. There are no amenities other than a few
businesses and a future planned Albertsons. No public transportation in this area, no easy access to the freeway. All
this leads to unsafe levels of people trying to use the infrastructure and walkways.
2. Parking. I have never seen adequate parking given to apartments and townhomes. I was on the traffic commission
for 8 years in Beaverton, OR. We dealt with frustrated townhome owners who were allotted two tandem parking
spaces,3-4 visitor spaces for the entire complex, and no additional options for families needing more parking. The
overflow of cars seeped into neighboring communities creating unsafe driving conditions and quite honestly, more
crime.
3. School. Hillsdale Elementary is already at capacity. Where are all these kids going to go?
4. Emergency Responses. In the Fire Department Staff Report Dated 7/12/2021 it is noted that there is not enough
parking for one of the apartment complexes. The response time is also slower than it should be. I don't know how a
developer could in good conscience build something this dense knowing that emergency response times are slow. There
was a recent fire in Century Farm with an absurd response time. The destruction was much worse than it should have
been.
5. Builder Reputation. CBH, or whatever other names they go by, does not have a good standing with the BBB and the
community. In the last 3 years, there are 27 legitimate complaints compared to other builders in nearby developments
who have 1- none at all. The disproportionate amount of complaints largely have to do with the lack of quality in
building materials and landscaping grading. Big problems are likely for our neighboring communities because of the
proposed Centerville. It sits higher than Hillsdale Creek and if not graded properly could result in water runoff issues,
etc. Also--CBH doesn't landscape the backyards leaving it up to the homeowner. If not done correctly or timely, this
could lead to more grading issues.
6. Neighborhood likeness. There are no dense communities in this area. There is no need for them. Apartments and
townhomes especially are not in keeping with the neighboring communities of Shelburne, Hillsdale Creek, Century
Farm, Rockhampton, etc. Most of the community members who choose to live in this area did so because of the quality
of life. Dense, urban like dwellings are not single family homes. Not even close. I understand the need for options, but
this is not the area for it. These dense options will be surrounded by neighborhoods with only single family homes.
1
7. Crime. I don't have specific statistics but anytime you add temporary housing such as apartments, the crime goes
up. The higher crime areas tend to be in more dense housing areas.
8. Traffic. I have a lot to say about traffic as I sat on the traffic commission in Beaverton, OR for 8 years. It is a city of
similar size to Meridian. I realize that the zoning, planning and other regulations are different from state to state, but I
can speak from experience when I say that traffic became a nightmare in Beaverton. Overcrowded dense apartments
and townhome communities bled into neighboring single family neighborhoods. They used the roads as cut-throughs
and parked on the streets at night since their development was full. The congestion that Centerville will add to this area
is too much. Hillsdale Lane will not be widened and I can see it backing up significantly making the quality of life difficult
here. I don't want to wait 10 minutes to get out of the neighborhood because of the extra traffic. I sat most months
listening to frustrated community members regarding parking and traffic. These could have been mitigated from the
beginning had development sizes been kept in check and ample parking given to dense developments.
9. Deceptive mail. The proposed mailers and letters have been misleading. The last one I saw mentioned that there are
only 2 apartment lots but when looking close, that amounts to 124 units. CBH's flyers are minimizing the dense impact
on the area and did not listen to the community when we spoke with the engineers.
In closing, I hope you address these issues before letting the Centerville development move forward with building. I
oppose the re-zoning to R-8. It is too dense and not in keeping with the community. I do not want to see apartments on
my way home every day. I purposely chose to live in a suburban neighborhood away from the dense urban areas. There
is a time and place for density, this is not it. I feel like CBH is just trying to squeeze out every last penny possible instead
of building a quality neighborhood.
Amy Johnson
Hillsdale Creek resident
2