HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-10 Jarrod Galm
Charlene Way
From:Chris Johnson
Sent:Wednesday, November 10, 2021 11:57 AM
To:Charlene Way
Subject:FW: A Form Has Been Submitted For Your Review
From: David Miles
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 11:31 AM
To: Robert Simison <rsimison@meridiancity.org>; Brad Hoaglun <bhoaglun@meridiancity.org>; Joe Borton
<jborton@meridiancity.org>; Josha Iverson <jiverson@meridiancity.org>; Jessica Perreault
<jperreault@meridiancity.org>; Luke Cavener <lcavener@meridiancity.org>; Liz Strader <lstrader@meridiancity.org>;
Treg Bernt <tbernt@meridiancity.org>; jmgalm@gmail.com
Cc: Chris Johnson <cjohnson@meridiancity.org>; Bill Parsons <bparsons@meridiancity.org>
Subject: RE: A Form Has Been Submitted For Your Review
Hi Jarrod,
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns about the Centerville application. I have copied the city clerk and
planning department staff. Because this is an open application, the Mayor and Council are prohibited from commenting
outside of the public record. That said, I want to assure you that your email and comments have been received by the
Mayor and Council, and are now part of the public record and will be added to the application file.
Sincerely,
Dave Miles
Dave Miles | Chief of Staff
City of Meridian | Mayor’s Office
33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642
Phone: (208) 489-0532|Fax: (208) 884-8119
Built for Business, Designed for Living
All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law,
in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law
From: laserfiche@meridiancity.org <laserfiche@meridiancity.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 8:59 AM
To: Robert Simison <rsimison@meridiancity.org>; Brad Hoaglun <bhoaglun@meridiancity.org>; David Miles
<dmiles@meridiancity.org>; Joe Borton <jborton@meridiancity.org>; Josha Iverson <jiverson@meridiancity.org>;
Jessica Perreault <jperreault@meridiancity.org>; Luke Cavener <lcavener@meridiancity.org>; Liz Strader
<lstrader@meridiancity.org>; Treg Bernt <tbernt@meridiancity.org>
Subject: A Form Has Been Submitted For Your Review
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Request For Mayor and Council
From: Jarrod Galm
Email: jmgalm@gmail.com
Address: 3868 E. Woodville Dr Meridian ID 83642
Subject: Opposition to Proposed Centerville Development 11/16/21 Meeting
Message: Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council:
My name is Jarrod Galm, and I’m writing to oppose the proposed Centerville community at Hillsdale Ave. and Amity Road.
After reviewing the proposal, attending community meetings, and Planning and Zoning hearings regarding the development, I
have identified issues with the plan that need to be mitigated before its approval.
Traffic
As you’re aware, there is a lot of development occurring in South Meridian, especially along the Eagle and Amity Road
corridor. While ACHD is in the process of widening a portion of Eagle Road, Amity is a two-lane road that is slated to be
expanded sometime between 2036 and 2040 at the earliest, according to ACHD’s master plan.
The original traffic study was conducted during the peak of the pandemic when traffic volume was down drastically.
Furthermore, Eagle Road was under construction, so many area residents took alternative routes to their destinations. In
addition, the YMCA was closed and wasn’t drawing the traffic into the area that it usually does. While engineers “estimated”
traffic and trips for the next four years, the data they’re using to arrive at those estimations is not accurate.
A traffic study was never conducted on S. Stockenham and Hillsdale Avenue. Living in the nearby community of Century Farm,
a dense community such as the one proposed would add significant strain to the neighborhood roads.
When school is in session, traffic backs up on Hillsdale Avenue going South as parents dropping kids off wait to turn right into
the school. Also, traffic on S. Stockenham heading north backs up as parents dropping off kids wait to turn left into the school,
causing delays for people looking to exit the surrounding communities.
Now that the YMCA is open and construction on Eagle Road is ending, it would be prudent to reexamine the study when
conditions are more in line with a typical, or average, day, especially when school is in session.
The proposed daycare in the Centerville community would also increase the number of trips to the area as it will not just serve
community residents but anyone who needs daycare.
As mentioned during the Planning and Zoning Commission, it was recommended that there be more commercial space,
appropriate for dining. Suggestions were for a coffee shop, or a sandwich shop as the area is a “food desert.” The revised plan
includes a “flex space” that only has four parking spots. Evidently, the community would be better served by another
optometrist, dentist, or orthodontist.
School Overcrowding
It’s no secret that West Ada schools are being pushed to or beyond their capacities due to the prolific growth in our area.
Hillsdale Elementary was closed to new enrollment temporarily as the school board needed to redraw boundaries.
During the Planning and Zoning hearing, the applicant said a new charter school and high school would help alleviate some of
the pressure. The charter school is available to ALL students in the district who must participate in a lottery to win a chance to
attend. The new high school, Owyhee, opened in Western Meridian but is too far away to have any bearing on attendance at
Mountain View. While the firm indicated that Hillsdale and these other schools would accommodate the new students the
community would bring, these statements are not accurate.
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Consider: Hillsdale currently has 641 students enrolled and has a capacity of 700 students. Unlike other schools, Hillsdale
doesn’t have the space to add modular units to accommodate growth. Once it reaches its max capacity, an enrollment cap will
be implemented again, forcing children within the school’s walk zone to be bussed to another nearby school. This is not good
for traffic or the environment.
West Ada School District applies a formula to identify the number of potential students attending a school. They figure .7
students come from single-family homes and .1 students come from multifamily dwellings. Based on the 124 single-family
homes, 79 multifamily homes, and four fourplex lots that are being proposed for Centerville, that’s nearly 97 new students
Hillsdale, and surrounding schools would need to accommodate.
That also doesn’t include the current construction occurring in Sky Mesa, Lavender Heights, The Keep, Orchard Creek,
Shelburne, Calistoga, and Century Farm. Based on these developments, another 200 or so students will be within the
boundaries of Hillsdale. As is evident, Hillsdale, on its own, will not be able to support these students. As the school eclipses its
capacity, the quality of education our kids receive will diminish.
So, by the time Centerville begins development, Hillsdale will be at or above capacity, and the children residing in Centerville
will need to be bussed elsewhere.
It should be noted that Lake Hazel Middle School and Mountain View High are already beyond their capacities. Additional
development will adversely affect these schools as well.
While education funding is predicated on property taxes and decisions of the state, it’s incumbent on local government to
manage growth to relieve the pressure on our education system. While there is another elementary school planned, the funds
to build that school would need to come from the passage of a bond initiative. As we all know, most residents are not fans of
raising taxes, so relying on a bond will not be prudent to solve the issues facing our area and schools currently.
Safety
Another issue of concern is safety. The Hillsdale school zone is poorly marked. While representatives for the development
indicated they spoke with school officials, one crosswalk has a crossing guard and manually activated pedestrian crossing
lights. Beyond that, there is no flashing school zone warning lights or other marked crosswalks for kids to use.
Having walked my daughter to and from school last year, I can speak from first-hand experience that the area is unsafe.
Inattentive and inconsiderate drivers lead to numerous close calls when pedestrians allegedly have the right of way. Adding
additional traffic to the region will only exacerbate the situation. The absence of adequate warning lights is noticeable.
Police and fire response times are also an issue, with no stations nearby the development. A recent fire in Century Farm took
firefighters nearly 20 minutes to arrive to extinguish the flames, which far exceeds the city’s desired five-minute response
time.
During a recent council meeting, Meridian Fire Chief Kris Blume said, “The reality is the City of Meridian has experienced such
explosive growth over a very short period of time that public safety, as well as all of the other public services, are stretched to
keep up with the growth. And as new developments go in that brings new people to the community, (which) brings more
needs from city services as well as the fire and police departments.”
While there are two new fire stations slated for development, those won’t be enough to lower the response times to the
designated five minutes.
Conclusion
The developer’s application narrative says, “the proposed development includes significant useable open space, a variety of
high-quality amenities, pathways and diversity with a combination of single-family homes, townhomes, four-plex units,
commercial/flex space, and a daycare facility.”
It continues, “This mixture of uses is not normally found within a standard subdivision.”
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It concludes, “Challenger Development wants to create a community with the City of Meridian that will complement the
surrounding neighborhoods and utilize the South Meridian YMCA and the new Meridian Regional Park.”
The developer’s own words say that “this mixture of uses is not normally found within a standard subdivision.” This begs the
question, why not? Because, as I’ve mentioned above, a design like this doesn’t fit with the neighboring community. It will
adversely affect education, traffic, and safety in the area and tax resources that are already stretched thin.
I recognize that growth is necessary, but the Centerville proposal needs to be reworked using more accurate data and designs
that adhere to the city’s master plan. A thoughtful mix of single-family homes with commercial elements that are more
food/dining oriented would be welcomed.
I implore the Council to deny the plans as submitted and have Engineering Solutions and their client Challenger Development
rework their proposal to better mitigate the concerns I have raised.
Sincerely,
Jarrod Galm
3868 E. Woodville Dr.
Meridian, ID 83642
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