memo from planning
Project: Bienville Square
RECEIVED
MAR 1 4 2006
city of Meridian
City CleIk. Office
Location: south of Us tick west of Eagle
Applications: annexation and zoning, rezone, preliminary plat, conditional use pennit, miscellaneous for
private street and variance
Highlights of Proposed Development: Preliminary Plat with a Conditional Use Pennit (CUP) to construct
retail/restaurant/and office uses as well as a mixture of attached, detached and alley-accessed residences
on approximately 27.36 acres.
A portion of the subject property was in the Kissler, Cobb, Eagy annexation project AZ-03-018 and a
corresponding Development Agreement (DA). (Similarly, a portion of the Sadie Creek Promenade
Subdivision project immediately north of this site was also in that annexation application.) The DA
requires that any tùture use be approved either through a site specific CUP application or an overall
concept plan.
The overall design of the site is paramount on City Council and ITD approval of the Eagle Road
approach. However, ifthe applicant is unsuccessful in obtaining an approach, Staff feels the proposed
conditions and an amended Development Agreement for the 27.36 acres could sufficiently address
interconnectivity issues associated with development of the site. Currently the Sadie Creek Promenade
Subdivision property to the north provides one public street access to Ustick Road, and staff is proposing
cross access to the two other approved Ustick Road approaches.
In addition, the applicant will be required to connect to and provide cross access to the three new access
points to Ustick Road at the following locations in the proposed Sadie Creek Promenade Subdivision
applications:
.
Driveway #1 - 400 feet west of Eagle (right-inlright-out with center median)
Driveway #2 - 600 feet west of Eagle (full access)
Driveway #3 -1,100 feet west of Eagle (full access public street with proposed traffic signal)
.
.
Other: DA is recommended.
Phasing Plan: Staff believes that some of the amenities proposed with the development should be
constructed prior to the development build out. Therefore, that prior to issuance of any certificate of
zoning compliance, all landscaping shall be constructed along the southern and eastern property boundary
and along Eagle Road to the point of connection with adjoining projects.
Non-Residential Buildings: The applicant has requested a maximum of 54,000 square feet of
retail/restaurant/office spaces. Staff proposes to limit the applicant to their request with an allowance of
up to 20% additional commercial square footage (65,000) for more marketable conditions. The maximum
square footage of one single building shall not exceed 12 of the maximum request.
Residential Buildings: The applicant has shown several elevations for both alley-accessed residential,
townhouses, and detached single family residential products. Staff supports these elevations but would
also support better clarification of the specific height, bulk, types of materials, and locations proposed for
each type to address the concerns of adjoining property owners and to include within the DA.
Pathwavs: The applicant shall coordinate with the Meridian Parks Department and Nampa Meridian
Irrigation District to define the location of the multiuse pathway, bridge maintenance, and landscaping
along the Finch Lateral.
Elevations:
Yes
Commission Recommendation: approval at their February 16,2006 hearing:
. In favor: Bob Unger, Red Cliff Development
. In opposition and/or commenting: Billy Knorpp, 2972 Leslie Drive - Opposed to increased traffc
Steve Grant 1534 Leslie - wanted masonry fence on west property boundary.
Candy Seeley 1567 North Leslie Way- Fencing and change Multi-family to office.
Linda Morris. 13 74 Leslie Way - Fencing and pathway issues
Betty Rosso 2832 Leslie Drive - Canal tiling, multifamily, traffic
David Thurston. 1470 Leslie Way - Canal and irrigation
Key Issues of Discussion by Commission:
. Eagle Road Access;
. Perimeter buffers including landscaping, screening, elevations, pathways, canals and fencing
material;
. Cross access requirement to other properties to the north
Key Commission Changes to Staff Recommendation:
. Revise Condition 1.1.16 to read that Eagle Road access is essential and a full access at the y¡ mile
is preferred.
. Revise Condition 1.1.4 to read that no changes to the landscaping along Eagle Road are required.
Outstanding Issue(s) for City Council:
. Eagle Road access conditioning in this report has not changed with the Planning Commission
Recommendation. Planning Staff is recommending denial of the access point to Eagle Road and
to maintain consistency with Staffs recommendation the staff report dated March 14, 2006 has
not been altered with respect to modifications to the Eagle Road right of way.
. The Planning Commission made a recommendation based on the site design dated February 13,
2006. The Commission requested that if the City Council Denies the Variance then the site
design dated February 13,2006 be remanded to the Commission in order to make a revised
recommendation on a site plan showing no access to Eagle Road.
Findings:
Yes-for approval (not for the variance)
Notes:
Bienville Square Variance Request
Highlights of Proposed Development: variance to standard of having access at the 12 mile. The Variance
application proposes a new approach to Eagle Road, SH 55, one access driveways for right in, right out
with a possible left in.
On March 7, 2006, Idaho Transportation Department (LTD) staff submitted a response to the request for
access to Eagle Road. lTD staff indicated that the proposed access point does not meet district policies.
On February 16,2006, ITD's executive committee held a decision on the access permit application
contingent on obtaining a Variance to Section 11-3H of the UDC.
There is no development agreement tied to the locations of Eagle Road access on the 18.43 acres that
would specifically address access to Eagle Road/SH55:
There was no lawful and properly pennitted existing use effective September 15,2005.
ACHD has approved three access points to Ustick Road, which will be upgraded at the controlled
intersection. ACHD has also provided a public road connection (Sadie Creek Avenue), Planning Staff
required multiple cross access points to the north which were to be designed as commercial collectors
with appropriate widths and limited connections (Cajon Court, Pvt). Staff conditioned these road
connections to serve as the frontage type roadways as required by LTD for traffic circulation and no
further connections would be required if properly designed and managed.
These public access points are less than 1,200 feet from any point on the site and when properly designed,
staff feels that the size of the site does not constitute reason for a variance as it is common to drive less
than 1/4 of a mile when accessing a public road system, especially for residential and office uses.
Traffic Accident Data
Of the top 10 intersections in Meridian for total number of accidents, six of those intersections were along
Eagle Road/SH55 (Overland, Magic View, St. Luke's, Franklin, Lanark and Fairview).
2004 TOP 10 MERIDIAN ACCIDENT LOCATIONS
INTERSECTION TOTAL # ACCIDENTS
EAGLE/F AIRVIEW 82
F AIRVlEW /LOCUST GROVE 46
MERIDIAN/OVERLAND 44
EAGLE/FRANKLIN 41
F AIRVIEW /RECORDS 39
EAGLE/MAGIC VIEW 30
EAGLE/LANARK 28
EAGLE/ST LUKES LN 26
MAIN/FRANKLIN 23
EAGLE/OVERLAND 20
In 2004, 228 of 1,357 total accidents in the City (16.7%) occurred on Eagle Road. There is a direct
correlation between the number of access points/intersections along a roadway and the potential for
accidents. The higher the accessibility, the lower the mobility. While staff is not arguing that every new
driveway or public street access to Eagle Road will cause or be directly responsible for accidents, we do
believe restricting the number of new accesses helps to ensure a safer roadway.
Variance Findings:
A. The variance shall not grant a right or special privilege that is not otherwise allowed in the
district:
If the City Council grants the access point to Eagle Road/SH55, it would grant a right that is currently
prohibited not only in the C-G zone but for all new development adjacent to state highways. The applicant
has been conditioned to provide a cross access frontage road system to which they have agreed with the
Planning Commission findings for the project approval. They applicant has more than 800 feet with
three connections to Ustick Road
Section 11-3H-3 of the UDC does state that the City Council may consider and apply modifications to the
standards of Article H upon specific recommendation of the lTD. However, LTD has not made that
recommendation.
B. The variance relieves an undue hardship because of characteristics of the site;
Council finds there are no physical characteristics of the site which demand access points be constructed
that are any more unique or different than other properties along Eagle Road/SH55. For example, there
are no major canals or ditches which prevent access to Ustick Road. The subject property has no barriers
to connecting multiple access points to Ustick Road as approved by ACHD. Settlers Irrigation District
would allow the applicant to cover the Finch Lateral if requested for a canal crossing.
C. The variance shall not be detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare.
Council finds that granting the right~in/right-out access point to Eagle Road/SH55 has the potential of
increasing traffic conflicts due to the increased number of vehicles that will need to merge with existing
southbound traffic. Granting a full movement access as requested by the Commission has the additional
potential conflict of adding vehicles to the center turn lane, does not comply with the Eagle Road Corridor
study, and slows traffic speeds where the speed limit is 55 miles per hour.
Commission Recommendation: NA
Findings:
Yes-for denial
Notes: