HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-08-24 Dr. Norman Fahrer
Charlene Way
From:Norman Fahrer <nwfahrer@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, August 24, 2022 7:51 PM
To:Clerks Comment
Subject:We are against the application for Bridgetower Multi-family CUP H-2022-0047
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Public Comment for Bridgetower Multi-family CUP H-2022-0047
By:
Dr. Norman Fahrer
3869 W Anatole St
Meridian, ID 83646
Dear Madam or Sir,
While we indeed welcome the development of the section between Ten Mile RD and N St. Vito Way and
the section north to it, the type of housing proposed in the above project is detrimental
to the existing community in our area but also to the city in general.
This is for a number of reasons rooted in real-life observation and hard-earned experience.
We are well aware of studies sponsored by Multi-Family Housing Associations and performed by sit-at-home-
theoreticians
who are quick to dismiss these concerns as exaggerations, anecdotal, or as unfounded, and who try to label anyone
with such objections and concerns
with whimsical acronyms like NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) as if this were a humorous issue - which it is not.
Again, we speak from what we have experienced on the ground, and we simply don’t want to go through the
bad experience again and again.
1. We have already a project very similar to this one (almost completed) on the West-side at Back Cat Rd. In
addition, there are currently many such units
being built to the South where Franklin Rd is and at other places in the wider area. A whopping 235 units in that
restricted space is rather excessive. Is it really
necessary or beneficial to pepper the area with high-density housing?
2. This type of housing is plagued by a very high turnover rate. Nationally, it has historically hovered around 50%.
This is compounded by a high
turnover rate of the associated housing employees. It is consistently double that of the normal employee
turnover rate. As a consequence, there is very
little attachment or affinity to the community and little interest in the upkeep of the quality of life. Many of these
housing blocks have clunky metal staircases
leading to the upper floor and reduce the ground floor entries to dark, tunnel-like ducts. Despite the “lip-stick”
put on by the builders/developers, these
buildings are notoriously badly soundproofed. I lived in one of them in 2020 for a while. Once you sit at dinner
and hear the upstairs folks flushing their toilet,
you know instantly that you won’t stay there any longer than absolutely necessary.
Note that the application request states that 66%, i.e. 157 units, will have only 1 bedroom. The stress from living
as a couple or even with children in a 1
bedroom apartment in close proximity to other tenants will cause social issues and add to the turn-over rate.
Realistically, these 157 of the 235 units fall
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somewhere between Motel complex and single-person Condo housing.
3. Many of the above factors bring about a living-environment that is rather conducive to the influx of crime,
especially drug-related crime. Idaho is already struggling
(according to “IdahoNews”) with skyrocketing overdose deaths from the infamous fentanyl drug. Many of the
current residents feel like refugees who have
escaped (fairly recently) from crime-infested places in other states where conditions are now commonly
apocalyptic and traumatizing, especially for families
with their children. Many of us have experienced firsthand the painful erosion of communities and their descent
into anarchy and lawlessness. Though well-
intentioned, this kind of housing persistently induces a low quality of living all around it. They often fall far short
of delivering their many promises.
4. The resources and infrastructure associated with our area do not scale up with the proposed huge increase in
housing, especially with the proposed high-
density construction. Others have already elaborated on this, especially with regard to traffic and schools. I
concur with my neighbors' assessment. The huge
expansion in housing to the South and West in just the last year has made this most tangible to all who live here.
Even though we wish otherwise, these
resources are rivalry resources and cannot be diluted arbitrarily without jeopardizing the functioning of the
community. Safe communities with a good quality
of life are tough to build. They are fragile - just ask any HOA. Once enough members become discouraged such
communities quickly fall apart.
Please understand that the vast majority in our neighborhood does welcome development here. In a previous
hearing (sometime last year)
some city council members made some good suggestions as to what this area could look like (suggestions which
are not reflected in the above proposal at all).
Perhaps, if developers, city council members, and affected neighbors put their ideas together upfront rather than
just always reacting to each other, everyone
could - so to speak - have their fill. And after all: we LOVE Idaho.
Thanks,
Norman Fahrer
--
Dr. Norman Fahrer
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