HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-01 Rachel Jones
Charlene Way
From:Rachel Jones <racheljones7@mac.com>
Sent:Thursday, September 1, 2022 3:14 PM
To:Clerks Comment
Subject:Bridgetower Multi-family CUP H-2022-0047
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To whom it may concern:
One of the main reasons we moved to Meridian, Idaho was for a greater quality of life, and a much
slower paced environment to raise our children than previous areas we have lived.
We are highly concerned about and opposed to the proposed high-density project.
Our community is already undergoing a huge population expansion with the surrounding development
including various single and multi-family residential! There are at least three major surrounding multi-
family projects soon to be completed in the next few months on Ten Mile, Chinden, and Black Cat that
are already going to add to and accelerate the density, as well as multiple future ‘high density’ projects
in the works and approved in our immediate area.
From what I understand all this massive development will feed into our currently overrun local Pleasant
View Elementary, Star Middle, and Owyhee High School. Our schools, especially Pleasant View
Elementary is already struggling immensely with capacity, rising classroom sizes and lack of teachers.
The problem is real, including lack of classrooms available for the expanding student population! This
proposed project will increase those numbers to beyond the breaking point because we haven’t even
seen the effects of the other immediate growth yet! Please talk with local schoolteachers and
representatives to dive into this problem in more detail. From what I understand, it will take over three
years to secure votes on bonds to add new schools nearby. It does not make sense to compound this
struggling issue beyond the max. Our overworked teachers and students deserve more. What are the
measures in place to help this problem?
Traffic is already an enormous problem. I would suggest to the people on the board or to those to
make this decision to drive down McMillian Road to Owyhee High School during school pickup and
drop off times to observe the horrible local traffic conditions. It is simply outrageous! I would also
suggest driving down Black Cat to Star Middle School to observe the insane traffic going on there as
well, even the school has noted it is ‘out of control’. Ten Mile is also seeing such a higher demand in
traffic! This high-density project would only add to the madness. Furthermore, the school bus system is
also under heavy strain. They are typically running 30-45 minutes late and up to a 1 hour after school
has been dismissed. This is a big problem on many fronts.
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I have observed first-hand what a high-density project like this has done in the past to the quiet
community that I grew up in, in Washington State. It was not positive. It changed the dynamic of our
whole town. Our schools were very highly impacted, traffic increased, crime rose, and safety issues
became alarming. I am concerned a similar thing may happen with this project and adapt the dynamic
of our area greatly.
Our community is just currently not designed or equipped yet to absorb this huge explosion in growth
all at once!
I am concerned about the immediate and local impact this will have on my neighborhood in
Bridgetower West. From what I understand, this project will cut thru our quiet neighborhood and that
is unacceptable. A proposed average of 400+ additional cars is alarming for the safety of the young
children who frequently and consistently play and bike throughout the neighborhood, especially since
our main neighborhood street ‘Gondola’ is the road Pleasant View Elementary is on. It is plain to see
that the high-density traffic would choose to use Gondola to cut over to Black Cat as a thoroughfare for
exit increasing safety concerns for not only neighborhood residents but also young Elementary aged
students.
This project is highly impactful for the property values and the desirability of our area and
neighborhood in which we have invested in. Overflow parking from the proposed complex would also
affect our neighborhood’s streets, safety, and unsightliness.
What options are available to reduce the high-density nature of this project, to improve the overall
design of this proposed community to be more stylistically lower in height and cohesive to preserve
our nearby property values, eliminating the connection to our neighborhood streets and helping
alleviate the above issues?
We greatly care about the direction of our community and would like to see our leaders respect most
citizens who oppose this development.
Sincerely, Rachel Jones
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