HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-07-10 Julie Duran
Charlene Way
From:Julie Duran <julieduran09@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, July 10, 2023 11:37 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:Regarding the Development Agreement Modification request submitted by CSHQA
(Linder Village MDA H-2023-0005)
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Regarding the Development Agreement Modification request submitted by CSHQA (Linder Village MDA H-
2023-0005).
This application is a laundry list of largely dissimilar modification requests and we hope the City will consider
their merits individually, taking into consideration the impact on the lives of your constituents and not just
the business interests of the applicants.
We have two particular areas of concern.
The Crystal Barn. The developer wants to combine three smaller buildings into one very large multi-level
structure that is much bigger than what was originally approved for this space. But it’s not just the footprint. It
would be an entertainment venue with features expected to draw visitors from far away, bringing in even
more traffic into what was intended to be a community-level project. This sort of attraction belongs out near
the interstate alongside Roaring Springs, Top Golf, Vertical View, etc.
The apartments. We don’t object to multi-family and other residential projects per se. But a massive 5-story,
500+ unit apartment complex would be totally out of scale for the surrounding area, dwarfing the adjacent
neighborhoods. You have to travel at least a mile to find a building taller than even two stories. The Prelude
apartments on the other end of this square mile are “only” three stories and they tower above the nearby
homes and businesses.
Besides the obtrusive visual anomaly, we are alarmed at the prospect of increased traffic caused by hundreds
of additional vehicles, especially those who use our neighborhood streets as shortcuts to avoid the inevitable
congestion on Chinden, Linder, and Meridian Road. It would be a threat to our quality of life and our property
values.
The MDA concedes that multi-family development is not permitted in a C-C district without a Conditional Use
Permit and that their multi-family building is “preliminary and subject to change.” So why is the CUP even
included in this request? We note there is no mention whatsoever of the building’s size or the type and
density of residential housing it would consist of. We know about their plans for a 5-story, 500+ unit complex
because that was what they presented to us at the neighborhood meeting last November. Whether they are
concealing their plans from the Council or they genuinely don’t know what they want to do, the CUP request
should be denied until they can bring more to the table than a wish list.
As for reasons not to allow multi-family:
1.) This square mile already has sufficient multi-family, including The Prelude by Brighton, the Linder Springs,
and Sagarra Subdivision.
2.) Multi-family is NOT an approved use in a C-C zone. It needs a conditional use permit to be approved, which
means there should be a compelling reason or sufficient cause for the council to grant that request.
3.) Quality of life: While West Ada has to, by state law, agree to serve any children in its area, the city has
finally asked the schools to report what enrollment will be affected if an application is approved. The fact that
this would overcrowd the schools is a quality of life issue for Meridian's children. (With the school bond voted
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down, school boundaries may be shifting even more). Also, the strain on infrastructure as far as roads are
concerned. We will have to see what impact ITD and ACHD report this would have on the roads, but there will
be a pretty large increase in traffic through the neighborhood, especially during school hours as residents cut
through to go to Heritage and Rocky so they can avoid Meridian and Linder/Chinden.
4.) This applicant has already had several DA modifications for this land granted, including: A larger footprint
for a grocery store than was allowed in a MU-C area, a variation for a commercial use (ICCU bank), the
occupancy permit granted for business opening and use before agreed Chinden improvements were
completed, and an increased density allowance in the Sagarra Subdivision by using a PUD, allowing, smaller
setbacks and allowing different housing types.
5.) Meridian does not have strong architectural control guidelines, but generally speaking buildings should
blend with the surrounding area. A five story structure in an area that is already almost completely developed
with 1-3 stories and below would not be a cohesive design.
Please, please deny the conditional use permit for multi-family.
Thank you,
Julie Duran
1236 W Bacall St, Meridian, ID 83646
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