Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-26 Regular Meridian City Council September 26, 2023. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 26, 2023, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Brad Hoaglun, Luke Cavener, Jessica Perreault, Liz Strader and John Overton. Members Absent: Joe Borton. Other Present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Bill Parsons, Chris McGilvery, Joe Bongiorno and Dean Willis. ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE Liz Strader Joe Borton _X_ Brad Hoaglun _X_ John Overton _X_ Jessica Perreault _X—Luke Cavener X Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Council, we will call the meeting to order. For the record it is September 26, 2023. It's 6:00 p.m. We will begin tonight's regular City Council meeting with roll call attendance. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Simison: Next item is the Pledge of Allegiance. If you would all, please, rise and join us in the pledge. (Pledge of Allegiance recited.) COMMUNITY INVOCATION Simison: Mr. Clerk, confirm we had no one sign up under the community invocation? Johnson: You are correct. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Simison: Okay. Then with that we will move on to adoption of the agenda. Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I move the adoption of the agenda as published. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 2 of 28 Overton: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda as published. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the agenda is adopted. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. PUBLIC FORUM — Future Meeting Topics Simison: Next item up is the -- first item is the public forum. Mr. Clerk? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, we do have four people who signed up before the meeting. First Nick Vernon. Then we have Megan Kelley. Austen Ater. And Derek Nelson. Simison: Should be good. Just speak into the mic. Nelson: Okay. I can do this. Mr. Mayor, Members of Council, I know it went through under the Consent Agenda in the work session. I am speaking tonight just to address the TLA I have before me between the City of Meridian and the Meridian Professional Firefighters. This for me is a big night. It's the first time I have been able to sign a contract representing the members of Local 4627. It's a big night I think for them. I think it should be a big night for the community. I hope it's a big night for the city in the sense that like -- this being my first contract, going through the process of negotiation, seeing how all this works, I was definitely taken away with, you know, a lot of hope and that we have a really good relationship working with the city, working with the legal team -- Bill Nary's legal team, working with folks in City Council, Christena Barney, with our representative liaisons Perreault and Strader. The experience I think -- they were maybe not as fast as we want. It was a very positive experience and -- and I think we worked very well together and so, you know, in honor of, you know, collaboration and, you know, working together to get through issues in a positive way towards a solution I think it was a really good experience and so I was excited tonight to see it on the agenda, to see it go through Consent Agenda and to be able to stand up here and sign it and make kind of a deal out of it, because it's my first time, so -- so be it. So, with that thank you very very much. Can they clap or anything? Do I put the date and time or you do that? Simison: Well, thank you for an amazing three minutes. We will keep our meetings very short moving forward. All right. With that is there -- was that the last one, Mr. Clerk? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, that was it. PROCLAMATIONS [Action Item] Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 3 of 28 1. National CleanUp Day Proclamation Simison: Okay. Then we will move on to -- first item up is a proclamation for National Cleanup Day. If I could have Annie Garcia and the representatives from the Ocean Network Express join me at the podium. Thanks for joining us this evening. We will go and do a proclamation and, then, allow you to speak -- give a few words on behalf of the event that you guys are promoting. Whereas National Cleanup Day is a partnership with our city local land managers and local and national nonprofit organizations to protect the health and beauty of our city, as well as our nation. Whereas the City of Meridian takes great pride in its health and beauty and supports a clean, safe environment now and in the future and whereas a cleaner environment promotes positive community values, property values and economic vitality of our city and whereas the 2023 good clean fun theme serves as a reminder to take care of our environment, pick up after ourselves and others, encourages pride in our community and whereas National Cleanup Day promotes an opportunity for citizens to join together and help our city become clean and more enjoyable. Therefore, I, Mayor Robert E. Simison, do hereby proclaim the third Saturday, September 23rd, as National Cleanup Day in the City of Meridian and encourage all residents, businesses, civic groups, government agencies and other organizations to participate on National Cleanup Day by helping clean up their community and supporting efforts to protect our land, water and air. Dated the 26th day of September 2023. So, on behalf of the city myself, City Council, thank you for bringing attention to this issue and I would like to present you this proclamation. Garcia: Good evening. We are very excited that the city has adopted this proclamation. Ocean Network Express is an international shipping company, so impacting our communities is dear to our heart and we are excited to be now a neighbor in Meridian and also impacting our community here locally. Thank you. RESOLUTIONS [Action Item] 2. Resolution No. 23-2054: A resolution establishing the appointment of Shaun Muscolo to Seat 3 of the Meridian Arts Commission; and providing an effective date Simison: Next item on the agenda is Resolution No. 23-2054 resolution establishing Shaun Muscolo to Seat 3 of the Meridian Arts Commission and providing an effective date. Council, I sat down and met with the applicants for the Arts Commission and Shawn definitely rose to the top in that regards. Currently I think the -- when it comes to relationship to the arts -- currently has been a fundraiser for the Idaho Watercolor Society and that is a regular attendee of the Initial Point Gallery opens. She loves all sorts of art. Couldn't get her to really say which one was the favorite, but, you know, definitely wants to focus on more art for the missing middle in arts. You know, there is lots for kids and seniors and maybe not much for those in between. So, that will be Shaun's focus in some regards, as well as fitting in on the commission. So, with that I would like to put Shaun before you for appointment. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 4 of 28 Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I always appreciate when we get great commissioners that have such passion and enthusiasm for the area in which they are serving and it sounds like Shaun's going to be a great addition. So, with that I move we approve Resolution No. 23-2054 appointing Shawn Muscolo to Seat 3 of the Meridian Arts Commission. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second. Do I have discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is adopted. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. 3. Resolution No. 23-2055: A resolution appointing Terry Dennington to Seat 4 and Alan Helms to Seat 5 of the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission; and providing an effective date Simison: I didn't see Shaun -- okay. All right. Then with that we will move on to our Item 3, which is Resolution No. 23-2055, a resolution appointing Terry Dennington to Seat 4 and Alan Helms to Seat 5 of the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission and providing an effective date. Terry and Alan are both here and I don't think that they are a stranger to probably anybody on City Council in that regards. I think Terry's done it all for the city one way or the other and she has been serving on the Mayor's senior advisory board and she's not going anywhere off of that, but I think she -- this is just the next step in her evolution in getting involved in the community in a different level. Probably to our knowledge maybe our most engaged citizen on the budget as an example. So, you might have a new budget hawk in the Parks Commission. So, good luck with that, Steve, in that regards. But goes by Fuller Park and really likes for -- the way it integrates close neighborhood and just generally engage citizens in our community and not just in parks, in all aspects. And, then, Alan Helms, you know, he is -- lives -- I'm not going to say his favorite park is the golf course, because that was not his answer, but it very well could be. He does live there on the golf course, and, honestly, it was important for me to find someone who had a relationship to the golf course. Since we no longer have the focus group, having someone that has at least the interest and a passion for what goes on there at the golf course was important, but he also is a fan of Fuller Park and Kleiner and Heroes. Proud of them all from that standpoint. But Alan has proven himself to be an engaged community member and I think together they are both going to bring a lot of -- they are going to both be engaged in the parks and I think that's the thing, whether it's directly with the parks or with their neighbors and others around to bring that feedback back. So, with that these are my two nominees for your consideration for the Meridian Parks and Rec Commission, Overton: Mr. Mayor? Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 5 of 28 Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: With that I would like to make a motion to approve Resolution No. 23-2055, a resolution appointing Terry Dennington to Seat 4 and Alan Helms to Seat 5 of the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission and providing an effective date. Cavener: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to approve Resolution No. 23-2055. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Simison: Alan, Terry, would you like to come up and make any comments? Dennington: Mayor Simison and Council Members, thank you so much for your support and that you have faith that I will be somebody who will do a good job serving in this. I'm looking forward to sitting on the commission and serving the city and the citizens of our community and learning more and more about exactly what -- what that commission and what that Parks and Rec Commission does. So, thank you so much. Helms: I'm going to basically repeat what Terry says, because she did a very good job there. I do live on the golf course and I am very proud that the Parks and Rec took over control of the operation on that several years ago. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people that live there appreciate that, even though they all have their own opinions, but, anyway, just want to say thank you very much for the opportunity and we will be working hard to serve our community. Thank you. 4. Resolution No. 23-2056: A resolution appointing Ken Freeze to Seat 1 of the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission; and providing an effective date Simison: Thank you both. Okay. Next item up is Item 4, which is Resolution No. 23- 2056, which is a Resolution appointing Ken Freeze to Seat 1 of the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission and providing an effective date. You know, it's always great to find people who have just a general interest in history to get involved and serve, especially on our preservation. Some people really like Meridian history. Other people just like history and I think that that's really where my conversation with -- with Ken really got involved. You know, he talked about his Coast Guard website, which tells the story of the people of the Coast Guard that really try to bring out that element, you know, about history is about events and activities, but can be as much about the people who were there at the time in that -- in that regards. One of the largest problems he identified in historic preservation is most people just don't care. So, how do you get people engaged in the conversation, especially if it's something that's relevant to, you know, your downtown area that you are wanting to get people focused in on that and the Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 6 of 28 interesting fact is part of the U.S. White House society and I think that goes back to the Coast Guard connection, which is big in his past. So, with that I would like to recommend Ken Freeze to the Historic Preservation Commission. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I think my good fellow Council Member Perreault would agree, when you get an opportunity to appoint somebody from District 6 you do it and -- I kid. I kid. Ken is a -- to your point, Mr. Mayor, really cares about history and I think he is going to do a great job. Like all of your appointees you brought forth tonight bring a lot of passion for their roles and so I'm happy to make a motion in favor of Resolution No. 23-2056, resolution appointing Ken Freeze to Seat 1 of the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission and providing for an effective date. Overton: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second. Do I have discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Simison: Ken? Didn't see him either, so -- and don't see him online, so -- okay. Sorry. Come on -- do we have -- would you like to make some comments? I was looking right at you. Freeze: Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to serve. I -- while I was working I didn't have time to do this sort of thing. Now I -- I do and I always said that I would get out and serve the community that I'm living in and this is one way that I can do it. I'm actually hoping that I can work with even some of the other Commissions, so we can get some synergy going and -- and really expand on the history of the area and you said I love -- I love -- I dig into history. I love it. I think it has a lot to tell us, too. And I always said that if I was ever president one of my main cabinet members would be a historian, because I would say what happened in the past and how can we learn from that in what we are dealing with today and I think the past has a lot to teach us. Thank you. Simison: Thank you. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Thank you. I would like to just say this is such a unique commission. I had the opportunity to serve as the liaison and thank you very much for sharing your passion Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 7 of 28 for history with us, because it is a really unique appointment and from every retired friend I have had they all say they are busier now than they were when they were working, so if you have the time we have the opportunity. ACTION ITEMS 5. Public Hearing for Windrow Neighborhood (H-2023-0031) by Conger Group, located at the northeast corner of S. Linder Rd. and W. Amity Rd. A. Request: Annexation of 46.133 acres of land with an R-8 zoning District. B. Request: Rezone of 19.62 acres of land from the R-4 to the R-8 zoning district. C. Request: Preliminary Plat consisting of 252 single-family residential building lots and 40 common lots on 65.10 acres in the proposed R- 8 zoning district. D. Development Agreement Modification (Inst. #2016-007443) for the purpose of creating a new Development Agreement to develop the proposed residential subdivision. Simison: Okay. With that we will move on to our Action Items this evening. It looks like we have got a crowd that wants to stick around and -- for this public hearing, but public hearing for Windrow -- open the public hearing for Windrow Neighborhood, H-2023- 0031, with staff comments. Parsons: Thank you, Mayor, Members of Council. Pleasure to be here with you tonight. So, tonight I will be discussing with you the Windrow project, which consists of annexation, a rezone, a preliminary plat and a development agreement modification. The subject property consists of 65.1 acres of land, currently zoned RUT and R-4 in -- RUT in Ada county and R-4 in the city and it's located at the northeast corner of South Linder Road and West Amity Road. As you can see here looking at the zoning map, a portion of this property is already annexed and did annex into the city in 2015 with the South Meridian annexation property and this particular portion of the site already has an existing development agreement on it as well and I will touch on that in my presentation. The -- the current future land use map designation for this particular property is medium density residential, which -- in which we anticipate three to eight dwelling units to the acre. So, again, the applicant is here to discuss annexing approximately 46.1 acres of land, rezoning 19.62 acres of land from the R-4 to the R-8 zoning district and, then, subdividing the property with 252 building lots and 40 common lots and, then, also a development agreement that will encompass the entire 65 acres, not just the 9.6 acres that's part of the rezone or what was annexed in 2015. As we transition from the Planning and Zoning Commission to tonight's hearing we were able to work with the Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 8 of 28 applicant and worked out a lot of the conditions that had to relate to the block length and also the phasing plan that's before you this evening here. So, what I have tried to attempt for you is to share with you what the particulars are of the project and how the phasing has changed tonight. So, essentially, the plat has revised not to add lots, but to mitigate some of the block lengths that we brought up in the staff report. The burgundy arrows that I show you here are the five stub streets that are being required as part of the project. You can see there is also a red arrow for the emergency access, which is located at the northern boundary of the site. The applicant is also proposing three common driveways as part of a development, which I have highlighted in purple. There is one existing home that will remain as part of the development, which will be located on this lot here that is highlighted with the yellow circle and, then, the blue ring that I have around this intersection is the block length mitigation that we worked out with the applicant as we came forward to you this evening. I would also mention to you that the plat that's before you tonight is roughly 3.87 dwelling units to the acre, which falls within that density range of the MDR designation currently. Access to the proposed development -- there are two. One is proposed from Amity and the other is from Linder Road. If you have had a chance -- I know you have looked at the staff report. You can see that Amity and Linder Road are a long ways off from being widened 2036 to 2040 is what was in the ACHD staff report. However, ACHD did require the applicant to make some modifications at both of those intersections as part of this project. So, they will have to put in a -- a right-hand turn lane at both of those entrance points and, then, also center turn lanes, which is consistent with the mitigation that was required as part of their traffic study. Again, a lot of the discussion at the Planning and Zoning Commission had to do with the phasing of this project and the reason why we spent a lot of time working with the applicant on it is we wanted to make sure that we got the appropriate street frontage improvements, amenities and open space dialed in on the earlier phases, rather than the latter phases, and I know that's something important to this -- this body and so we wanted to make sure that we got those. So, as you can see here phase one will include 64 lots and include all of the Amity Road frontage improvements and, then, phase two will include another additional 60 lots and include all of the Linder Road frontage improvements. We thought that was important, since there is nothing out in that area -- area currently, because it's a two lane roadway. And, then, because there is an important amenity along the Calkins Lateral, which bisects the property right through the middle of that linear green open space you see here, we wanted the applicant to put that in with phase three, which they have elected to do as part of that recommendation. So, originally, they were proposing six phases and now before you tonight they reduced one phase, reordering it, and so now really the primary focus of changing the phasing was not only -- it was to get the street frontages done sooner and amenities and open space online quicker for the residents that may be living out here. So, as I mentioned to you, in the UDC we do have limitation on block lengths. Typically we don't want our blocks to exceed 750 feet. However, there are instances where an applicant can go beyond that and so if you had a chance to look at the staff report you know a lot of these blocks do -- a lot of these block faces do exceed the 750 foot requirement. However, they -- under the UDC the applicant has mitigated that with either additional open space or ped connections and has been -- have been required to add traffic calming to mitigate that. The only outstanding block length that they are Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 9 of 28 asking for a Council waiver is something that we can allow -- the staff can approve is -- it's in your core tonight is that extended block length that runs right along in the Calkins -- south side of the Calkins Lateral. So, essentially, in the staff report this -- this block length was approximately 1,800 linear feet. You -- this body has the ability to grant a waiver of that and the applicant it's actually done a pretty decent job of trying to eliminate the -- adding some curbs to the road to help break that up. We had a similar situation in south Meridian called Howry Lane Subdivision, where they were tying into an existing Boise city subdivision and by the time you took where the road was extended from that side all the way to the collector road it was over 1 ,700 linear feet as well and the applicant was actually granted approval by this body to do this type of intersection that I have highlighted here to help break up that block length. We found that wasn't an appropriate mitigation for that. We also had the applicant go back to the irrigation district to see if they would allow additional crossings, whether -- whether it would be pedestrian or vehicular crossings and the response back from the irrigation district was, no, you are getting what you got. So, they did not support any pedestrian facilities or another vehicle -- vehicular connection over -- over the lateral either. I would also mention that this waterway will -- will remain open as well. So, again, as allowed under the code it can remain open as long as it's improved as a linear open space, which the applicant will be doing that as part of this project. So, knowing all of that information staff has worked with the applicant. We did inform the Commission that we would be coming forward with a revised plat to share with you and that the phasing would be changing as well. So, again, we have met -- we are comfortable with what the applicant is proposing before we get into this evening. These are the revised common drive exhibits as well that were required as part of the project. As I mentioned to you there are three proposed. And, then, applicant is meeting all requirements for common driveway standards. Common open space for the site. Because this is a proposed R-8 development the UDC does require a minimum of 15 percent of qualified open space. This particular project before you this evening is proposing 16 percent. So one percent over the -- the minimum code requirement. And, then, as far as the amenities go we are looking at pocket park, passive open space, sitting area, a dog park and, then, quite a bit of multi-use pathway as part of this project. I always tease this applicant they like to build a lot of pathways and this is one of those projects that is going to have a lot of pathways with it. One along Calkins Lateral and, then, they will also be required to put in ten foot sidewalks along both of their street frontages along Linder and Amity Road as part of this development. If you had a chance to look at the staff report -- and I will go back to my graphic real quick. You can see that I have highlighted a green arrow on this particular -- on the revised plat. This is one where we felt -- staff is recommending that they add an additional amenity in the northern portion of the development. I would mention to the Council that the amenities that they are proposing exceed the current standard. So, this would be above and beyond. So, they are already exceeding. This would be exceeding even further if they were to add another additional amenity and the reason why we had required another amenity in this portion of the development was the fact that their phasing plan -- they weren't bringing enough amenities online with their previous phasing plan, but now that they are doing more with phase one, phase two and phase three, we feel pretty comfortable that the residents will get those amenities sooner rather than later, which you can see just from our perspective that being in that Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 10 of 28 northwest corner would be nice to have a little extra layer up in that corner. But, again, applicant is proposing more open space and more amenities than required by UDC standards. As I mentioned to you, there are -- there is one waterway that bisects this property is the Calkins Lateral. Again that will remain open. Their previous plan showed another ditch that ran through this site, but after working with the applicant it was determined it was misrepresented. It wasn't actually on this property. So, that was no longer an issue, so we did remove that requirement as well. The applicant is proposing, again, single family homes on this particular development. So, here is a sample of the approved elevations, which is consistent with the surrounding developments that have been approved by the City. Planning and Zoning Commission did recommend approval of this particular project. Testifying in favor was the applicant's representative Hethe Clark. The major items -- topic of concern by the Commission, again, was the block length that I shared with you. They were comfortable moving forward since it fell in -- it was part of your decision making process tonight and, then, as far as -- and that is the only outstanding issue for you tonight. And, then, looking at the public record it looks like some public testimony did come in late this afternoon. Let's see. So, Mike and Melissa Bernard submitted some concerns -- again concerned about growth and making sure that we are planning roads appropriately. And, then, Shari Stiles from Engineering Solutions, who represents Brundage Estates development to the north, is not opposed to the project, but just recommending that those lots that touch Brundage Estates remain R-4 and provide similar lot sizes. If you had a chance -- if you look at the layout -- I have looked at the testimony and I was trying to analyze that by the -- for the applicant. But the Calkins Lateral actually is a 51 foot easement between this project and that Brundage Estates project in this general location here. So, there is adequate separation, at least in this portion of the development. So, with that I think I will just conclude my presentation and stand for any questions you may have. Simison: Thank you, Bill. Council, any questions for staff? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thank you. Thank you, Bill. I think regarding the -- you did get a comment kind of late in the day, but I thought it was interesting. From Melissa Barnard. And think part of the comment was regarding collector roads, if there has sort of been adequate planning done here and I just wondered if you could address that specifically. Parsons: Mayor, Members of the Council, happy to. So, on our -- we work with ACHD and part of our -- we negotiate what the master street map is and those collectors are added to our GIS layer. So, we do work closely with them. We do have them planned out and they are --just in this particular project here the collector roadways just adjacent to the east a little bit farther. So, it's aligning more at the mid mile than at the quarter mile in which she had provided in her testimony. So, again, the streets are planned. They are -- they can move. They are not -- they don't have to exactly be at the half mile Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 11 of 28 mark. But we do work closely with ACHD to make sure that we are getting adequate collector road systems in place Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Just maybe one comment. I think if we can point people to where they can look at the master street map that always helps, you know, as people are doing their research. I believe it's on the ACHD website. Parsons: That is correct. Strader: I was reviewing it. Parsons: We have someone from ACHD on the line tonight, too, if you want them to chime in on that comment as well, Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thank you. I'm okay right now. Thanks. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Thank you. Bill, in -- in regard to the lot length, excuse me, what are other alternatives that we can do to mitigate the concern? Traffic calming? There are things that we can -- that we can request of the applicant. I don't know that we can necessarily require them as part of the DA, but do you have suggestions to us as a staff member of how we might make that decision in a context that is manageable for the concerns that are created? Parsons: Mayor, Members of the Council, I can -- I can let you know what the code allows. In this particular case a few years ago when we modified code we knew there would always be instances where X, Y and --ABC options may not work. This is one of those particular cases where some of these block lengths are 850, close to a thousand. So, not -- not too far -- too far off from this 750 feet. But the code gives us latitude and you latitude to say you want more pedestrian connections to break up the block length. You can do it through an alley. You can do it with a common open space lot. It doesn't necessarily have to be just a pedestrian lot. And so -- or you can do traffic calming or you can do a combination of all those things. But where there is an instance where you have a ditch or some typography or something that just won't -- cannot be mitigated with all of those things I just described saying it really does come down to your purview and your waiver and so what we try to do as staff is make sure that we are getting the appropriate traffic calming measures, the appropriate open space and in this particular case adjusting the intersection so that it curves enough so it does help break that up and get some stop signs in, so people at least stop and it's a controlled intersection and Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 12 of 28 we try to mitigate people racing down that or breaking up that block just by stopping and making it a controlled intersection. So, again, as I mentioned to you there is going to be traffic calming that's required as part of this project. ACHD has required it. Staff has required it. Now, all we are left to is for this body to approve this one street configuration, which is Street L, I believe -- is it L or M? J? I think it's Street J. Excuse me. And so, again, if you guys are comfortable with what's being proposed with the emergency access will again -- which will, again, act as a crossing, an access to the pathway and, then, also this road connection -- or if you guys are satisfied that that meets the requirements and that intersection works, that's definitely within your purview tonight to grant that waiver. But that's -- again, that's the situation we have. We have no other way to provide a connection based on the information that we have received from the applicant and the irrigation district. Simison: Council, additional questions for staff? Okay. Then would the applicant like to come forward? Clark: Members of the Council, good to see everybody. Hethe Clark. 251 East Front Street in Boise. Representing the applicant. And I do have a presentation it looks like Bill has already got up for me. So -- oh, sorry. You got it. So, again, we are here to talk about the Windrow Acres Neighborhood tonight and this is property that's located at the corner of Linder and Amity in southwest Meridian. There is a couple of themes that I want to emphasize as we begin and one of those is that this is truly the completion of the -- of a square mile. It's developing from east to west from Meridian Road toward Linder. And, second, that there has been significant city investment in infrastructure, water, sewer in this area, all of which followed from the south Meridian annexation and the annexation agreements that were entered into several years ago and so this is part of the completion of that larger plan. So, as we start from the Comprehensive Plan, the area's plan is medium density residential. We are proposing a 3.9 units per acre density. That's on the low end of the three to eight that would be planned for under the city's planning documents and this is the annexation map. It shows that a portion of our project is already annexed, with the remainder having continuity to the annexed city property on the north. And that annexation is very important. This is a picture that came from the old -- from the development agreement that was signed in connection with the south Meridian annexation of 1 ,322 acres back in 2016. You can see our property in the northwest corner where the arrow is pointing and here is another view and along with a picture of how this relates to Kuna's growth on the southwest flank of the city and I'm using the word flank purposefully there. There are a couple of elements to this annexation that are -- I think is key to this decision. First that that annexation was consensual. So, it was done through negotiated development agreements. And, second, there -- again, that there were significant city commitments and investments in the area as a result of those agreements. So, if we look at the 2016 agreement our predecessor in interest signed an agreement with the city that included the language that you can see on the screen. Among other -- among other things it calls for, quote, advancement of sewer and water infrastructure, utility infrastructure for the benefit of the subject property, the City of Meridian and adjacent and adjoining properties. So, those benefits would be in the form of utility extensions that would take place over the course Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 13 of 28 of two years and four years, depending on the phase. And, finally, as that infrastructure is built out the properties would develop the zoning consistent with their FLUM designations and this is all discussed at some length in the staff report. I'm just trying to hit the highlights. So, as you look at the utility concept plan, this is the -- from the -- from the annexation you can see that the maps show the extensions in two phases. Phase one in blue. Phase two in pink. Our project is part of phase two. And as you can see from the Public Works comments that were included in the staff report, those systems have been installed and are directly adjacent to the site. Here is mapping showing the -- where those lines are located. The city has constructed the water main that rings on the outside of our property. You can also see that the city has constructed a sewer main that is adjacent to our site and we will be taking that down to -- let me see if I can get the cursor to wake up. There we go. Down to a new lift station that is located precisely where the city called for on the city's sewer master plan, which you can see here. The lift station is exactly where the city had planned for. So, to summarize, what you are seeing tonight is fulfillment of work that the city has been working on for most of the last decade. You know, landowners made commitments to the city to annex. The city made commitments to those landowners to bring utilities to their properties. Both sides lived up to their bargain and there have been significant investments in utilities to make this area ready for development. And, as I mentioned, the square mile is finishing out accordingly. Again, development moving from east to west. So, with that in mind, talk a little bit about the project. Look at the site and the site plan. Sixty-four acres planned at -- are zoned at R-8 with 251 homes and 16 percent open space. So, all the zoning and the density -- everything is consistent with the FLUM designation of MDR. There is significant open space, great pathway and trail amenities. You can see the regional pathways in red. That will be both on the exterior of the project and along the lateral, which will be a really great amenity. All of that will interconnect with several parks throughout the property, including a central dog park. As Bill mentioned, the amenities exceed code. They have the play park, the dog park, pathways, shaded seating areas. These are some more examples of what that looks like. And, again, we exceed the amenity requirement at 15.5. Bill, showed you the homes and lot sizes from 4,700 square feet to 10,000. Homes in the range of 1,350 to 2,750 square feet. Now, Bill covered a lot of this, so I will just kind of hit highlights as well. We have worked -- you know, we -- we like to pride ourselves on having a good relationship with staff. We were able to meet with staff and do a few things, including updating the phasing plan. So, the highlights with that was that that moves up the Linder frontage, moves up the amenities. In fact, the amenities with this new phasing plan we get 14.5 out of the 15.5 amenities in the first three phases, which is important as we look at the question on -- about the -- the additional amenity up top. We did modify the street section with the intersection change here and Bill's being modest, it was actually Bill's idea, and so -- and we are happy about that and so we do think that that breaks up that block length. In addition, you know, there is -- when you read the code there is some -- I think what it might contemplate is like an alleyway of -- that's unbroken for -- for a block length. You might think of that when you are -- when you are picturing something that's longer than 700 feet, when, in fact, we do break up the block length on each side as you go down the project. So, for example, as you go down -- man, that mouse is moving slow tonight. As you go down here, you know, this gets Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 14 of 28 broken up on this side with open space and with the emergency and pedestrian bridge and, then, it's broken up down here with this access and it's broken up with -- with -- with those green spaces. So, we have taken effort -- we have made efforts to try to address that, but that is largely a function of topography. With the Calkins Lateral there you want to meander the road and you don't have as many options to be able to break it up, particularly given Boise Project's position on -- on additional crossings. But that meandering is, in and of itself, a traffic calming measure and, then, we would also be looking at traffic calming in the form of bulb outs, the stop sign at the traffic intersection and, then, continuing to work with staff and ACHD to identify a different traffic -- additional traffic mitigation or calming I should say. We did add the three pedestrian connections that were requested and we got the confirmation from Boise project that was also requested with regard to that additional crossing. So, you know, at this point we are in agreement with everything that staff has in the report, with just one item to discuss, which is Condition 3-G and so what this refers to is a request for an additional amenity on Lot 10 of Block 8, which I just showed you on the screen and, largely, as understand it, that was based on timing. Staff was wanting to make sure that those residents in that area of the project had access to amenities earlier on. With the change in the phasing plan we believe that's largely addressed. So, let me show you what I mean by that. So, at this point with the change in the phasing plan we have phases one, two and three that will come online before we touch phase four. With phases one, two and three will have 14 and a half of our 15 and a half amenity points already online and Lot 10, Block 8, itself is a half acre park. So, you can see -- you know, it's -- although it may not qualify for an amenity point in any sense of the word, it is an amenity to those -- to those folks. So, the reason that we are requesting that is that we think the timing issues have been addressed. We will have 14.5 of the 15.5 amenity points online before any residents are there in phase four and, again, the -- our amenity counts already exceed code. So, with that I would be happy to turn this -- open this up for questions and see if I can answer any that the Council might have. Simison: Thank you, Hethe. Council, any questions for the applicant? Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: Thank you very much for a thorough presentation. Did you or have you discussed with Planning staff the improvements along Amity and Linder being done in phase one or is there concern about that on your part? Clark: Mr. Mayor, Council Member Perreault, we have discussed it. Doing the -- all the improvements along Amity and Linder in phase one would make for one massive phase and in this case what we are talking about is development that is proceeding from the east to the west. We want to get the -- the Amity improvements in first and, then, move to Linder, but what we did do was to change our phasing plan so that we -- we moved all of that into phase two. So, we did move up the Linder improvements. We just -- you know, with any project we need to make sure that it's being done, you know, to address Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 15 of 28 traffic issues and all of that, but also to be viable financially and so we -- we have -- we tried to compromise with staff by moving Linder up, but not making one massive phase out of phase one. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thank you. If you can go back -- if you don't mind going back a couple of slides to the sort of overall plan of the development. I think part of the concern and what I wanted to understand is you have this really large stretch and I can see that we have made kind of a turn to address that and break that up, but I think we said it was, what, over a thousand feet and it looks like the homes actually front on that. Can you talk a little bit about what you are going to be doing specifically along that stretch, whether it's bulb outs or what have you. Speed bumps. Just maybe walk us through like a little more detail. I think it's different when you have a development where you have kind of a collector setup and, then, the homes aren't facing it here. I just worry it's such a long stretch and the homes look like they are facing it. Clark: Correct. Yeah. Council Member Strader. So, yes, the -- the homes will face it. This is -- this is a local street and so what -- what we have been looking at, again, are -- we -- we -- we believe that this breaks up that piece of the block length here with the new intersection. So, really, what we are talking about is, you know, this area here, this area down here. We have broken that up with this -- you know, we have a pedestrian connection here. We have the green space here. You know, this ends out on a park end cap. You have got a -- this is not a straight shot, which in and of itself will slow down traffic. This piece is meandering, so that will also slow down traffic. You will have -- in addition to what we anticipate would be stop signs here, you know, if -- there would be likely as well bulb outs at all of the intersections to slow things down and, then, from there to the extent that additional traffic calming would be required, we would go through the process with ACHD and that -- that might include speed bumps. We have to -- you have to -- you have to really work hard with ACHD to get a speed bump, as I'm sure you are aware. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Yeah. From what I understand they have actually improved the process. But maybe you could just go into more detail. So, like you just mentioned a pedestrian connection. Maybe I'm just not following where that is at. Clark: If I can get this to work. So, we got -- this leads into our -- our park down here. Strader: Okay. So, would there be like a -- like a crosswalk there or something? Is that what you are expecting? Just because I feel like if I want to give you credit for the Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 16 of 28 green space mitigating the traffic, I want to know like is there a crosswalk there or what will -- what will be there that will sort of slow people down? Clark: So, we would work with ACHD to try to look at a crosswalk there, but there would be bulb outs where it enters the sidewalk as well Laren just reminded me. Strader: Okay. So, bulb outs and maybe a crosswalk -- if it -- if it makes -- it seems like it would make sense, because that's one of your main amenities. Okay. And, then, can see that it meanders. That kind of begs the question, too. What is that -- the radius of that curve? It's kind of hard to tell. Would there be an issue also with people being able to see as they kind of come around that -- it's not quite a corner, is it? Clark: No, it's not a corner. So, you are not going to have the type of visibility issues -- you know, frankly, when we were looking at this that was one of our questions here was whether we would have a visibility issue at that corner and whether that would work. But as you continue down here there is enough of a meander that it's going to slow folks down, but not enough that you would create visibility issues. But I don't -- I don't have a specific angle for you on that. Strader: Okay. It seems like if we had something, you know, to sort of give you some ammo to discuss more with ACHD, even just coming from the Council about the importance of some of that traffic calming and the pedestrian connections, it seems like that's going to be a really important part of making this successful. So, at least I think we should really try to help you as much as we can to make sure that they understand that's a priority. At some point at the appropriate time I would love to hear from ACHD directly. But I don't want to interrupt you right now while you are taking questions. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Glad we are on this slide. Could be my eyes. But I'm noticing two shades of green for your open space. One that looks like my yard. Well, let's stick with it -- with the lighter shade of green. Can you help me understand what that's meant to communicate? Clark: Yeah. Council Member Cavener, so this is for purposes of counting the open space. So, the dark green is what counts. The lighter green is what does -- Cavener: That was my assumption. Do you know off chance -- sorry, you already shut down -- what your total open space would be if we counted the unqualified? Clark: Right. Yeah. Let's say 17. Cavener: Okay So, Mr. Mayor, one more if I may. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 17 of 28 Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Hethe, my -- my other question is about -- kind of along the lines of Council Member Strader's, about pedestrian connectivity and you touched on a point that I really appreciated that this kind of completes that square mile. But there is a -- a missing piece of the puzzle, which is that hard corner right there, at -- at Linder and Amity. My assumption is you don't own that land. Has there been any conversations with the landowner about completing a sidewalk around that corner? I hear it all the time. I have experienced that frustration. You get to the edge and, then, you are -- you are stumbling through dirt and just trying to figure out what the -- the right mouse trap is to solve that to really complete that corner for our citizens. Clark: Yeah. Council Member Cavener -- and Laren may have more to add to this, but, no, we don't -- we don't own or control it. There is a roundabout that's planned for that location and part of what is included in ACHD's staff report is for us to do our alignment to allow for that roundabout to come in, so we have accommodated for the roundabout. But, unfortunately, because we don't own it, we can't control when that connection would come in. Cavener: That will be always -- Mr. Mayor? Additional question? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: So, in light of that, recognize it's not a problem that even if you wanted to or it was probably not timely enough that you can solve and we saw that a lot here in south Meridian. Is there an opportunity, then, to do some type of a temporary dirt pathway that goes along the inside on your property? What I don't want is somebody, you know, is -- is walking down Linder and they want to get to Amity and now they have got to trudge either through the road or they have got to kind of cut through that lot, which I don't assume the current landowner -- I think there is a house there if I'm not mistaken. I can't remember. Maybe the house is gone. Okay. But wouldn't want people maybe trudging through. I just -- I'm trying to figure out what -- the right solution to that, recognizing that it's going to be -- it's going to be a long time before that roundabout is ever complete. Clark: Yeah. Council Member Cavener, that's a good question. It's a -- it's a -- it's one that I don't think I have an answer that would not require the use of somebody else's property, because, otherwise, what we are doing is we are -- you know, we are putting, you know, a trail through the back of folks' backyards as we are -- as we are trying to develop the property. You know, perhaps what, you know, we could -- you know, maybe a signage solution -- yeah. Mr. Conger makes a good point that I just want to state for the record is that part of the -- the benefit of this moving forward and completing -- putting the lift station in, dropping that stub road in, is that -- that actually tees that corner lot up for development. So, you know, from -- from, you know, one thing that may be a benefit to all of this is that once that's in place it sets the stage for that to sell more quickly. But it -- again, it's a very difficult thing to try to control the use of Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 18 of 28 somebody else's property within that -- and that regional pathway really needs to go on the exterior along those roads, so -- Cavener: Yeah. I agree permanently that's where it belongs. It's -- it's like a missing puzzle piece that -- that we have got to figure this out. All right. Well, thanks, Hethe. appreciate it. I don't have any more questions right now, Mr. Mayor. Simison: Councilman, additional questions for the applicant? Okay. Well -- Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor. I'm sorry. Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: I do have one question, Hethe, and that's related -- you mentioned about the pathway across the waterway there, but also an emergency access point. Clark: Uh-huh. Hoaglun: Yeah. Right there. So, it sounds like that's going to be a fairly large pedestrian walkway, if it's emergency access as well. Can you explain a little more detail on that? Clark: Yeah. So, Council Member Hoaglun, so what we are dealing with here is that we need to have a secondary access as we move forward with our phasing plan. Once these additional accesses -- or the property next to us develops, then, that emergency access across there is no longer necessary. So, what we were able to do was to identify an emergency access here that will ultimately be converted to a ped access and remind me the -- so we are talking about a 14 foot access up there. So, we are not talking about a -- you know, a four lane road that's going across, it's -- it's something reasonable that would allow for an emergency -- a temporary emergency condition and I don't think 14 is right now that I say that out loud. Twenty. Yeah. Fourteen didn't sound right, but sometimes I go wrong burgundy and you just put the teleprompter in front of me and I say what I got to say. Hoaglun: Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Perreault: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Perreault. Perreault: You can count on me to think of something. So, there -- we received a letter, which I'm sure you saw, from the owner to the north -- developer to the north regarding the -- the lot sizes and how they will line up. Can you share your thoughts on that? Clark: Yeah. Council Member Perreault, so we just saw it. It just came in I think at like 5.00. So, the -- the request, as I understand it, was to make our northern lots, excuse Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 19 of 28 me, match up with theirs and drop our -- essentially drop our density. We went and looked and they actually have 24 lots against us and we have 28. So, there really is not a significant difference between these -- they actually trans -- they actually transition very well, plus the -- as Bill mentioned you have the canal transition. So, we think what we have done there is appropriate and, then, again, if you look at our overall density we are on the low end already of the three to eight we are at -- being at 3.9. So, we think it would be appropriate to go with what we had planned for and the transition that we had identified. Thank you. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Would it be possible for us to hear from Kristy as well? Simison: It would be a problem, because Kristy is no longer our connection point. I was going to bring her on as soon as we were done with Hethe and introduce you to our newest person, Ms. Brooke Green. Strader: All right. Simison: Any further questions for Hethe? Okay. Brooke, if you can hear us or be brought into the conversation. Green: Hi. Good evening. Can you hear me? Simison: We can. Thank you for joining us. Council Woman Strader would like to ask you a question specifically. Strader: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Hi, Brooke. Welcome. We are really happy to have you with us. A question for you. Can you walk us through on the master street map where that mid mile collector would be, just so we can understand kind of how the flow of traffic would ultimately work in this area? Green: Give me a moment. I wasn't anticipating that question, so -- Strader: Fair enough. Green: I may have to follow up with you as I don't -- mid mile -- Council, let me just -- so I'm not delaying this, can I go ahead and follow up with you with that question in an e- mail to all of you? Simison: Couldn't hear you very well, Brooke. Green: So as not to delay any further as I try to search for that, can I follow up with you -- Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 20 of 28 Simison: Yeah. It would be -- if you want to look at that information and we will see if there is any other questions right now to you specifically. Do we have any additional questions for Brooke right now besides that? Councilman Cavener? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Again, if -- if Brooke's able to look -- and I don't know if -- if ACHD has the right of way already for that hard corner, what the needs in that would be, if there is any opportunity for even a temporary pathway on that corner to connect pedestrians. And it's really nice to have her as our liaison. Green: Thank you, Councilman and Mayor. Certainly something we can look into and you are talking about the Amity and Linder corridor? Simison: Yes. Green: For a temporary pedestrian pathway. Certainly we can look to -- and we have done it in several locations we can look to temporary solutions to help with that, especially seeing that that property hasn't entered into development yet. It's something we can pursue in the future. Simison: Well, Brooke, while you are looking at the -- the questions for Council Woman Strader, we will go ahead and see if there is additional testimony and we will come back to you. All right. Mr. Clerk, do we have anyone signed up? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, we did not. Simison: Okay. Is there anybody present who would like to provide testimony on this application at this time? If you would like to come forward or use the raise your hand feature on the Zoom call. Seeing no one wishing to provide testimony, Brooke, it's back in your court when -- whenever you are ready. Green: Mr. Mayor, can you hear me? Simison: Yes, we can. Green: I'm going to go ahead and have to delay the answer to that. I certainly don't have that available. And I apologize. Parsons: Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council -- Brooke, can you see my screen? I'm sharing our GIS map. So, you can see the master street map later on, if that helps. Green: Okay. Can you go ahead and repeat that question, so I don't answer it incorrectly. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 21 of 28 Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Yeah. Brooke, you are welcome to take an assist, a phone a friend from Bill Parsons as well. But I think the question was just -- could you kind of walk us through where the mid mile collector is intended to be in this area, so we can sort of see where everything will connect in. Okay. He's pointing to it. Well, that's interesting. Thanks, Bill. So, yeah, I was trying to figure out where the -- will the property itself connect? Isn't -- Simison: So what are we going to do -- let's go ahead and take -- we are having some other computer issues, so why don't we take a -- we will reconvene at 7:15. So, we will split the difference between -- give us 12 minutes. So, Brooke, if you have any -- you know, I will let you communicate directly with Bill or others if you need to and we will come back at 7:15. So, we stand in recess. Green: I appreciate that recess. Simison: Yep. Thank you (Recess: 7:02 p.m. to 7:19 p.m.) Simison: All right. Council, we will go ahead and come back from recess. We will start with Brooke. If Brooke is back on, if she feels like she's got the information she was looking for -- Green: Mayor and Council, thank you for providing me a little bit of grace as we look for this and to your staff who helped me out, what you are looking at before you is the master street map and the residential collector that is identified, the mid mile, and I will -- I will let him go ahead and run the cursor to indicate where that's at. As you can see with the proposed development there is no connection to it and I think one of your other Council Woman identified that -- the highlighted. With that I will stand for any questions. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Thank you, Brooke. So, you know, we have a -- we have this development and, then, there is another piece that is just adjacent to where the new collector would be. Do you guys already know kind of what sort of connection would happen there or -- like what level of planning do we have that this sort of goes into it? Green: Yeah. Mayor and Council Woman, I don't have that planned development before me to give you an indication where there is any connections. Certainly it's something once that's put forward to me I can go ahead and follow up with you. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 22 of 28 Strader: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Well, at least for the moment it doesn't look like, you know, somebody would be racing through this development to hit that mid mile collector. It will be quite a -- quite a journey it looks like. Okay. Green: Mayor and Council Woman -- Strader: Brooke -- oh. Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: I guess just -- if you had any additional comments about the traffic calming measures that are needed. Hopefully you kind of followed the conversation, but, you know, there are several kind of long stretches of roadway that are longer than we normally allow and so, you know, the applicant is interested in using bulb outs and -- but it does seem like having a crosswalk in there would be really important. Maybe having speed bumps would be important. Is there anything we can do to help encourage that or work with you guys up front to make some of those things happen? Green: Mayor and Council Woman, that was actually the question I was hung up on and ready to answer and, yes, I would be happy to provide some insight. As we asked with several of our applicants when they bring proposals before us, we do ask that they take into account traffic calming. As highlighted you have got a -- see if we can zoom in a little bit. You have Street A, B, C, J and L, who all do exceed that 750 feet in length. Traffic calming that we oftentimes recommend is everything from horizontal curves, bulb outs, chicanes, chokers, these are typical applications that you see already in the valley. Some additional new options that are being considered -- raised crosswalks are something that provides for pedestrians to be able to be lifted up into the space, so they can be seen. So, that is one element. We do recommend that the applicant come back to the table and have that further discussion with our development team pertaining to traffic calming. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: That's really interesting. Because I think that these traffic calming measures would be really important in a development like this. So, is that a conversation that ACHD usually has before you provide your approval or when do you sort of -- how do you make sure that, you know, it happens, because it's interesting -- like I think from what you are saying this is kind of on the applicant to provide the traffic calming measures, but it sounds like on your end you have recommendations. I'm unclear as to like, for example, with a crosswalk is ACHD the entity that requires the crosswalk or do you expect that the applicant could proactively offer to do one? Like how would a crosswalk work? It's just an example. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 23 of 28 Green: Mayor and Council Woman, we did ask that the applicant be required to submit a revised preliminary plat with some of these redesigned elements, especially for these longer stretches of roadways. We do ideally like to see these elements added in at the original plat. What we don't want to do is have to come back at a later date to provide traffic calming, because that wasn't taken into consideration early on. To your point about working with the applicant, we will continue to do so, to provide some of these traffic elements and to see some mitigation efforts for speeding through this whole area. Strader: So, Mr. Mayor? So, just -- just in the interest of communication -- because I think where I'm getting hung up is like Hethe is saying, hey, you know, if we need speed bumps there is a separate process to apply with ACHD to go and get that later and I think what I'm trying to understand is are there things that the applicant can do now with the revised preliminary plat that you guys could go ahead and approve? You know, are speed bumps like different than the other measures that you mentioned? Green: Mayor and Council Woman, speed humps are not a preferred traffic calming and we do highlight that in the staff report. We do ask that the applicant look to consider other type of traffic elements, especially for those longer stretches, and so we do want to encourage them to come back and to provide some additional bulb outs, which they do identify and they highlighted that this evening. But we want to continue to have that conversation with them to be able to ensure that -- that pedestrian safety is taken into account. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Sorry, I feel like I am beating this one to death, but just maybe one more question just so I can understand. So, is a crosswalk something that's within the applicant's control or is that like a speed bump where ACHD needs to separately approve that? Green: Mr. Mayor and Council Woman, that is in the applicant -- the applicant makes suggestions for a crosswalk in their development. Strader: Okay. Thanks. Simison: Council, any further questions for ACHD at this time? Any further questions for staff before we ask the applicant to come back up and close? I'm going to do one more call for anyone from the public who would like to provide testimony on this item. Okay. So, would the applicant like to come up and close? Clark: Members of the Council Hethe Clark. 251 East Front Street in Boise. So, just to kind of maybe follow up on some of the conversations. I keep wanting to say represent -- with Representative Green, but with the -- with -- with ACHD staff. We did resubmit our preliminary plat with the changes that were requested in the ACHD commission Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 24 of 28 action and so as we move forward what we understand the process to be and what we expect to happen is that when we get to the construction drawing, construction plan review stage, that the specifics of, you know, where a bulb out goes and, you know, where an apron is and all of those sorts of traffic calming items would be specifically identified and kind of -- in connection with those construction drawings and so, you know, to Council Member Strader's point, you know, we would love to -- for, you know, you to include in our -- in your approval that we -- we would like to see you move forward with additional traffic calming that might include X, Y and Z and to discuss that with ACHD in connection with your construction plan review and I think that would be an appropriate approach here. Otherwise, I don't know that there is much else for us to -- to rehash and so I will get out of the way. Just as a reminder, the one item that we did ask for Council's direction on was to the removal of the additional amenity requirements on Condition 3-G, so -- Seal: All right. Thank you. Council, further questions, comments for the applicant? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Just to be sure, Hethe, on your request to remove conditions, it still will be built, but it will just be in phase four and not in the first three phases; is that correct? Clark: Council Member Hoaglun, so, yeah, the -- this is part of the -- the conversation there. So, there will all -- we are not proposing to modify our half acre park. Like it will be there. The request from staff in condition 3-G was to add another amenity on top of that and so our request was to let -- no, let's stick with code. We have already exceeded code and all those amenities are going to be in phases one through three before we even have any residents in phase four up there. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: Just to make it crystal clear, so, Hethe, if we eliminate 3-G you still meet and exceed the requirements. Clark: Council Member Overton, that's correct. We do. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Do you have any issue with trying to put in a raised crosswalk or a crosswalk that would kind of break up that large -- yes. Where the -- Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 25 of 28 Clark: I can't tell if I'm just doing that on my screen. I'm probably trying to help Bill and get in his way. Strader: Okay. Not that like you are required to, but use your best efforts to put one in, because it -- this is the stretch that, honestly, gives me the most heartburn and is concerning with all these houses fronting on it. It sounds like AC -- it's hard to kind of know how that -- it sounds like during construction you guys hash this out, but are you guys open to using your best efforts to put something like that in there to help slow things down and make it safe for people? Clark: Council Member Strader, yes. Strader: Okay. Clark: And let me -- let me just point out one thing, too, is that when we put -- when this intersection goes in that actually does break -- per code that breaks the block and so when -- when -- when we are talking about the block lengths and several of the streets being longer than the block length, I don't know that that's accurate. On one side of the street maybe, but there are intersections that are breaking these up. So, what we are really talking about I think is this area -- and we are happy to work with -- to try to get a crosswalk in that location. Strader: Thank you. I really appreciate that. I think it would help a lot. Clark: Yep. Thank you. Bongiorno: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Yes, Deputy Chief. Bongiorno: Mr. Mayor and Council Woman Strader, I just want to point out, raised crosswalks are bad for the fire department. It's a speed hump is what you are doing. You have just created a speed bump for us to have to deal with and I know talk -- and not to step on Ms. Green's toes, but I know Ada County maintenance hates them, because you can't plow up and over them, so they become a maintenance nightmare. So, I would rather work with bulb outs, narrowed roadways, that's typically something that I have to approve when their plans come in for final plats and stuff. I approve those narrow bulb outs and stuff at the intersections, because when they neck it down we have to make sure we can still get the fire engine around there. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Bongiorno: I would much rather have that than a raised sidewalk. Simison: Council Woman Strader. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 26 of 28 Strader: Yes. I don't think the only options in the world would be like a raised crosswalk or a bulge versus a bulb out. I'm sure you could have a regular crosswalk. It could be another way to address it. Or maybe there is a special type of paint. I don't know. I don't want to get into the details this much. You know what I'm saying, though? Like whatever works for the Fire Department that works for everybody that is the safest version you can do that also is workable is greatly appreciated. But thank you for -- I did not know that, so that's a good point. Thank you. Clark: And Council Member Strader, we appreciate the direction. I think there are -- there is a menu of options there, you know, we can do -- because we have that green space there is -- we could still do a bulb out there and keep the 24 feet, you know, there is -- I think the world is our oyster trying to figure that out and I think that we understand Council's direction on that. Simison: Council, any additional questions for the applicant? Okay. Thank you very much. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: Seeing no more public testimony, I would move that we close the public hearing. Cavener: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have and the public hearing is closed. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: I would like to take at least a first shot at this. After considering all staff, applicant, and public testimony, I move to approve File No. H-2023-0031 as presented in staff report for the hearing date of September 26, 2023, removing Condition G and providing a waiver of block length on Street J in order to mitigate traffic flow. Cavener: Second for conversation. Simison: Have a motion and a second and recognize Councilman Cavener for discussion. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 27 of 28 Cavener: Council Member Overton, I just want to make sure I heard you right. I think you said Condition G, but I think you mean Condition 3-G. Overton: First agrees. Cavener: Okay. Second will also agree. Simison: Okay. Duly noted. Is there discussion on the motion? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Hoaglun. Hoaglun: Yeah. Real quick. I was listening to the presentation and looking at the plan, I thought I have seen one of those intersections before and it took me a while to come up and it's the back way to my kids' home. It's Apgar Creek and it works pretty well, because that is one long stretch coming from Linder in and you got this little curve thing like that and, then, it's another long stretch and this is probably days before they thought that they should curve things, but it does work and it gets people to stop, slow down, it changes their line of sight and everything's there. So -- yeah. So, I have that experience with that quite regularly and it does work. So, thank you, Bill, for that suggestion. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Just to comment a little bit on the application. You know, it is a little bit on the fringes. It's kind of on the outer edge of where we put in our infrastructure, but our infrastructure is there. We have already made that investment. I think that's really important to keep in mind. The density feels appropriate for the area, which I think is also important to keep in mind. And I do you appreciate -- if it's not a requirement, but if we can just add commentary in the development application that the city would encourage the applicant to consider, you know, additional traffic calming measures like we discussed. I think they heard that anyway. So, that's important to me I think to make it workable. Simison: Okay. Any additional comments on the motion? All right. Clerk will call the roll. Roll Call: Hoaglun, yea; Borton, absent; Cavener, yea; Perreault, yea; Strader, yea; Overton, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the item is agreed to. Thank you very much. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Meridian City Council September 26,2023 Page 28 of 28 FUTURE MEETING TOPICS Simison: Council, anything under future meeting topics? Or do we have a motion to adjourn? Hoaglun: Mr. Mayor, I move that we adjourn. Simison: Motion to adjourn. All in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it. We are adjourned. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:35 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) MAYOR ROBERT E. SIMISON 10-17-2023 ATTEST: CHRIS JOHNSON - CITY CLERK