HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from Dick Eardley
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3520 S. Arcaro Ave.
Meridian, Idaho 83642
RE(;EI\rF~I)
NO" 0 7 -2006
City Of Merid1~ar:.
City Clerk Office
To: Members of the Meridian City Planning and Zoning Commission
Re: Application for Annexation & Zoning Request with Preliminary Plat for Kilgore
Heights Development.
My name is Dick Eardley. I live in the Kentucky Ridge Estates subdivision bordering the
proposed Kilgore Heights subdivision, for which an application has been made for
annexation and zoning. I hope to attend and speak at the public hearing on this
application on Nov. 16, but I wanted to express--in writing--some of my concerns and one
specific request on this matter.
First, I am concerned with the rapid and sometimes willy-nilly growth in the entire valley
area and in the Meridian area specifically. I have lived at this address for more than 10
years and have seen the area change from primarily agriculture to residential and
commercial. Where there used to be com fields and pheasants, there are now houses.
Where there used to be low traffic counts, there are now hundreds of cars. And where
there were pastures with cows, sheep and literally thousands of migrating Canadian geese,
there will soon be houses, if this application is approved. Such developments are
occurring throughout the Meridian area of impact, and the loss of huge amounts of
agricultural lands does concern me.
I am also concerned about where the geese so next. I am enclosing a picture I took
recently of the pasture just below my house. It's not the most geese you'll see at one
time, but is only representative of that. These geese....as many as 400 to 500 at a
time. . . use this pasture as a stopping/resting place during their migration both north and
south. There are some geese in the field most months of the year. Where do they go
when the pasture becomes a collection of houses?
I am also concerned about the routing of a street to serve the new subdivision onto
Kentucky Way near the small park and pond that we (residents of Kentucky Ridge) are
paying to maintain. I see no reason why traffic cannot be funneled onto Victory road at
another location, rather than through an area paid for and maintained by the present
subdivision, which also increases the number of cars we must compete with each day.
Finally, I wo~ld request that a height limitation be placed on construction on the eastern
boundary of the Kentucky Ridge subdivision, which now borders the pasture that will
eventually be turned into houses. We purchased lots along this pasture at a more
expensive price than others in the subdivision because of the views that were offered.
And because of that, we have continually paid higher taxes, since the county assessor puts
a high valuation on these "view lots." To have two-story houses built directly in front of
our houses damages those views dramatically and changes the character of our homes
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equally as much.
According to the developer's application, he has put such height restrictions on an area
bordering the northern boundary of Kentucky Ridge so as, in his words, to "reduce the
impact of the new development on the existing development." I was out OftOWD and
unable to attend the neighborhood meeting, but the northern boundary of Kentucky
Ridge has 3 two-story houses along its perimeter, while those on the eastern boundary are
all one-story in height, except for one house near the southern edge of the subdivision.
If the developer plans a height restriction on the northern boundary to be compatible with
the existing development, it only makes good sense to require the same consideration for
the eastern boundary.
While I understand annexation and zoning laws and understand that this application will,
in all likelihood, be approved, I do want to voice my concern for this kind of growth in
general, and to specifically ask that you require one.story height restrictions on houses
borderirig the eastern boundary of the Kentucky Ridge subdivision.
Thank you for your concern and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Wp
Dick Eardley