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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-04 Regular Meeting Meridian City Council March 4, 2025. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, 2025, by Mayor Robert Simison. Members Present: Robert Simison, Luke Cavener, Liz Strader, John Overton, Doug Taylor, Anne Little Roberts and Brian Whitlock. Other Present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Laurelei McVey, Linda Ritter and Nick Napoli. ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE X Liz Strader X Brian Whitlock _X_Anne Little Roberts _X_ John Overton _X_ Doug Taylor _X—Luke Cavener X Mayor Robert E. Simison Simison: Council, we will call this meeting to order. For the record it is March 4th, 2025, at 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 Next up will be our community invocation, which will be delivered by Mick Armstrong. If you would all, please, join us in the community invocation or take this as a moment of silence and reflection. Armstrong: Father, thank you so much for the good favor that you show on our community, the prosperity and safety and peace that we enjoy and just a great place to raise families. We just thank you also for the faithful execution of the trust of the citizens of police and our Mayor and these Council Members and just pray for wisdom for them as they continue to make decisions for the welfare of our community and thank you, too, for the variety of city departments that take care of our public needs and -- and continue to monitor our safety and make this a great place to live. We just -- just we pray that you would continue to bless this city, this community, that we, in light of our differences, sometimes very vigorous, that we would respect each other and listen to each other, in Jesus' name, amen. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 2 of 19 Simison: Thank you, Mick. With that we will move on to adoption of the agenda. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: I move that we adopt the agenda as presented this evening. Strader: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favor see that by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the agenda is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. PUBLIC FORUM — Future Meeting Topics Simison: Mr. Clerk, anyone signed up under Public Forum? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, nobody signed up. RESOLUTIONS [Action Item] 1. Resolution No. 25-2504: A Resolution Establishing the Appointment of Randy Rabin to Seat 5 of the Meridian Solid Waste Advisory Commission; and Providing an Effective Date Simison: Okay. Then with that we will move into Item 1, which is Resolution No. 25- 2504. Council, this is a resolution establishing the appointment of Randy Rabin to Seat 5 of the Meridian Solid Waste Advisory Commission. Randy has shown himself to be a dedicated individual who would like to serve this community. He has applied for a position before and came back again and first that shows dedication. He also has -- he has recently retired. He has got a -- well, retired -- I don't want to say recently recently, but pretty recently. But it's -- I think he is looking for a way to get involved in the community that he calls home and he has got a different background I think than a lot of people. He definitely had more of a technical background, but, you know, he is coming in just as what I would call a general user of the -- of our services, but he is knowledgeable of the changes we have made in large items. He participates in the glass bottle drop off as an -- as an individual. So, he is -- he is -- he is there to get involved and make sure that our residents are getting the best they can for the services for what Republic does for our community and the landfill. So, with that -- and he is here if you are -- if you have any desire to hear from him after you make a motion, I'm sure he would be happy to do that, but I wholeheartedly think that he will be a great addition to SWAC and with that happy to answer any questions. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 3 of 19 Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Don't see anybody clamoring for any questions, so for a motion I move that we approve Resolution No. 25-2504 establishing the appointment -- appointment, excuse me, of -- of Randy Rabin to Seat 5 of the Meridian Solid Waste Advisory Commission. Strader: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to approve Item no. 1 . Is there a discussion on the motion? If not, all in favor -- in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is agreed to. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. Simison: Randy, do you have any comments or -- you would like to make? All right. He will waive his comments, but appreciate you being here and Laurelei is right there, you can introduce yourself to her, she is one of the faces of SWAC and our Public Works director, so thank you for being here. ACTION ITEMS 2. Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2025 Public Works Fee Schedule Update Simison: And with that we will move on to tonight's Action Items. First item up is Item 2, public hearing for fiscal year 2025 of the Public Works fee schedule and turn this over to Director McVey. McVey: All right. Good evening, Mayor and Council. So, this is our public hearing following up on our presentation we gave a couple of weeks ago. This was noticed and we have not received any comments, but just as a quick update we started with 178 fees. We were able to cut 89 of those completely. We decreased 15 of them and there are 44 that are increasing, but those are all due to direct pass-through costs from the vendor or directly related to staffing cost increases on labor rates. So, anyways, these are just our normal pass-through and update every year, but the notable thing is the -- the large reduction in fees. So, with that if there is any questions. Simison: And, technically, I want make sure we open the public hearing on this item. So Dean will make that correction in that context. Any questions from Laurelei? All right. Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk, do we have anyone signed up to provide testimony this item? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, we did not. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 4 of 19 Simison: Okay. Is there anybody present or online who would like to provide testimony on this item? If so if you can raise your hand or come forward at this time. Seeing no one coming forward and no one raised their hand online, Council, do I have a motion to close the public hearing? Taylor: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Taylor. Taylor: Move that we close the public hearing on Resolution 25-2505. Overton: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to close the public hearing on the Public Works fee schedule. This is -- and it's first and second. Is there any debate on the motion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the public hearing is closed. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. 3. Resolution 25-2505: Adopting new and increasing fees of the Public Works Department; authorizing deletion of certain fees from fee schedule; keeping unchanging fees; directing Finance Department to update Citywide Fee Schedule; superseding all previously adopted Public Works fees and fee schedules, with the exception of solid waste and recycling fees; authorizing Public Works and other City departments to collect such fees; and providing an effective date. Taylor: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Taylor. Taylor: I just want to commend Laurelei and her team for their hard work. I think at a time where over the last few years we have just seen the cost for so many things increase and grow, I think it's a welcome change to -- to try to eliminate some of the fees to minimize those that did need to increase to be focused on just providing the best services. So, I'm really grateful for the work. I think I just want to commend all the people there and, Laurelei, I hope you will take that back to your team as well and let them know how much we appreciate that, because it's really rare that we find ourselves in a situation where we are looking at some proposal like this where we are eliminating and cutting where we can, even though acknowledging that, you know, there are some places where we do have to increase the fees, but they were minimal in the impact. So, just wanted to make that note. Then I will make a motion when the time comes, unless other Council Members want to weigh in. Simison: I think that time is now. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 5 of 19 Taylor: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Taylor. Taylor: Move that we approve Resolution 25-2505. Overton: Second. Simison: I have a motion and a second to approve Resolution 25-2505. Is there a discussion on the motion? If not on favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the resolution is agreed to. Thank you very much. Appreciate you being here tonight. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. 4. Public Hearing for Ordinance 25-2075, Updates to Title 2, Meridian City Code, Regarding Commissions and Committees Simison: With that we will move on to Item 4, which is a public hearing for Ordinance No. 25-2075, updates to Title 2, Meridian City Code. Open this public hearing with any comments from staff. Mr. Nary. Oh, is -- Nary: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council. What we have on here is for -- this is the first reading of the ordinance for the commissions and so this was an opportunity for the public to weigh in. Again, we did this presentation previously to you, so we also have it on for first reading tonight and we can move it forward at your -- at your discretion for a second and third reading as combined or separated, whatever you prefer. But tonight was just for the public's opportunity to weigh it. Simison: All right. Thank you. Council, any questions for staff? Okay. With that, Mr. Clerk, do we have anyone signed up to provide testimony on this item? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, we did not. Simison: Okay. Is there anybody present who would like to provide testimony on this item, either in the room or online? Seeing no one coming forward. Council, is your desire to continue this public hearing tonight to next week? Is that -- Councilman Cavener. Cavener: That is how we have traditionally done it is just to keep the public hearing open in case we don't want to limit anybody's ability if they do have some input or some insight to share on this particular issue, we want to keep the door open for them through our -- likely combined second and third reading at a future date, so Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 6 of 19 Cavener: I will move that we continue this agenda item, Ordinance 25-2075, a public hearing for that, to next Tuesday, which would be I believe March the 11th. Strader: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to continue this item to March 11th. Is there any discussion? If not all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the public hearing is continued. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. 5. Public Hearing for Meridian Foodbank (H-2024-0065) by Meridian Food Bank, located at 133 W. Broadway Ave. A. Request: Rezone of 1.72 acres of land from the I-L zoning district to the O-T zoning district to bring the existing food bank into conformance for future expansions. Simison: Up next is Item 5, which is a public hearing for Meridian Food Bank, H-2024- 0065. We will open this public hearing with staff comments. Napoli: Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Members of the Council. Next item on the agenda is the rezone for the Meridian Food Bank. The applicant is requesting a rezone of 1.72 acres of land from the Light Industrial Zoning District to the Old Town Zoning District to bring the existing Food Bank into conformance for future expansions. The site is located at 616 Northwest 2nd Street and that's here on the screen. The current zoning is Light Industrial and the FLUM designation is Old Town. The subject site is among several industrial properties along the rail corridor near Meridian Road. The proposed use of a social service or food bank is a permitted use in the Old Town Zoning District, which is the zoning the applicant is requesting. The current use is non- conforming in the I-L Zoning District, which requires a conditional use permit for any proposed expansions. The rezone to Old Town will allow the continued use of the existing Food Bank, remove the nonconforming status and eliminate the need for future conditional use permit approvals to expand the use. The Meridian Food Bank is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and the main reason for the rezone request is to allow for future expansions to provide additional space for the Meridian Food Bank to assemble food packs for students in West Ada School District. The food packs allow students to have food over the weekends and the number of packs has increased significantly since 2023 and the Meridian Food Bank no longer has sufficient room to service all the children in need of resources. The expansion will include approximately 940 square feet of space designated for the purpose of assembling and storage of these food packs. UDC 11-3-132 allows for phased landscape improvements as cumulative expansions occur and the city will monitor the -- monitor these thresholds and enforce them as required by the UDC with these expansions as they occur in the future and this is just a rough schematic of their proposed expansion. The staff is -- staff and the Commission are recommending Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 7 of 19 approval without the requirement for a development agreement and have not received any written testimony at this time and I will stand for questions. Simison: Thank you, Nick. Council, any questions for staff? Okay. Would the applicant like to come forward. Good evening. State your name and address for the record. Green: My name is Gil Green and my address is 2512 East Garber Drive, Meridian, Idaho. Okay. Always when I get up I have to tell people a little bit about the Food Bank to start out with. We are a hundred percent nonprofit -- or a hundred percent volunteer nonprofit. I am currently chairman of the board. But we have a food pantry. The last couple of months we have serviced over 2,000 visitors each month and the other thing we do is we provide weekend meals for food insecure students of the Meridian -- excuse me -- West Ada School District. About two years ago our director of the food of the backpack program told us that the room they were in, the maximum amount that we could stage for and assemble a week was 800. Last month they -- the amounts were 878, 948 -- or 960 and 922. That's the wings. This month we are at 933 and because of the snow day it dropped down to 228 and, then, jumped back up 912 and 914. So, we started looking for a place to expand and we have a -- what used to be the old parsonage, which has been converted to storage for those backpacks and, then, we have the main warehouse where there is one room in there dedicated to staging and assembling the packs, so they can be delivered to the schools. We looked around and we said, well, gosh, if we build a wall here and a wall here and just combine the two buildings we have already got two walls built and so we started to go forward, called Planning and Zoning, they said, well, you're in non-compliance with your zoning now, so it would be best if you changed. So, that's what we are doing. Simison: All right. Thank you. Council, any questions? All right. Appreciate it. Green: Thank you. Simison: Mr. Clerk, do we have anyone signed up on this item? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, we did not. Simison: Okay. Is there anybody present who would like to provide testimony on this item, either in the room or online? Seeing no one coming forward, would you like to make any final comments or are you good on your comments? Okay. Applicant waives. Council, discussion? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: This feels like a pretty straightforward decision and I think we all just want to celebrate the Meridian Food Bank and all that they are bringing to our community to Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 8 of 19 help people that are truly in need. Just express how appreciative we are. I'm happy to move that we close the public hearing on this item. Cavener: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion? Taylor: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Taylor. Taylor: I just want to make a note and I really appreciate the opportunity to engage here. A couple years ago at my church we had an opportunity to start putting -- gathering items for the backpack for kids. What I was surprised at the time when we were learning about it was how many kids in West Ada, you know, are homeless actually and how many kids do really -- not sure what they are going to eat and it was such a simple way to fix it. We are talking granola bars, Ramen noodles, like, you know, juice. It -- it's not much. It's not much and so, you know, we have helped contribute by bringing fairly simple things. My kids have participated in putting some of that. We are talking about putting in a little grocery sack some items and tie it up and it's not fancy, but it means a lot. And so I think this is a wonderful service. So, I really appreciate the Food Bank for -- for doing this, focusing on the kids that -- that really need that help. So, I'm excited about this. Simison: Thank you. Further comments on the motion? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Favor both this motion and the likely motion to follow and I think it's -- the fact that nobody is here is actually a testament to the Food Bank. I remember sitting in the audience when -- I remember attending the ribbon cutting when they opened their facility in Old Town and there was certainly lots of concern from our community about what type of a neighbor the Meridian Food Bank will be and I will say the Meridian Food Bank has been the best type of neighbor for our community and the fact that you have got this facility that operates across the street from residential in the heart of Old Town and there is not people that are concerned or upset, it's because volunteers at the Food Bank and -- and -- and Gil touched on this, nobody works there draws a salary. So, if you -- if you give a dollar to the Meridian Food Bank that dollar goes to food and I just think it's a -- it's a great success story for our community that's being led by the Meridian Food Bank and so I'm -- I'm happy to support the motion to close the public hearing and be happy to support a likely motion that will follow. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 9 of 19 Simison: Okay. Any other comments on the motion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay? The ayes have it and the public hearing is closed. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: I'm sure there could be more discussion. People could chime in. I think it will all be favorable. Spoiler alert. After considering all staff, applicant and public testimony, I move to approve File No. H-2024-0065 as presented in the staff report for today's hearing date. Strader: Second. Simison: Have a motion and a second to approve Item 5. Is there discussion on the motion? If not, clerk call the roll. Roll Call: Cavener, yea; Strader, yea; Overton, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Taylor, yea; Whitlock, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the item is agreed to. Congratulations. Appreciate what you do and look forward to seeing continue to serve this community with your hearts. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. 6. Public Hearing for Newkirk East (H-2024-0043) by Laren Bailey, Conger Group, located at in the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 10, Township 3N, Range 1W, parcel: S1210346850 A. Request: Preliminary Plat for 95 single family lots on 10.08 acres of land zoned Traditional Neighborhood Residential (TN-R). B. Request: Development Agreement Modification to revise the concept plan to remove the 216 multi-family units and replace with 95 single-family attached homes. Simison: Okay. With that we will move on to Item 6, which is a public hearing for Newkirk East, H-2024-0043. We will open this public hearing with staff comments. Ritter: Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. So, tonight we are here for a request for a preliminary plat and development agreement modification to convert 216 apartments into 95 single family attached homes on ten acres of land that is currently zoned traditional residential neighborhood. I mean neighborhood residential. The Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 10 of 19 Newkirk Subdivision was approved by City Council on April 25th in 2023. It involved the annexation of 22.667 acres with the TN-R zoning. The original plan included 63 building lots, 44 single family attached homes, 18 townhomes and one multi-family development with 216 units and eight common lots on 20.44 acres to be developed in two phases. So, the single family residence -- residential in phase one and the multi-family in phase two. The applicant now proposes removing the multi-family component, replacing it with a mix of single family attached homes, with front-loaded garages and alley loaded townhomes. This modification reduces the gross density from 13.2 to 7.3 dwelling units per acre for the overall development, meeting the TN-R district minimum net density of six units per acre, but still fall -- but falling below the Ten Mile Interchange Plan target gross density of 12 acres per -- 12 units per acre. Additionally, we have the Kennedy Lateral, a gap area owned by the Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District, which was overlooked during the prior approvals. This unincorporated area between parcels will need to be annexed by the city to resolve this issue. And, again, we did an analysis of all the development around this to show that none of the developments really hit that 12 units per acre that we are aspiring to, but they -- so, this development is really not out of alignment with what's in the area. So, the -- the proposed plat, again, is -- everything -- the site development must comply with the dimensional standards of the UDC. While there is no minimum lot size for the TN-R district, each building site must be -- be sufficient size to meet the district's minimum setback requirements and the development must include two minimum housing types. Although street access properties are permitted within the district, they are generally expected to be located along the perimeter of the TN-R development. That applicant must demonstrate that the proposed development aligns with the proposed statement or the TN-R district. The applicant shall provide justification for limited number of alley loaded homes included in the proposal in the form of a waiver. The regulating authority will determine whether the applicant has met the intent of the TN-R district street design requirements or require revision to the plat. So, staff feels that they meet -- there are some townhome areas, they are not alley loaded, but where they are located it's sufficient to meet the intent of the TN-R district. This is their open space requirement. So, they are not providing any -- they are providing one additional amenity on this site, but this site will be combined with the original development, which has 35 percent open space, which is over the 15 percent that was required. So, they exceeded their open space requirement. So, staff has no issues with their open space requirements. These are some of the amenities. This is what's newly been added. There is plenty of pedestrian circulation added to this development and the existing development. Again when we were talking about the townhomes, these are the townhomes. They had to revise their site plan, because it showed two street frontages, so they added landscaping along this side, so that there are not two street frontages. These are the building designs, which were previously approved with phase one, so they brought back in those same designs and City Council made some exceptions to the design standards within the Ten Mile Area Plan. So, this will still have to go through the design review requirements. As far as block lengths, they meet the requirements for the block length. In the beginning they had a few that were over, but they modified their plan to meet that. The only one that can't meet is this one because of the terrain. It's along North Medford Way. It exceeds the 500 foot. They are requesting an exception because of the terrain difference there. Again, this is Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 11 of 19 the noncontiguous property that we were talking about. It cannot be part of this application, because it is bisected by the property that belongs to Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District, but the Commission wanted a condition added to this that -- deed restriction for this noncontiguous parcel stating that it is unbuildable. It will either be transferred to the Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District, the HOA, or the owner retains the property. Written document should be provided prior to the city engineer's signature on the final plat. These are the modifications to the development agreement. We are striking everything that dealt with the multi-family and we are just putting that a maximum of 95 single family units shall be constructed within Newkirk East Subdivision. And, then, the area of the northeast corner of the development of the Kennedy Lateral shall be maintenance -- be owned and maintained by the property owner or the homeowners association, as well as the condition that is required -- that the Commission required and we did remove condition number three, because the applicant corrected that and we are also asking to remove condition number four, because the applicant corrected that and with that at this time I will stand for any questions that you may have. Simison: Thank you, Linda. Council, any questions for staff? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Could you just refresh me as to which conditions you wanted to remove now specifically? Sorry. I was just taking notes and didn't quite catch that. Third -- condition 3, but they are -- in the summary document we have they are actually lettered. I could look -- I have the application on my computer as well, but -- Ritter: Sorry. Strader: Thanks. Ritter: So, condition number three dealt with Block 3 to -- sorry. Pull this down real quick. So, condition number three was at a pedestrian facility along North Medford Way. We understand that that cannot happen because of the terrain difference there, so the Commission recommended removing that one and so condition number four that a pedestrian facility along Block 3 in the vicinity of Lots 20 through 23 to connect to the common lot, this is so that we could bring the block face length into compliance, but they already did that. They made that correction, so we won't need that. Strader: Got it. So, Mr. Mayor, if you don't mind. Simison: Council Woman Strader. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 12 of 19 Strader: So, it's really removing condition three the requirement to add a pedestrian facility and, then, in addition condition four, the block face length, because of the terrain and I saw along the canal it looked -- that would be challenging. Ritter: That would be -- number three was that one and, then, number four pedestrian facility because of the block face. Strader: Got it. I had them swapped. Thank you so much. Ritter: You are welcome. Taylor: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Taylor. Taylor: Linda, could you just speak again -- I -- I think I heard you say when Council originally approved this that they waived some of the design standards for some of the townhomes. Did I hear that correctly? Ritter: Yes. When the original building elevations design elements were approved some of the design standards -- so, Council approved exceptions to the required Ten Mile Plan standards with the original plat. Taylor: Thank you. Simison: Council, any additional questions for staff? Then I will invite the applicant to come forward. Clark: Hi, everybody. Hethe Clark. 251 East Front Street in Boise, representing the applicant, and I am thinking that we are probably pretty close in terms of being on the same page here, so I will try to abbreviate my -- my presentation and kind of hit maybe a couple of the highlights and give you a little context for things. Were you guys able to get that presentation loaded up? Okay. While they are talk -- while they are looking at that, I think one thing I would just clarify on -- for Council Member Taylor on design standards from before, the question that came up during the -- the prior hearing was more of a question of Comprehensive Plan and Ten Mile Plan requirements. One of the things we talked about was that the Ten Mile Plan required porches and these kind of design requirements that were difficult to satisfy and still hit the density standards that -- that Linda talked about before and so when we -- when we built -- or when we came forward with the project -- and I will show you a picture of it, we devoted one block to alley loaded product and, then, we had this ring of single family attached that was not alley loaded and, ultimately, the Council concluded that that satisfied the intent of the -- of the Comprehensive Plan, but it was not a design standard waiver or anything more formal than that. So, again, this -- you guys are familiar with the area. It's very much under development as a status report and Linda's pictures kind of showed this, phase one of the project is currently under construction. So, what we are talking about right Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 13 of 19 now is phase two. It's a triangular site. It's kind of a tough one to design against because of that. We have existing projects on three sides. We got the lateral on the north and the railroad as well. We have terrain that drops off north to south and west to east and so that is part of this topography issue that Linda mentioned with regard to being able to connect in a pedestrian connection into the collector. That collector's location was predetermined. It's on the south side of the project and, then, we also have east and west entries that go through existing apartment projects or projects that are under development. So, this is where we kind of wanted to show you where that collector is, so it kind of runs the entirety of the south of the project and that is completed. So, back, again, when we did phase one we had a phase one with the -- with the single family in it and this is the block that had the alley load. We had a phase two with multi-family, but what we have determined since then is that multi-family is going to be very difficult on this project and the reason for that is largely due to visibility. It's set behind. It's behind two -- these other apartment projects and it's not big enough to -- you know, when you have those disadvantages you have got to over amenitize and it's just not a big enough site to be able to put the number of units in that you would be able to do that. So, worked with staff, came up with an alternative. It remains TN-R, but we are replacing the 216 apartment units with 95 single family residential and we did include the rear loaded townhomes you can kind of see right here and those match the alley loads that were in phase one. Because the projects are going to be combined now we can take the -- the Newkirk phase one amenities that you can see on the screen and we can combine them with phase two. So, the overall -- the total amenity points that are required are four, we are at 14 and a half, so we are happy about that. Total open space 24 percent. Again 15 percent being the minimum requirement. And, then, just to kind of bring you up to -- up to date, the staff report gave us these four homework items. Those first two were really to give them some updated exhibits to kind of show how that rear loaded lot -- how those rear loaded lots would work and, then, we had some conversation about block length. So, this is the block that has the topography and condition that was removed by Planning and Zoning required -- spoke to a pedestrian connection. Now, that collector street is already in. There is already a four foot retaining wall that's in, but to kind of speak more to that topography difference, you will have eight to ten feet of difference between those pads down to the collector. So, a pedestrian connection just really isn't feasible there. So, that's why Planning and Zoning agreed with us to remove that one. And, then, this was the other question and we -- we had a block length that was 508 feet. As you guys know in most of the zone 750 is the standard. In the TN-R zone it's 500. We were over it by eight, so we went ahead and revised that and that took away the need for that pedestrian connection on Wolfsburg. So, we are -- we are in agreement the -- so, that, hopefully, this helps Council Members Strader for the -- kind of keeping things straight. So, A-3 already went away with the P&Z recommendation. A-4 would be an additional deletion. The DA language -- I had suggested this -- the second phase of this development language to try to clarify that the single family units are not capped at 95 for everything. Staff had suggested Newport -- Newport -- Newkirk East rather than referring to phase two and we are totally fine with that. So, with that happy to answer any questions and hopefully wrap this one up. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 14 of 19 Simison: Thank you, Hethe. Council, any questions for the applicant? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: More just for my own curiosity, I was just wondering -- I understand your -- your points about the -- the visibility in terms of the location for multi-family. Is there anything you are seeing in the market just -- just purely intellectual curiosity, doesn't have to do with this application necessarily. But do you feel like the market's becoming kind of over saturated with multi-family? Are you feeling a little bit of friction because of the interest rate environment, seeing stress around financing or do you feel like it's really -- this is just purely a visibility thing and you are not seeing any change in the multi-family commercial real estate market here locally? Clark: Yeah. I think Council Member Strader, I would say on -- on this site in particular -- so micro to macro -- Strader: Uh-huh. Clark: -- this site in particular is really the visibility. I don't know that the interest rate environment or the saturation would necessarily make a difference. There is more market -- the market. What I'm hearing anecdotally is that we are starting to burn through the multi-family supply and folks are watching interest rates really closely to decide whether they are going to jump back in. That's not from this client or this applicant or any -- that's kind of what I'm seeing generally in talking to folks in the market. But, you know, who knows. Right now I think a lot of things are in the air, so we will have to see. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Yeah. This is just interesting. I mean at least in terms of what we ourselves see, you know, we do internal dashboards from our community development group and certainly the permitting activity for multi-family has fallen significantly compared to even one or two years ago. So, I sort of feel like maybe we are just on that side of the real estate cycle with multi-family and kind of chewing through some inventory while it comes online, but I was just curious what your thoughts were. Clark: Yeah. I think interest rates will make a big difference, too. Strader: Sure. Clark: That's what I would really watch. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 15 of 19 Strader: Thank you. Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Mr. Clark, thanks for being here. This noncontiguous parcel -- Clark: Uh-huh. Cavener: -- I guess I'm -- I'm still struggling, what's -- what's the status on it? Who is going to own it? Who is going to maintain it? Clark: Yeah. Thanks. Cavener: I -- I -- my assumption is if it goes to the irrigation district, then, the lateral road would provide the access that they need, but, if not, I guess that would, then, create some sort of a challenge in terms of being able to maintain that property. Clark: Yeah. Council Member Cavener -- and, I apologize, I meant to -- to bring that up. So, that -- the triangle parcel was not neglected in the first application. We -- we -- we talked about it. It was -- it was part of the conversation at the time. This application doesn't include it as a lot, because it's in -- within the ultimate -- what will ultimately be a final plat, because it's separated -- we don't have ownership of the Nampa-Meridian strip, there -- it's not going to be conveyed to anybody. That parcel already exists. That's the purpose of a plat is to create parcels for purposes of conveyance, so -- and, you know, that's due to some of the -- the interpretations we have seen at Ada county, you know, they -- they don't like seeing those kind of breaks and so we left it out for that reason, because it's just not necessary. We have chatted with staff about this and confirmed that it will be either owned by Nampa-Meridian or by our homeowners association. More likely the homeowners association. And we have chatted with Nampa-Meridian, they have no issue with allowing us access across for maintenance. It's -- it will be taken care of. It will be a CC&R obligation. Cavener: Okay. Great. Thanks. Appreciate that. Clark: Yep. Simison: Council, additional questions for the applicant? All right. Thank you very much. Clark: Thanks, everybody. Simison: Mr. Clerk, do we have anyone signed up on this item? Johnson: Mr. Mayor, there were no advanced sign ups. Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 16 of 19 Simison: Okay. Is there anybody present who would like to provide testimony on this item, either in the room or online? Seeing no one coming forward and no one raising their hand online, does the applicant waive final comments? Applicant waives final comments. Council, what's your pleasure? Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: Happy to get the ball rolling here. I move that we close the public hearing on H-2024-0043. Overton: 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 it and the public hearing is closed. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. Strader: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Council Woman Strader. Strader: A couple of things I -- I like about this project and I just wanted to express first of all my appreciation to city staff for the in-depth analysis of density and comparable projects within the Ten Mile Specific Area. I thought that was extremely helpful and that helped I think give us the -- the right foundation I think, so we didn't get sidetracked. So, I really appreciate that. This is a -- and this is a challenging site in terms of the topography, so I think that was a justification for the block face length on Medford and, then, in addition to that, you know, I -- it feels like a nice product in terms of actually having attached townhomes I think in this location. Feels like the right kind of middle ground and it provides something that I think a lot of people need in terms of starting out. So, I think that makes sense. So, with that I'm happy to make a motion. After considering all staff, applicants and public testimony, I move to approve File No. H- 2024-0043 as presented in the staff report for today's hearing date with the following modifications, noting specifically that the Newkirk East development will have a maximum of 95 single family units. So, clarifying that that applies to phase two. In addition to that, noting that the North Medford Way may exceed the maximum block length and, then, finally, also noting that the property owner or owners association will maintain the northeast corner north of the Kennedy Lateral and that they will own and maintain that -- well, that they will maintain that property. And, then, with that also reflecting I think the conditions that have been removed. So, Condition 3, the block length, which I already touched on, but, then, also condition for the pedestrian facility has also been removed. I think I got it all, but -- Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 17 of 19 Simison: Have a motion. Second? Cavener: I think we had a better second down that way I thought. Overton: Second. Simison: Okay. I have a motion and a second. Is there discussion on the motion? Cavener: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Cavener. Cavener: Real quick want to commend the applicant on this. Council, I'm -- I'm on Franklin by this development at least three times a week and, one, in terms of recognizing the -- the nature of multi-family in this area, we also have a lot of multi- family in this area. I think addition of some ownership opportunity is -- is a -- a more prudent decision. So, I want to commend the applicant for their creativity around that. Overton: Mr. Mayor? Simison: Councilman Overton. Overton: I remember when this came through the first time and it was a kudos at that time that they took -- not just the topography of this lot, but the odd shape of this lot and what they were able to do with it the first time. Yeah. You know me. I like this move. I like the single family houses. I like the fewer units. I think it's a far better fit. I think, once again, you have done a fantastic job with a tough piece of ground to fit all this in. Simison: Additional comments? If not, clerk call the roll. Roll Call: Cavener, yea; Strader, yea; Overton, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Taylor, yea; Whitlock, yea. Simison: All ayes. Motion carries and the item is agreed to. Thank you very much. MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES. ORDINANCES [Action Item] 7. First Reading of Ordinance 25-2075: Repealing and replacing Title 2, Meridian City Code, regarding commissions and committees; amending Meridian City Code section 1-6-5, regarding Compensation Committee; amending Meridian City Code section 1-7-9, regarding Compensation Committee; repealing Meridian City Code section 1-7- 11, regarding Meridian Districting Committee and City Council districts; repealing Meridian City Code section 10-7-11, regarding Meridian City Council March 4,2025 Page 18 of 19 Impact Fee Advisory Committee; repealing conflicting ordinances; and providing an effective date. Simison: With that, Council, onto Item 7, which is first reading of Ordinance No. 25- 2075. Ask the clerk to read this ordinance by title. Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It's an ordinance repealing and replacing Title 2, Meridian City Code, regarding commissions and committees; amending Meridian City Code Section 1-6-5, regarding Compensation Committee; amending Meridian City Code Section 1-7-9, regarding Compensation Committee; repealing Meridian City Code Section 1-7-11, regarding Meridian Districting Committee and City Council districts; repealing Meridian City Code Section 10-7-11, regarding Impact Fee Advisory Committee; repealing conflicting ordinances; and providing an effective date. Simison: Thank you. You have heard this for first reading. We will bring this back for second and third reading next week. I guess I should -- do I need to ask if anyone wants it read in its entirety, since we are not passing it this evening, Mr. Nary? Is there anybody that would like it read in this entirety? Okay. Seeing none, we will bring it back for second and third reading next week. 8. Ordinance 25-2076: An ordinance (Baratza Subdivision — H-2024- 0016) annexing a parcel of land located in the north half of the northwest quarter of Section 34, Township 4 North, Range 1 West, Boise Meridian, City of Meridian, Ada County, Idaho, more particularly described in Exhibit "A"; rezoning 80.30 acres of such real property from RUT (Rural Urban Transition) to R-8 (65.22 acres) (Medium-Density Residential) and R-15 (15.08 acres) (Medium-High Density Residential) zoning districts; directing city staff to alter all applicable use and area maps as well as the official zoning maps and all official maps depicting the boundaries and the zoning districts of the City of Meridian in accordance with this ordinance; providing that copies of this ordinance shall be filed with the Ada County Assessor, the Ada County Treasurer, the Ada County Recorder, and the Idaho State Tax Commission, as required by law; repealing conflicting ordinances; and providing an effective date. Simison: With that we will move on to Item 8 and ask the clerk to read this ordinance by title. Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It's an ordinance related to Baratza Subdivision, H- 2024-0016, annexing a parcel of land located in the north half of the northwest quarter of Section 34, Township 4 North, Range 1 West, Boise meridian, city of Meridian, Ada county, Idaho, more particularly described in Exhibit "A"; rezoning 80.30 acres of such real property from RUT to R-8 zoning district and R-15 zoning districts; directing city staff to alter all applicable use and area maps as well as the official zoning maps and all official maps depicting the boundaries and the zoning districts of the City of Meridian in MeridianCityCouncil March4,2025 Page19of19 -- - - By Luke Cavener, Council President -