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Home My WebLink About2025-08-04 James Craft Charlene Way From:Dave Miles Sent:Monday, August 4, 2025 8:04 AM To:James Craft; Clerks Comment; citycouncil; Mayor Office Feedback Cc:Bill Parsons Subject:RE: OPPOSED to In-N-Out Appeal at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids James, Thank you for reaching out and sharing your thoughts about the proposed project. Your email has been received by the Mayor’s O?ice. Because this project is part of an open application, the Mayor and City Council members are prohibited from commenting outside of the public hearing process. That said, we take public feedback seriously and want you to know that we have received your email and have read your comments. Your email has been forwarded to our City Clerk and will be included in the project public record. As you may be aware, the City does not determine which food service or business locates at a property, the City regulates the land use of various properties while businesses decide to locate at given sites or areas based on market conditions. This project’s City Council public hearing is currently scheduled for Aug. 12. Additionally, we invite you to check the City’s website, meridiancity.org for any upcoming public hearing notices and additional information regarding the development. I have also copied the Planning Department if you have additional questions on hearings, or should that date change. Sincerely, Dave Miles | Chief of Staff City of Meridian | Mayor’s Office 33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642 Phone: (208) 489-0532|Fax: (208) 884-8119 Built for Business, Designed for Living All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law, in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law From: James Craft <jcraft@alumni.nmt.edu> Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 7:55 AM To: Clerks Comment <comment@meridiancity.org>; citycouncil <citycouncil@meridiancity.org>; Mayor Office Feedback <MayorOfficeFeedback@meridiancity.org> Subject: OPPOSED to In-N-Out Appeal at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments. Dear Mayor and Council Members, I am writing to express my strong opposition to In-N-Out’s appeal to overturn the Planning and Zoning Commission’s 1-4 denial of their permit. The Commission got this right, and I urge the Council to uphold their decision. 1 The shopping center near Ten Mile and Lost Rapids is significantly smaller and less developed than the original plan anticipated. In-N-Out’s appeal is based on outdated assumptions that do not reflect current conditions. Costco already causes traffic congestion throughout the day, and adding a high-volume, drive-thru restaurant like In-N-Out would only make it worse. The problem is not just whether In-N-Out can stack cars on their own lot, but whether the surrounding streets and intersections can safely handle the extra load. They cannot. At the Eagle and Fairview location, traffic plans could not prevent hours-long wait times or major disruptions, even in a more commercial area built for higher traffic. Now imagine that level of activity near two city parks, three school bus stops, and multiple residential neighborhoods. The risks to pedestrians, children, and drivers are simply unacceptable. In-N-Out claims they can manage their traffic, but their December 2024 traffic study does not reflect peak seasonal traffic and avoids spring, summer, and fall entirely. Additionally, ACHD’s 2017 planning for this corridor never anticipated the level of drive-thru saturation we’re seeing now. This proposal adds yet another drive-thru in the Costco development area. That does not align with the City’s long-term vision for a retail-based center, and it adds stress to an already overburdened roadway system. Let’s also compare this to The Village at Meridian. That shopping center sits on 1.2 acres at its core property, yet its traffic plan spilled beyond its borders. To accommodate drive-thru demand, The Village and developer CenterCal paved four large lots along the west side of the property to stage and stack cars. They moved traffic through a designated grid-like system. These lots were not part of the restaurant footprint but were critical to making traffic flow work. That kind of offsite mitigation is not possible at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids. There is simply no room to absorb that volume of traffic, and no surrounding lots that could safely be used for overflow. In-N-Out’s offer to close at midnight and avoid overnight deliveries does nothing to address the true concern, which is the daily volume of cars in an area already struggling with access and safety. Lastly, the City’s own 2024 Resident Survey is clear. When asked what issues matter most, residents chose 1) roads and traffic, 2) growth and development, and 3) education and schools. Approving this appeal would go against the priorities residents asked you to protect. Please listen to the surrounding neighborhoods and your constituents. This location is not the right place for In-N-Out. Sincerely, James Craft Resident, 3736 W Angelica Drive, Meridian 2 Charlene Way From:Charlene Way Sent:Monday, August 4, 2025 8:02 AM To:James Craft; Clerks Comment; citycouncil; Mayor Office Feedback Subject:RE: OPPOSED to In-N-Out Appeal at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids James: Thank you for your comments. They have been made available in the project folder for review. To access Public Hearing Notice Information, find online at: https://apps.meridiancity.org/phnotices/ To access Public Hearing Process Information, find online at https://meridiancity.org/government/public-meeting-information/ Have a wonderful day, Charlene Charlene Way, Assistant City Clerk (Remote Fridays) City Clerk Office| City of Meridian 33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642 Phone: 208.888.4433|Email: cway@meridiancity.org All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law, in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law. From: James Craft <jcraft@alumni.nmt.edu> Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 7:55 AM To: Clerks Comment <comment@meridiancity.org>; citycouncil <citycouncil@meridiancity.org>; Mayor Office Feedback <MayorOfficeFeedback@meridiancity.org> Subject: OPPOSED to In-N-Out Appeal at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids 1 External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments. Dear Mayor and Council Members, I am writing to express my strong opposition to In-N-Out’s appeal to overturn the Planning and Zoning Commission’s 1-4 denial of their permit. The Commission got this right, and I urge the Council to uphold their decision. The shopping center near Ten Mile and Lost Rapids is significantly smaller and less developed than the original plan anticipated. In-N-Out’s appeal is based on outdated assumptions that do not reflect current conditions. Costco already causes traffic congestion throughout the day, and adding a high-volume, drive-thru restaurant like In-N-Out would only make it worse. The problem is not just whether In-N-Out can stack cars on their own lot, but whether the surrounding streets and intersections can safely handle the extra load. They cannot. At the Eagle and Fairview location, traffic plans could not prevent hours-long wait times or major disruptions, even in a more commercial area built for higher traffic. Now imagine that level of activity near two city parks, three school bus stops, and multiple residential neighborhoods. The risks to pedestrians, children, and drivers are simply unacceptable. In-N-Out claims they can manage their traffic, but their December 2024 traffic study does not reflect peak seasonal traffic and avoids spring, summer, and fall entirely. Additionally, ACHD’s 2017 planning for this corridor never anticipated the level of drive-thru saturation we’re seeing now. This proposal adds yet another drive-thru in the Costco development area. That does not align with the City’s long-term vision for a retail-based center, and it adds stress to an already overburdened roadway system. Let’s also compare this to The Village at Meridian. That shopping center sits on 1.2 acres at its core property, yet its traffic plan spilled beyond its borders. To accommodate drive-thru demand, The Village and developer CenterCal paved four large lots along the west side of the property to stage and stack cars. They moved traffic through a designated grid-like system. These lots were not part of the restaurant footprint but were critical to making traffic flow work. That kind of offsite mitigation is not possible at Ten Mile and Lost Rapids. There is simply no room to absorb that volume of traffic, and no surrounding lots that could safely be used for overflow. In-N-Out’s offer to close at midnight and avoid overnight deliveries does nothing to address the true concern, which is the daily volume of cars in an area already struggling with access and safety. Lastly, the City’s own 2024 Resident Survey is clear. When asked what issues matter most, residents chose 1) roads and traffic, 2) growth and development, and 3) education and schools. Approving this appeal would go against the priorities residents asked you to protect. Please listen to the surrounding neighborhoods and your constituents. This location is not the right place for In-N-Out. Sincerely, James Craft Resident, 3736 W Angelica Drive, Meridian 2