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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWSE Parking Expansion CZC, DES, ALT A-2025-0075Planning Division Community Development Department 33 E. Broadway Avenue, Suite 102 Meridian, Idaho 83642 1 | Page CERTIFICATE OF ZONING COMPLIANCE REPORT Project Number A-2025-0075 Project Name WSE Parking Expansion Phase 2 CZC, DES, ALT Project Address 500 E. Overland Road Project Description Approval to expand the parking area at Western States Equipment over an unimproved area along the east boundary, currently occupied by the open-channel Eight-Mile Lateral, adding 117 parking stalls on 16.14 acres of land in the C-G zoning district. Applicant Ella Passy, The Land Group Assigned Planner Stacy Hersh Expiration Date August 19, 2026 Note: This is not a building permit. Please contact Building Services at (208) 887-2211 to verify if you need a building permit and/or inspection. If you do need a building permit, you must complete that process before you commence the use or construction. Please contact Building Services for additional details about building permits and inspections. I. DECISION The applicant's request for Certificate of Zoning Compliance, Design Review, and Alternative Compliance are approved with the conditions listed below. The director determined that the proposed structural and/or site designs conform to the standards and meet or exceed the intent of the "City of Meridian Architectural Standards Manual". NOTE: Light poles cannot reside within the utility easements. ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE The Applicant requests Alternative Compliance to the following standards: • UDC 11-3B-8C.1: The perimeter landscape buffer shall be planted with one Class II or Class III tree per thirty-five (35) linear feet and shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground covers. • UDC 11-3B-8.C2.d - Parking lot landscaping. Trees required. Each interior planter that serves a single row of parking spaces shall be landscaped with at least one (1) tree and shall be covered with low shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground cover. Each interior planter that serves a double row of parking spaces shall have at least two (2) trees and shall be covered with low shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground cover. Trees shall be centered within the planters and provide urban canopy. Deciduous urban canopy trees shall be pruned to a minimum height of eight (8) feet above the adjacent parking areas. Evergreen trees and class III trees are prohibited in interior planters. 2 | Page Due to an irrigation easement along the eastern property boundary, as well as existing City of Meridian water and sewer mains and utility easements, planting trees in this area is not feasible. Meeting the required landscaping would also require a significant increase in the landscape buffer width; instead, the Applicant is proposing additional parking in this area. Piping the lateral will allow the undeveloped area to be improved for the proposed parking expansion. This expansion also provides Western States Equipment the opportunity to upgrade the existing parking area to meet current UDC standards by incorporating interior landscape islands and drainage facilities. The proposed landscape design includes a wider, densely planted buffer along the east side of the parking lot, as well as multiple parking lot islands featuring a mix of various shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials, and permabark mulch in place of trees. The parking lot expansion will necessitate the removal of some existing trees. In compliance with UDC requirements, the landscape design provides detailed calculations, indicating the removal of 388 caliper inches of trees and the installation of 70 compensatory trees to mitigate the loss. Additional trees will also be planted adjacent to Interstate 84 to enhance the landscape buffer. The Applicant is coordinating with the City Arborist to address the remaining mitigation inches (318) by planting trees off-site in one the City’s parks. The Applicant will complete all on-site plantings and coordinate directly with the City Arborist to determine species and location for the park plantings. The Applicant will also be responsible for purchasing the trees directly through a wholesaler designated by the City Arborist. Lastly, the Planning Division has received the approvals for this project from the Army Corps of Engineers and NMID. Staff finds the Applicant’s Alternative Compliance provides an equal means of meeting the intent and purpose of the requirement as analyzed below in the required findings for Alternative Compliance: 1. Strict adherence or application of the requirements is not feasible; or The Director finds that strict adherence or application of the requirements listed in UDC 11-3B- 8.C.1 and 11-3B-8.C2.d is not feasible due to the irrigation easement and utility easements that runs along this area. 2. The alternative compliance provides an equal or superior means for meeting the requirements; and The Director finds the proposed alternative compliance provides an equal means for meeting the requirements. The applicant is proposing a dense landscape buffer with a mix of shrubs and vegetative ground covers along the east boundary, as well as mitigation for the removal of existing trees. 3. The alternative means will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or impair the intended uses and character of surrounding properties. 3 | Page The Director finds the proposed alternative means of compliance to the standards listed above will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or impair the intended uses and character of surrounding properties. Site Specific Conditions of Approval 1. The applicant shall tile the Eight-Mile Lateral as set forth in UDC 11-3A-6A and required by Nampa Merdian Irrigation District and the Army Corps of Engineers. 2. Per UDC 11-5B-5B2, the Director (at the applicant's request) approved alternative compliance regarding UDC 11-3B-8C.1 and UDC 11-3B-8.C2.d. 3. No signs are approved with this application. Prior to installing any signs on the property, the applicant shall submit a sign permit application consistent with the standards in UDC Chapter 3 Article D and receive approval for such signs. 4. The applicant shall complete all improvements related to public life, safety, and health as set forth in UDC 11-5C-3B. A surety agreement may be accepted for other improvements in accord with UDC 11-5C-3C. 5. Upon installation of the landscaping and prior to inspection by Planning Division staff, the applicant shall provide a written certificate of completion as set forth in UDC 11-3B-14A. 6. The approved site plan, landscape plan and/or elevations may not be altered without prior written approval of the City of Meridian Planning Division. 7. The applicant shall pay any applicable impact fees prior to the issuance of a building permit. 8. If any changes must be made to the site plan to accommodate ACHD requirements, the applicant shall submit a new site plan to the City of Meridian Planning Division for approval prior to issuance of the building permit. 9. The applicant shall complete all required improvements prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. It is unlawful to use or occupy any building or structure until the Building Official has issued a Certificate of Occupancy. General Conditions of Approval 1. The applicant and/or assigns shall have the continuing obligation to provide irrigation that meets the standards as set forth in UDC 11-3B-6 and to install and maintain all landscaping as set forth in UDC 11-3B-5, UDC 11-3B-13 and UDC 11-3B-14. 2. The applicant shall comply with the outdoor storage as an accessory use standards as set forth in UDC 11-3A-14. 3. The project is subject to all current City of Meridian ordinances and previous conditions of approval associated with this site [CZC-07-117, ALT-07-013; CZC, DES A-2022-0129; CZC, DES, ALT A-2024-0151]. 4. The issuance of this CZC does not release the applicant from any previous requirements of the other permits issued for the site. 5. The applicant and/or property owner shall have an ongoing obligation to prune all trees to a minimum height of six feet above the ground or sidewalk surface to afford greater visibility of the area. 6. The applicant shall have an ongoing obligation to maintain all pathways. 7. The applicant has a continuing obligation to comply with the outdoor lighting provisions as set forth in UDC 11-3A-11. 8. The applicant and/or property owner shall have an ongoing obligation to maintain all landscaping and constructed features within the clear vision triangle consistent with the standards in UDC 11-3A-3. 4 | Page 9. The applicant and/or assigns shall have the continuing obligation to meet the specific use standards for vehicle sales and/or rental service as set forth in UDC 11-4-3-38. II. CITY COUNCIL REVIEW The applicant or a party of record may request City Council review of a decision of the Director. All requests for review shall be filed in writing with the Planning Division on or before September 4, 2025, within fifteen (15) days after the written decision is issued, and contain the information listed in UDC 11-5A-6B. If City Council review of the decision is not requested, the action of the Director represents a final decision on a land use application. You have the right to request a regulatory taking analysis under Idaho Code 67-8003.