HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-09-04 Kimberly Laukala
Charlene Way
From:Sonya Allen
Sent:Thursday, September 4, 2025 3:10 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:FW: Cherry Blossom East Subdivision (File No. H-2025-0030) - Public Testimony
From: Kimberly Laukala <klaukala@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 4, 2025 2:58 PM
To: Sonya Allen <sallen@meridiancity.org>
Subject: Re: Cherry Blossom East Subdivision (File No. H-2025-0030), scheduled for hearing on September 18, 2025
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Hi Sonya, yea I would like my email and the responses included in the public record.
The proposed Lot 5 access is scheduled to be from the new subdivision. The issues with that are that the
lot has many obstacles that would prevent us from full access. These include trees that are marked as
“do not remove” and guy wires for a power poll.
The alternative I proposed below would give us access similar to our current access off the private drive
off Cedarburg.
Thank you
Kim
On Thu, Sep 4, 2025 at 10:11 AM Sonya Allen <sallen@meridiancity.org> wrote:
Did you want your email and my response included in the public record as testimony?
From: Sonya Allen
Sent: Wednesday, September 3, 2025 6:52 PM
To: Kimberly Laukala <klaukala@gmail.com>; Bill Parsons <bparsons@meridiancity.org>; Clerks Comment
<comment@meridiancity.org>; City Clerk <CityClerk@meridiancity.org>; planninginquiries
<planning@meridiancity.org>; jperreault@meridiancity.org; srust@meridiancity.org; mstoll@meridiancity.org;
jsmith@meridiancity.org
Subject: RE: Cherry Blossom East Subdivision (File No. H-2025-0030), scheduled for hearing on September 18, 2025
Hi Kimberly,
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My sincere apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this, I was out of the office on Friday and we were
closed Monday so I’m playing catch-up.
I’ve responded to your questions below to the best of my ability – please discuss these issues further with the
developer’s representative.
Thanks,
Sonya
From: Kimberly Laukala <klaukala@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2025 11:07 AM
To: Sonya Allen <sallen@meridiancity.org>; Bill Parsons <bparsons@meridiancity.org>; Clerks Comment
<comment@meridiancity.org>; City Clerk <CityClerk@meridiancity.org>; planninginquiries
<planning@meridiancity.org>; jperreault@meridiancity.org; srust@meridiancity.org; msandoval@meridiancity.org;
mstoll@meridiancity.org; jsmith@meridiancity.org
Subject: Fwd: Cherry Blossom East Subdivision (File No. H-2025-0030), scheduled for hearing on September 18, 2025
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Hello, I am following up on my email below as I have not received any acknowledgement or response to
my email dated August 25, 2025. There are some serious questions that came up after the last meeting
that need to be addressed. These are continuing concerns about the pump access and the financial
responsibility of the common drive for Cherry Blossom East. The pump is located on Lot 5, Block 1,
which is a common lot to be owned and maintained by the Cherry Blossom Place HOA. The financial
responsibility of the common driveway on Lot 4, Block 1 will be the responsibility of the lots that take
access from the common driveway (i.e. Lots 1-3); plat note #8 will be revised accordingly.
We would also like clarification on how the Cherry Blossom HOA is supposed to provide a notarized
statement that says the homeowners agree to share our irrigation pump with the new development,
when there is NO homeowner representation on the current HOA board. The developer, Doug Jayo, is
still in full control of our HOA. Although a condition in the last meeting was that he have a meeting with
us, the homeowners, nothing has been set up and I have serious doubts it will occur. If the irrigation
system is determined to be adequate to serve both developments, the condition requiring the HOA to
consent to this may be removed. The Applicant’s representative contacted me for a current mailing list
for everyone within 500’ of the property so I believe you’ll be getting a notice for a meeting.
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I look forward to your acknowledgement and response.
Kim Laukala
1435 N Parkshire Wy, Meridian, ID 83642
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kimberly Laukala <klaukala@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 25, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Subject: Cherry Blossom East Subdivision (File No. H-2025-0030), scheduled for hearing on September
18, 2025
To: <sallen@meridiancity.org>
To City of Meridian
Thank you for hearing our concerns at the August 21, 2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting in
regards to project H-2025-0030. The additional information provided was very helpful. We do have a few
follow up questions/concerns:
1) We would formally request written clarification on who is financially responsible for the cost of the
independent qualified consultant review of the pressurized irrigation system? As previously stated in
my first letter, our HOA does not have any funds in it and will not be able to afford the cost of a review.
The Applicant is responsible for any fees incurred in the review. From what I understand, NMID will be
performing the review since they own the system.
2) We acknowledge that having our pump on its own lot that will be owned and maintained by Cherry
Blossom Place Homeowners Association is a very good thing. Our concern is that per the submitted
Cherry Blossom Place East PFP H-2025-0030 document, as shown in Project Drawings titled Cherry
Blossom East_082125 on Page 1, under NOTES it states
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Per this statement we (Cherry Blossom Place Homeowners Association) will be responsible for the common
lot our irrigation pump is located on as well as Lot 4 which is the common driveway.
The note needs to be amended, I’ll work with the Applicant on that. It probably makes more sense for Cherry
Blossom East to own & maintain the lot and grant Cherry Blossom Place an access easement for maintenance
of the pump. Lots 1-3 (Cherry Blossom East) will be responsible for maintenance of the common driveway on
Lot 4.
This directly goes against all of the comments that this new addition will not be part of the Cherry Blossom
Homeowners Association and that we will NOT be responsible for the common drive. We formally request
that this wording be removed from all drawings and paperwork submitted and it be noted, in writing and
signed by the developer, that the Cherry Blossom Homeowners Association will not be responsible for any
portion of the Cherry Blossom East subdivision including Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 – I will ask the Applicant to revise
the plat to clarify this issue. And furthermore, we would like a written document signed by the developer
that this new subdivision will not be annexed once the construction is complete. You can request that this
be required but typically, the City does not get involved in HOA related items.
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The access to our proposed common lot for the irrigation pump will only be able to be accessed via the
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common drive off 4 street. The photo below shows what that area currently looks like. We would formally
request that all work outlined below be completed by the developer prior to any work beginning on the
other lots. If the lot is left as-is, the Cherry Blossom Homeowners Association will have no vehicle access to
our pump and repairs/maintenance will be hindered. Noted – I will have the Applicant improve the area
and depict accordingly on plans.
Per the submitted Cherry Blossom Place PFP H-2025-0030 document, as shown in Project Drawings titled
Cherry Blossom East_082125 on Page 2, under TREE PROTECTION NOTES: it states that the existing 2 trees on
this lot will be preserved. This will restrict our direct access to our pump non-existent. We formally request
that the developer remove these trees from this lot to allow us full access to our pump. I’m unsure if you’re
talking about accessing the pump from the common driveway proposed in Cherry Blossom East or from the
west from the common driveway in Cherry Blossom Place. Access will be provided from Lot 5, not from the
common driveway to the west in Cherry Blossom Place.
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The common lot that is proposed for the irrigation pump has 2 ditches with water in them and a dry ditch.
One of these wet ditches is located on the property to the South of the proposed development. The other
wet ditch is unknown but does have a pipe in it that seems to feed our pump. All of these will need to be
crossed in order to access our pump. We formally request that the developer pipe, backfill and provide a
flat surface for access to our our common lot. I will have the Applicant improve the area and depict
accordingly on plans. All open waterways/ditches on the site are required to be piped.
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The common lot that is proposed has guide wires from a utility pole that is located on a different property
and in the water. We formally request that the developer move these guy wires to allow us full access to
the irrigation pump. If access is provided from the common driveway in Cherry Blossom East will this be an
issue? I’m unsure if you’re talking about accessing the pump from the common driveway proposed in Cherry
Blossom East or from the west from the common driveway in Cherry Blossom Place.
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In lieu of the above steps to make our irrigation pump fully accessible, we would formally request that 10
(ten) feet Lot 1 that abuts up to our existing Association (as shown in the drawing below) be deeded over
to the Cherry Blossom HOA along with the area just to the East of the pump instead of the current common
lot that is proposed. This would give us direct access to our pump in the same manner as we have currently
utilized for the past 5 years. Currently our access is via a flat dirt lot. This will also allow for Lot 1 of the new
development to have a more usable driveway and the ability to back out of their driveway without impeding
neighboring properties. I don’t think 10’ will allow enough room for a vehicle to get in from the west from the
common driveway to access the pump.
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3) How will a notarized written approval from the Cherry Blossom Homeowner’s Association allowing for
this new subdivision to use our pump be valid when there are no homeowners on the HOA board? The
Association is still under the control of the Declarant which is also the developer of this new subdivision.
This appears to be a clear conflict of interest. This condition may be removed as it doesn’t really get us
anywhere to have him authorize it. This is an unusual circumstance since the property was intended to be
part of the same development and is governed by the same Development Agreement.
4) When our original community was developed beginning in 2018 (H-2018-0018), part of the conditions
for approval per section 2.2, item 2.2.6 “All irrigation ditches, canals, laterals, or drains, exclusive of
natural waterways, intersecting, crossing or laying adjacent and contiguous to the area being subdivided
shall be tiled per UDC11-3-6.” This was never done. Our lateral/ditch is continuously overgrown. We
formally request that the developer complete this step before he is allowed to continue with the new
subdivision. This again shows the neglect that our community has had to endure. The City Council
approved a waiver to UDC 11-3A-6B.3 to allow the irrigation ditch along the southwest boundary of the
site that encroaches into the Cherry Blossom Place site in certain areas to remain open & not be piped.
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