HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ - Narrative HAWKINS
February 28, 2025
City of Meridian
Planning Division, Community Development Department
33 E. Broadway Ave.
Meridian, ID 83642
H-2025-0007 Narrative
Dear Ms. Allen, Mr. Parsons, Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission, and City Council:
Hawkins is pleased to present Syringa Crossing, a mixed-use project with multi-family
residential, commercial, office, and open space on 55 acres on the northwest (NW) and
southwest(SW) corners of Amity Rd. and Meridian Rd.
We are requesting annexation and zoning of all 55 acres, plus an additional —2 acres that
are not a part of the proposed development. The additional acreage is comprised of an
existing church and office space and infrastructure to support the nearby natural gas
pipeline. The City has asked that these parcels be annexed and Hawkins has worked with
the owners of the parcels to meet the City's request. In addition to annexation and zoning,
Hawkins is seeking preliminary plat approval for the SW corner of Amity and Merdian, which
includes—24.5 acres, and a CUP for the multi-family portion of the SW corner, —17.7 acres.
This SW corner area is Phase I of the development.
Taken together, at full build-out,the project will provide homes for up to 423 families, almost
142,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space, 21,000 square feet of office
space. Roughly 49% of the site's land area (-27 acres)will be dedicated to commercial and
office uses. The other 51% of the site will be dedicated to residential uses and open space
(including parks and pathways), with a gross density of 7.4 units per acre. Including just the
area of the site zoned for residential use,the residential density will be 14.46 units per acre.
Hawkins is requesting that the following be included in the development agreement to
provide for flexibility to develop the commercial and residential areas in accordance with
changing community preferences and values.All changes would remain in compliance with
the Comprehensive Plan:
- Allow for up to 15 dwelling units per acre across the residential area of the site for a
total of 423 residential units.
855 West Broad Street, Suite 300, Boise, Idaho 83702-7154 1 208.376.8522 1 hcollc.com
- Allow for a deviation of up to 15%(higher or lower)of total gross floor area within each
use type and Phase (Office, Commercial, Residential). The general layout of the site
will be consistent with the submitted concept plan.
- Cross-access to the church parcel shall be granted at such time when development
plans are submitted for NW corner of the site.
Phase I of the development will include 6 commercial pads — roughly 35,000 sf of building
area—wrapping the SW corner of Amity and Meridian Rd, 322 multi-family residential units,
and a 1.3-acre park. While specific users have not been identified, envisioned uses include
restaurants, retail shops, a coffee shop, and a gas station/convenience store. The
commercial portion of the site will be zoned Community Commercial (C-C), and the
residential portion of the site is proposed as High-Density Residential (R-40), although the
gross residential density across Phase I of the development is 13.7 dwelling units per acre.
R-40 allows for the 42'-53' (roof access stairwell) height of the 4-story buildings located
nearest the commercial uses in the center of the site.
Phase II of the development is the —30.6-acre NW corner and will include a —65,000 sf daily
needs/grocery store anchor, alongwith retail shops, restaurants, and a bank.The NW corner
will also include up to 101 multi-family units, with a mix of townhomes and apartments.
Several office buildings totaling—21,000 sf are proposed, located between the grocery/daily
needs user and the residential townhomes. These buildings could hold anything from a
medical office, a gym, a daycare, personal care services, or professional services like
engineer or architect's offices. The proposed residential portion of the site will be zoned
Medium-High Density Residential(R-15),which matches the zone of the development to the
north. The commercial and office portion of the site will be zoned General Commercial (C-
G). Cross access to the outparcel containing the church and office will be granted at such a
time when development plans are submitted for Phase II of the site. This is because the
exact location for cross access will be determined by both the final configuration of
Hawkins' development and the future use of the office and church space at the time when
cross access will be provided.
Comprehensive Plan
Syringa Crossing is a manifestation of the goals and objectives outlined in the City's
Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan calls for Community-scaled Mixed-Use
(MU-C) development across the entire 55 acres. The development provides a combination
of compatible land uses within a close geographic area that allows for easily accessible and
convenient services for residents, workers, and visitors. Across the 55-acre development, 4
distinct land use types are provided:
- 3 types of housing, podium apartments, garden-style walk-up apartments, and
townhomes,
- commercial uses from retail shops, to banks, to restaurants to coffee shops,
855 West Broad Street, Suite 300, Boise, Idaho 83702-7154 1 208.376.8522 1 hcollc.com
- office space that could house medical office, daycare, personal care or professional
services,
- Public and Quasi-public parks, plazas and open space for active play and leisure.
Notably, when viewed at a community level, many additional housing types are provided
and/or proposed in nearby developments, ranging from duplexes to alley-loaded homes to
small- and large-lot detached single-family homes. Notably absent from the surrounding
mix in the area are apartments, the density of which are needed to support a walkable,
mixed-use development such as the one proposed here.The two critical pieces of a mixed-
use development are places (the built environment) and the people that inhabit them —
either living, working, or playing — so for a place to be a truly walkable mixed-use
development,there needs to be a critical mass of people with an origin (a home)from which
to walk, along with a destination (work, entertainment, leisure)within walking distance.
These places—discussed in the description of Syringa Crossing above—are incorporated as
part of a wholistic site design that respects the impact of commercial uses on residential
uses while simultaneously functionally integrating them.
On the SW corner, Phase I,the central spine of the development is a community clubhouse,
pool, and park, connected by pathways that extend north-south through the site. This
pathway connects the single-family and townhome/duplex development to the south,
though the Syringa Crossing multi-family development, and into the commercial
development on the north side of the SW corner.An 8,200 sf plaza area in front of the central
clubhouse serves as a critical node providing linkages from the residential areas to the south
to the commercial areas to the north. Within the commercial area, a 6,000 sf plaza area
connects multi-use pathways along Amity and Meridian Rds.
On the NW corner, Phase 11, the highlight is the linear park and open space containing a
multi-use pathway that links the 13,000 sf plaza on the corner of Amity and Meridian Rds
through the commercial area with shops and restaurants to the townhomes on the north
edge of the development. Upon crossing Lyra Street,the multi-use pathway continues north
to serve Stapelton and Graycliff Subdivisions and a future high-density residential
development. This pathway and the Syringa Crossing businesses that it will serve is already
being met with excitement. At the neighborhood meeting for this development in January
2025, one young family in the Graycliff neighborhood expressed excitement for the
grocery/daily needs store and restaurants within an easy walk from their house along the
multi-use pathway. Additionally, pedestrian access from the grocery/daily needs store to
the townhomes through the office development provided via a pathway linkage that passes
through an 8,400 sf office plaza nestled between office buildings.
Quasi-public and public open spaces and places make up 12.3%of the overall development
area(250%of what is desired bythe Comprehensive Plan). On the SW corner(Phase 1),these
include a quasi-public park, central pool and amenity spaces, central plaza area, and corner
commercial plaza area. On the NW corner (Phase 11), these include multiple commercial
855 West Broad Street, Suite 300, Boise, Idaho 83702-7154 1 208.376.8522 1 hcollc.com
plazas with pathway connections, a central office plaza with linkage to commercial and
residential land uses, a park area within the townhome development, and a linear park
containing the multi-use pathway.
Renderings provided with this application show the intent of these key elements of the
project discussed above.
Vehicular Transportation and Access
Wrapping the north and west boundaries of the site is a commercial collector roadway,
which is envisioned in ACHD's master street map. This collector provides connectivity to
Stapleton and Graycliff subdivisions to the north and northwest. It continues south along
the west side of the subject development, where it provides a buffer/transition between the
commercial uses on the NW corner of Syringa Crossing and the future residential
development that is anticipated to occur to the west, where it then connects to Amity Rd.
The proposed location of the collector is 1,209' from the Amity and Meridian Rds
intersection. Per ACHD's policy manual, a collector roadway cannot be located any nearer
to this intersection. On the south side, Hawkins proposes to construct part of the collector
roadway extending northward from the subdivision to the south. The remainder of the
roadway, once it leaves Hawkins' property, will be constructed by others as the western
parcel develops and will intersect Amity Rd across from the northern collector. Five
vehicular access points (and 1 future access point) for the development will be located
along this collector roadway.
Syringa Crossing will also take access from 2 locations along Amity Rd, each with a
northbound and southbound spoke. One full access is proposed,which will be converted to
a Ri/Ro/Li as the collector roadway is completed. This is located 753' from the Amity and
Meridan Rd intersection, which meets the separation distance required by ACHD. The
second access is a Ri/Ro only and is located 332' from the Amity and Meridan Rd
intersection. This also meets the separation distance required by ACHD.
Finally, Hawkins is proposing one Ri/Ro driveway onto Meridian Rd/SH69 on the NW corner
of the development and one on the SW corner.The Ri/Ro access point north of Amity Rd is a
deeded access, accepted by ITD. It is located 660' north of the Amity and Meridian Rd
intersection.The Ri/Ro access point south of Meridian Rd. is located 715' south of the Amity
and Meridian Rd intersection. Both of these access points meet or exceed ITD's spacing
requirements for a Ri/Ro access.We humbly request a waiver of City of Meridian's UDO and
request to construct and use both accesses to serve Syringa Crossing.
Importantly, all access points are supported by a traffic impact study completed by
Kittleson and accepted by ACHD in December 2024. Each access is needed to serve the
development safely and efficiently. The traffic study shows that each of the proposed
accesses are required to alleviate congestion and delay at other access points. These
855 West Broad Street, Suite 300, Boise, Idaho 83702-7154 1 208.376.8522 1 hcollc.com
accesses are safe and logical, and meet separation distances of ACHD and ITD. Therefore,
we request your approval of the access points as proposed.
Conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to develop a transformational project within the City of
Merdian. This project will provide community-oriented commercial services, parks, and
much-needed homes in one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
In your consideration, please remember this: Reducing the scope or density of this project
does not reduce existing residents'need to for services or new residents'need for housing.
It only changes where this need will be fulfilled. This project is surrounded by existing and
planned housing developments that need services. If services are provided here, it is logical
that by adding more housing withing walking distance of these services, it will reduce stress
on local infrastructure, which will be required to expand elsewhere to meet the demand for
housing somewhere other than this project. The project is located at the intersection of a
state highway and major arterial roadway. It is the ideal location for dense housing and
commercial services. Smart development is development that is logical, predictable, and
efficient development. As communities invest in transportation improvements and
municipal services, this is a logical, predictable, and efficient place to welcome new
services and additional residential density.
As such, we look forward to your approval!
Sincerely,
Ethan Mansfield
Pre-Development Manager
Hawkins Companies
855 West Broad Street, Suite 300, Boise, Idaho 83702-7154 1 208.376.8522 1 hcollc.com