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HUB OF TREASURE VALLEY
MAYOR A Good Place to Live LEGAL DEPARTMENT
(208) 288-2499 Fax 288-2501
·
CITY OF MERIDIAN
Robert D. Corrie
PUBLIC WORKS
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
BUILDING DEPARTMENT
33 EAST IDAHO
Tammy deWeerd
(208) 898-5500 · Fax 887-1297
MERIDIAN, IDAHO 83642
Keith Bird
(208) 888-4433 · FAX (208) 887-4813
PLANNING AND ZONING
Cherie McCandless
City Clerk Office Fax (208) 888-4218
DEPARTMENT
William L.M. Nary
(208) 884-5533 · FAX 888-6854
MEMORANDUM:
January 3, 2003
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Brad Hawkins-Clark, Interim P&Z Administrator
Deleted:
Assistant to the City Engineer
Request for a Waiver of the Requirement to Tile a Ditch (Rutledge Lateral),
Re:
by Pinnacle Engineers, Inc. for Kent Mortensen (File No. TE-02-012).
We have reviewed the above-referenced submittal and offer the following comments, as
conditions of the applicant. These conditions shall be considered in full, unless expressly
modified or deleted by motion of the Meridian City Council:
APPLICATION SUMMARY & BACKGROUND
The applicant, Pinnacle Engineers, has requested a waiver of Meridian City Code 12-4-13.A.,
Piping of Ditches, for the Rutledge Lateral. As noted in the Applicant’s cover letter, the City
Council is granted the authority to waive this ordinance by Section A.2:
“Waive Requirement to Cover: The City may waive the requirement for covering such
ditch, lateral, or canal if it finds that the public purpose requiring such will not be served
in the individual case.”
To date, the City has applied the requirement to pipe laterals to all land being developed in the
city limits, not only to land being subdivided. This authority is derived from MCC 12-1-3,
Jurisdiction, which states that the requirements in the Subdivision and Development Ordinance
(Title 12) “shall apply to the development of all land within the legally defined Meridian City
limits (Ord. 592, 11-17-92). In other words, even if property is not being subdivided, the
standards and requirements within Title 12 apply to a development application, as pertinent and
as regards public health and safety. Therefore, Staff does not believe there is finding for City
Council’s decision based on this section alone.
However, Staff does concur with the other four (4) points made on page 2 of the application
regarding the public purpose of tiling not being found with this specific property. The existing
chain link fencing provides some protection from the lateral. Also, the commercial / non-
residential use of the site typically implies fewer children that would be exposed to the area.
Finally, the Ninemile Creek, which is immediately south of the Rutledge Lateral, is NOT tiled
and likely provides the same degree of risk, if not greater, as the Rutledge.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the above findings, Staff recommends approval of the waiver request.
MI-02-012 Mortensen.MI