HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from Nathan and Shanna GardinerRECEIVE
Madam Mayor and Council Members,
MAR _ 4 2008
~ityafMeridian
My name is Nathan Gardiner. I live at 3041 S. Alfani Way in Meridian, Idaho. ~ia~l~p~~
against the proposed change in the zoning for Lots 2 & 3, Block 2, Strada Bellisima No. 1
Subdivision for the following reasons:
1) The proposed change will negatively impact the safety of residents of Strada
Bellisima, especially children. There are over twenty small children that live on
Alfani Way. The traffic has already become a safety hazard and changing the
zoning, will just make it worse. There will be more traffic, not only during the
day but in the evenings as well. During the summer when the days are longer
children can be seen riding their bikes in Strada Bellisima at 10:00 pm. As
Madam Mayor said at the hearing on December 18th of last year, "I would be
concerned about the increase in traffic because of the commercial designation.
Light office has a lesser impact."
2) The proposed change will increase noise, litter and perhaps obnoxious smells
in Strada Bellisima. What is being proposed is a higher intense use. At the
hearing on December 18th of last year it was recognized that the C-N zone is for
higher intense use than the L-O zone. With that higher intense use comes
increased traffic, noise and litter. And depending on the use it can increase smells
such as those from fried grease (restaurant) or fuels (gas station) that can blow
through the neighborhood. As Mr. Borton said while reading from the pre-
application notes at the hearing on Dececmber 18th, "C-N is higher intense use
and there will be nothing to buffer residential from commercial."
3) The proposed change is contrary to the normal expectations created by a
planned development. A planned development like Strada Bellisima creates
certain expectations in people that are intended to get them to invest or buy into
the development. Those expectations are created by land use designations and
zoning as well as the subdivision covenants and restrictions. For example, if you
live in a planned development you don't expect your neighbor to be able to turn
his home into a restaurant or "dollar store". Associated with those expectations is
a reasonable degree of certainty that the rules won't change after you have made a
substantial investment in your property. Yet that is what the proposed changes
would allow. (If the developer of Strada Bellisima wanted different zoning or
land use designations, he should have made those changes before he started
selling lots.)
4) The proposed change will make homes less marketable and decrease
property values within Strada Bellisima. My wife and I bought our home on
South Alfani Way about a year ago. All of the homes in Strada Bellisima are
expensive homes and it was a significant investment for us. Before we bought
our home my wife called to see what the zoning was. She was told it was zoned
L-O or light office along Meridian and Victory Roads. We would not have
bought our home if it were zoned for higher intense uses. I have heard others in
the Strada Bellisima subdivision say the same thing. If the proposed change in
zoning is made it will make our home less marketable and decrease its value.
5) The proposed change is intended to benefit one entity (the developer) at the
expense of the homeowners within Strada Bellisima. The only reason given at
the hearing by the developer's representative, Mr. Crawford, on December 18th of
last year for the proposed changes in land use designation and zoning was to
provide the developer with "some different uses" for "marketing possibilities".
However, as mentioned earlier, the proposed changes intended to provide the
developer with "marketing possibilities" will decrease the marketability of my
home and others within Strada Bellisima.
In summary, the proposed change will negatively impact the safety of residents of Strada
Bellisima, especially children; the proposed change will increase noise, litter and perhaps
obnoxious smells in Strada Bellisima; the proposed change is contrary to the normal
expectations created by a planned development; the proposed change will make homes
less marketable and decrease property values within Strada Bellisima; and finally, the
proposed change is intended to benefit one entity (the developer) at the expense of the
homeowners within Strada Bellisima. For these reasons, I respectfully request that you
reject the proposed change as you unanimously did on December 18, 2007.
Nathan and Sharma Gardiner