Letter from Building Contractor's Assn1~.~- s ~' g,~ r~~'~
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October 6, 2008
City of Meridian
City Council and Mayor de Weerd
33 E. Idaho Avenue
Meridian, ID 83642
Dear Mayor and Council:
The Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho (BCASWI) very much appreciates
the valuable input that your staff provides through our Builder's/Code Council meetings that
they regularly attend. We are also grateful for the opportunity that the BCASWI has of serving
and participating on several committees of the City. The exchange of information provided in
these meetings is helpful to all who participate. The open dialogue makes for a good exchange
of information.
Recently Meridian city staff presented to the BCASWI regarding the draft design review
guidelines. We appreciate this presentation and would like to commend your staff on the fine
job that they do. Yet while our membership has not been provided with a detailed draft of the
guidelines, we would like to express our concern about the city's potential adoption of these
design guidelines. We are particularly troubled with the amount of flexibility, or rather potential
lack thereof that the design guidelines contain. Flexibility in design is essential to the success of
a project, particularly large developments. These developments take years to complete, and need
to be able to react to the market forces that exist at both the beginning and end of a project.
Especially in today's market where even small projects can take years to complete, rigid design
standards would seriously hamper the viability of projects in Meridian.
The Meridian City Council, as well as your planning and development services department, have
always been willing to listen to our concerns and work with the BCASWI as issues arise. We
thank you for that and look forward to continuing to work on this and other issues as they arise in
the future. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, or our Government Affairs
Director Joe Kunz at 377-3550.
Sincerel ,
Steve Martinez, President
Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho
Cc: Pete Friedman