2015-04-07(��E PIDIAN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR
MEETING AGENDA
City Council Chambers
33 East Broadway Avenue
Meridian, Idaho
Tuesday, April 07, 2015 at 6:00 PM
1. Roll -Call Attendance
X David Zaremba X Joe Borton
X Charlie Rountree X Keith Bird
O Genesis Milam X Luke Cavener
X Mayor Tammy de Weerd
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Community Invocation by Nate Lacy, Pastor with Parkview Christian Church
4. Adoption of the Agenda Adopted
5. Proclamation
A. Proclamation for Parkinson's Awareness Month
6. Consent Agenda Approved (Pg 3-7)
A. Approve Minutes of March 24, 2015 City Council Meeting
B. Approve Minutes of March 17, 2015 City Council PreCouncil Meeting
C. Approve Minutes of March 17, 2015 City Council Meeting
D. Agreement to Accept Payment in Lieu of Installing Streetlights at Knighthill
Subdivision
E. Reimbursement Agreement Regarding the Landscape Design Services for
Bellano Creek Neighborhood Park Between Coleman Homes, LLC and the
City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $23,387.50
Vacated
F. Water Main Easement for Commercial Southwest Subdivision No. 2
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 1 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
G. Approval of Award of Bid and Agreement to AME ELECTRIC, INC for the
"LANDING LIFT STATION SCADA UPGRADES - CONSTRUCTION" project
for a Not -To -Exceed amount of $100,000.00
H. Approval of Contract Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with Taser
International for the "Body Worn Camera System" Project for a Not -To -
Exceed amount of $57,890.00
Approval of Change Order No. 1 to Pegasus Planning and Development for
the "PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PLAN — MULTI PURPOSE EVENT CENTER"
project for a Not -To -Exceed amount of $15,500.00
Vacated
J. Approval of Award of Bid and Agreement to Cascade Pipeline Corp. for the
"SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT SITE 12B - CONSTRUCTION" Project for a
Not -To -Exceed amount of $509,194.50
K. Professional Services Agreement for Kleiner Park LIVE Concert Series
Production Services Between Plan Ahead Events - Boise and the City of
Meridian
L. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Sub -recipient Agreement for
Meridian Food Bank
M. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Sub -recipient Agreement for
Charitable Assistance to Community's Homeless (CATCH)
N. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement Between
the Boise Co-op and the City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of
$1,500.00
O. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement Between
Idaho Central Credit Union and the City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed
Amount of $3,600.00
P. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement Between
Meridian United Sports Center Academy and the City of Meridian for a Not -
To -Exceed Amount of $750.00
Q. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement Between
CenterCal and the City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of
$1,500.00
R. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single -Night Sponsorship
Agreement Between Tucanos Brazilian Grill and the City of Meridian for a
Not -To -Exceed Amount of $550.00
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 2 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
S. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single -Night Sponsorship
Agreement Between Parkview Christian Church and the City of Meridian for
a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $500.00
T. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Presenting Sponsorship
Agreement Between Saint Alphonsus Medical Group - Meridian Health
Plaza and the City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $3,000.00
U. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Presenting Sponsorship
Agreement Between Connections Credit Union and the City of Meridian for
a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $3,000.00
V. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single -Night Sponsorship
Agreement Between RC Willey and the City of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed
Amount of $500.00
W. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single -Night Sponsorship
Agreement Between Meridian United Sports Center Academy and the City
of Meridian for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $500.00
X. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single -Night Sponsorship
Agreement Between the Meridian Library District and the City of Meridian
for a Not -To -Exceed Amount of $500.00
Y. Development Agreement for Approval: AZ 14-015 Granton Square by
Granton Properties, LLC Located on the East Side of N. Locust Grove
Road, South of E. Ustick Road. Request: Annexation and Zoning of 5.13
Acres With the R-8 Zoning District
Z. Resolution No. 15-1059: A Resolution Amending The City Of Meridian's
Citywide Records Retention Schedule
AA. Resolution No. 15-1060: A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the City of
Meridian to Donate Certain Theater Seats from Old City Hall to the Harvest
Church
BB. Final Order: FP 15-007 Whitebark Subdivision No. 1 by BHH Investments 1,
LLC Located 2135 E. Amity Road Request: Final Plat Approval Consisting
of Twenty -Nine (29) Building Lots and Five (5) Common Lots on 10.54
Acres of Land in an R-4 Zoning District
CC. Final Order: FP 15-008 Three Corners No. 3 by Conger Management Group
Located Southeast Corner of N. Locust Grove Road and Chinden
Boulevard Request: Final Plat Approval Consisting of Twenty -One (21)
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 3 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
Single -Family Residential Building Lots and Four (4) Common Lots on
Approximately 6.81 Acres of Land in the R-4 and R-8 Zoning Districts
DD. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Approval: AZ 15-001 Bellabrook
East by ZWZ Properties, LLC Located 398 S. Locust Grove Road Request:
Annexation and Zoning of 5.19 Acres of Land with an R-15 Zoning District
EE. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Approval: Continued from March
17, 2015: PP 15-001 Bellabrook East by ZWZ Properties, LLC Located 398 S.
Locust Grove Road Request: Preliminary Plat Approval Consisting of Nine
(9) Buildable Lots, Two (2) Common Lots and One (1) Other Lot on 5.14
Acres of Land in a Proposed R-15 Zoning District
FF. FP 15-009 Biltmore Estates Subdivision No. 2 by Oakwood Estates, LLC
Located South of W. Victory Road and West of S. Meridian Road Request:
Final Plat Approval Consisting of Twenty -Nine (29) Building Lots and Five
(5) Common/Other Los on 10.62 Acres of Land in the R-4 Zoning District
7. Items Moved From Consent Agenda None
8. Department Reports
A. Mayor's Office: Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (MVAC) Update (Pg 7-10)
B. Mayor's Office: Resolution No. 15-1061: Re -appointing Stephen Lewis to
Seat 5 and Tracy Hopkins to Seat 6 of the Meridian Transportation
Commission Approved (Pg 10)
C. Parks and Recreation Department: CableONE Movie Night in Meridian and
Meridian Community Block Party Sponsor Recognition (Pg 10-14)
9. Action Items
A. Public Hearing: Proposed Summer 2015 Fee Schedule of the Meridian
Parks and Recreation Department (Pg 14-15)
B. Resolution No. 15-1062: A Resolution Adopting the Summer 2015 Fee
Schedule of the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department; Authorizing
the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department to Collect Such Fees; and
Providing an Effective Date Approved (Pg 15-16)
C. Public Hearing: RZ 15-001 Paramount Southeast Subdivision by Brighton
Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N. Meridian Road and W.
McMillan Road Request: Rezone of 5.05 Acres of Land from the C -G Zoning
District and 3.37 Acres of Land from the R-40 to the C -G Zoning District
Approved (Pg 16-33)
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 4 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
D. Public Hearing: PP 15-002 Paramount Southeast Subdivision by Brighton
Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N. Meridian Road and W.
McMillan Road Request: Preliminary Plat Approval Consisting of One (1)
Building Lot in the R-40 Zoning District; Twenty -Two (22) Building Lots in
the C -G Zoning District and Five (5) Common / Other Lots on 36.04 Acres of
Land Approved (Pg 33-34)
E. Public Hearing: CUP 15-002 Paramount Southeast Subdivision by Brighton
Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N. Meridian Road and W.
McMillan Road Request: Conditional Use Permit for a Multi -Family
Development Consisting of 280 Dwelling Units in an R-40 Zoning District
Approved (Pg 34)
F. Public Hearing: RZ 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak Leaf
Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden Boulevard;
West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way Request: Rezone 26.09
Acres from the C -N and the R-15 Districts to the R-15 (8.48 Acres) and C -C
(17.61 Acres) Zoning Districts Denied (Pg 34-71)
G. Public Hearing: PP 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak Leaf
Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden Boulevard;
West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way Request: Preliminary
Plat Approval Consisting of One (1) Residential Lot, Three (3) Commercial
Lots and Three (3) Common Lots on Approximately 23.59 Acres in the
Proposed R-15 and C -C Zoning Districts Not Approved (Pg 34-71)
H. Public Hearing: CUP 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak Leaf
Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden Boulevard;
West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way Request: Conditional
Use Permit for a Self -Service Storage Facility Consisting of a Care -Taker's /
Office Building and Fifteen (15) Storage Buildings on Approximately 11.18
Acres of Land in a Proposed C -C Zoning District Not Approved (Pg 34-71)
Public Hearing: MDA 15-001 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak Leaf
Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden Boulevard,
West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Request: Development
Agreement Modification to Exclude the Proposed C -C Zoning Boundary
from the Existing Development Agreement Not Approved (Pg 34-71)
10. Department Reports
A. Community Development: Review and Approve City Roadway, Intersection
and Community Program Project Priorities for 2015 (Pg 71-73)
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 5 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
11. Ordinances
A. Ordinance No. 15-1640: Repealing And Replacing Meridian City Code
Section 3-1-2, Regarding Authorization Of FBI National Criminal History
Records Checks Approved (Pg 73-74)
B. Ordinance No. 15-1641: An Ordinance (AZ 14-015) for the Annexation and
Rezone of a Parcel of Land Being a Portion of the N 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of the
NW 1/4 of Section 5, Township 3 South, Range 1 East, Ada County, Idaho,
Establishing and Determining the Land Use Zoning Classification of Said
Lands from RUT to R-8 and Providing an Effective Date Approved (Pg 74-
75)
12. Future Meeting Topics
13. Executive Session Per Idaho State Code 67-2345 (1)(d)(f): (d) To Consider
Records that are Exempt from Disclosure as Provided in Chapter 3, Title 9, Idaho
Code; and (f) To Consider and Advise Its Legal Representatives in Pending
Litigation
Into Executive Session at 10:36 p.m.
Out of Executive Session at 12:31 p.m.
Adjourned at 12:31 p.m.
Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda — Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Page 6 of 6
All materials presented at public meetings shall become property of the City of Meridian.
Anyone desiring accommodation for disabilities related to documents and/or hearing,
please contact the City Clerk's Office at 888-4433 at least 48 hours prior to the public meeting.
Meridian City Council April 7, 2015.
A meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 7,
2015, 2015, by Mayor Tammy de Weerd.
Members Present: Mayor Tammy de Weerd, Charlie Rountree, Keith Bird, David
Zaremba, Joe Borton, and Luke Cavener.
Members Absent: Genesis Milam.
Others Present: Bill Nary, Jaycee Holman, Calelb Hood, Sonya Watters, Bill Parsons,
Colin Moss, Warren Stewart, Berle Stokes, and Mark Niemeyer.
Item 1: Roll-call Attendance:
Roll call.
X _ David Zaremba X _ Joe Borton
X __ Charlie Rountree X_ Keith Bird
_____ Genesis Milam __X___ Lucas Cavener
_X Mayor Tammy de Weerd
De Weerd: Okay. I would like to welcome all of you for -- to our City Council meeting.
We appreciate you joining us. It's always nice to have citizens that care about their
community and come to participate in the -- in the government process. So, thank you for
being here. For the record it is Tuesday, April 7th. It 6:00 p.m. We will start with roll call
attendance, Madam Clerk.
Item 2: Pledge of Allegiance
De Weerd: Item No. 2 is the Pledge of Allegiance. If you will all rise and join us in the
pledge -- in our Pledge of Allegiance.
(Pledge of Allegiance recited.)
Item 3: Community Invocation by Nate Lacy, Pastor with Parkview Christian
Church
De Weerd: Our community invocation will be led by Nate Lacy. Nate is with the Parkview
Christian Church. Nate, we would like to thank you for joining us and afterwards I will
present you a City of Meridian pin for joining us.
Lacy: Very good.
De Weerd: Thank you for being here.
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 2 of 76
Lacy: Thank you. Do I face this way or this way? Okay. My name is Nate Lacy and I'm a
family pastor at Parkview Christian. I did just move back here from Hawaii. I had kind of
a -- a -- ah. It was a little bit of grass is greener syndrome, but I think we all have
experienced that. If you're a guy it's the truck that you bought. Or the dress that you just
purchased, but we have something pretty amazing here and I moved back here because
the people here are amazing. Safety is incredible for my family and there is this beautiful
wide open spaces here. So, be thankful for where you live. If you would bow with me we
will thank God. Lord, you are amazing and just give us wonderful blessings to each of us
and we can just be thankful for that. We just ask, Lord, that you would be in our hearts to
apply the golden rule that -- the wonderful lessons that you have given us through this
wonderful education that we get here in Idaho and we just ask that you would help us to
be mindful of our brothers and sisters here. Help us to use the minds you have given us
as you have said worship you with all our mind and our soul and we want to use that to be
-- to be mindful of the God given ability you have you given us here. Help us to be
respectful, to be mindful of all the blessings you give us here, including your son Jesus.
We just pray that you would give us wisdom and respect, but be with the leaders here.
Help them to make wise decisions based around the beautiful people of Meridian, Idaho.
We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen.
De Weerd: Nate, if I could give you a City of Meridian pin for joining us. Thank you.
Item 4: Adoption of the Agenda
De Weerd: Okay. Item No. 4 is adoption of the agenda.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: Item 6-I and 6-E have been requested to be vacated by staff. Item 6-Z, the
resolution number is 15-1059. Item 6-AA, the resolution number is 15-1060. On Item 8,
8-B, the resolution number is 15-1061. Under Item 9, 9-B, the resolution number is 15-
1062. Under item 11-A, the ordinance number is 15-1640. And under Item 11-B, the
ordinance number is 15-1641. And with those additions, Madam Mayor, I move that we
approve the agenda.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda as read. All those in
favor say aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 5: Proclamation
A. Proclamation for Parkinson's Awareness Month
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 3 of 76
De Weerd: Council, I'm going to head down to the podium to read a proclamation. Lisa,
are you here? Thank you for being here. I'm going to read a proclamation that we have
been fortunate enough to join with this group each year to bring awareness to this by
proclaiming this day Parkinsons Awareness Month and, then, Lisa, if you would like to say
a few words afterwards. Okay? Whereas Parkinsons Disease is a chronic, progressive,
neurologic disease that is estimated to affect a half a million to 1.5 million Americans and
whereas the exact cause of Parkinsons Disease is still unknown. Research suggests the
cause is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. And whereas symptoms of
Parkinsons Disease may include tremors, cognitive impairment and mood disorders,
difficulty with balance, swallowing, chewing and speaking and whereas there is no known
cure. There are treatments currently in place to improve the quality of life for people
diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and their families and whereas increased research,
education and community support are needed to discover more effective treatments,
which will, hopefully and ultimately, result in discovering a cure for those living with
Parkinsons Disease today and whereas April has been proclaimed as Worldwide
Parkinsons Awareness Month for all to recognize the need for research and help in
dealing with Parkinsons Disease, therefore, I, Tammy de Weerd, Mayor of the City of
Meridian, hereby proclaim April 2015 to be Parkinsons Awareness Month in the City of
Meridian and I encourage all citizens to increase their awareness of this disease and the
continued need for research, better treatment and eventual cure. I sign this this day the
7th day of April and thank you so much for joining us in helping to raise awareness.
Bain: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the City Council. My name is Lisa Bain
and I am a member the Parkinsons community here in Idaho and here in Meridian. We
are a small group tonight, but we represent people who have Parkinsons, people who
have loved ones with Parkinsons and even in our medical community who are supporting
advanced research to find a therapy and find a cure. Every nine minutes someone in this
country is diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease and their lives and their family's lives have
forever changed. That means from the time this meeting was called to order to the time
that Mayor Tammy just proclaimed it Parkinsons Awareness Month two more families --
two more communities have been forever changed by this disease. So, we appreciate
your helping us bring awareness and thank you very much. We look forward to the day
when we don't need this, because this disease is gone.
Item 6: Consent Agenda
A. Approve Minutes of March 24, 2015 City Council Meeting
B. Approve Minutes of March 17, 2015 City Council PreCouncil
Meeting
C. Approve Minutes of March 17, 2015 City Council Meeting
D. Agreement to Accept Payment in Lieu of Installing Streetlights at
Knighthill Subdivision
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 4 of 76
F. Water Main Easement for Commercial Southwest Subdivision
No. 2
G. Approval of Award of Bid and Agreement to AME ELECTRIC, INC
for the “LANDING LIFT STATION SCADA UPGRADES -
CONSTRUCTION” project for a Not-To-Exceed amount of
$100,000.00
H. Approval of Contract Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with
Taser International for the “Body Worn Camera System” Project
for a Not-To-Exceed amount of $57,890.00
J. Approval of Award of Bid and Agreement to Cascade Pipeline
Corp. for the “SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT SITE 12B -
CONSTRUCTION” Project for a Not-To-Exceed amount of
$509,194.50
K. Professional Services Agreement for Kleiner Park LIVE Concert
Series Production Services Between Plan Ahead Events - Boise
and the City of Meridian
L. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Sub-recipient
Agreement for Meridian Food Bank
M. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Sub-recipient
Agreement for Charitable Assistance to Community's Homeless
(CATCH)
N. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement
Between the Boise Co-op and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-
Exceed Amount of $1,500.00
O. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement
Between Idaho Central Credit Union and the City of Meridian for
a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $3,600.00
P. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement
Between Meridian United Sports Center Academy and the City of
Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $750.00
Q. Meridian Community Block Party 2015 Sponsorship Agreement
Between CenterCal and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed
Amount of $1,500.00
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 5 of 76
R. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single-Night
Sponsorship Agreement Between Tucanos Brazilian Grill and the
City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $550.00
S. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single-Night
Sponsorship Agreement Between Parkview Christian Church
and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $500.00
T. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Presenting Sponsorship
Agreement Between Saint Alphonsus Medical Group - Meridian
Health Plaza and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed
Amount of $3,000.00
U. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Presenting Sponsorship
Agreement Between Connections Credit Union and the City of
Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $3,000.00
V. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single-Night
Sponsorship Agreement Between RC Willey and the City of
Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $500.00
W. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single-Night
Sponsorship Agreement Between Meridian United Sports Center
Academy and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount
of $500.00
X. CableONE Movie Night in Meridian 2015 Single-Night
Sponsorship Agreement Between the Meridian Library District
and the City of Meridian for a Not-To-Exceed Amount of $500.00
Y. Development Agreement for Approval: AZ 14-015 Granton
Square by Granton Properties, LLC Located on the East Side of
N. Locust Grove Road, South of E. Ustick Road. Request:
Annexation and Zoning of 5.13 Acres With the R-8 Zoning
District
Z. Resolution No. 15-1059: A Resolution Amending The City Of
Meridian's Citywide Records Retention Schedule
AA. Resolution No. 15-1060: A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of
the City of Meridian to Donate Certain Theater Seats from Old
City Hall to the Harvest Church
BB. Final Order: FP 15-007 Whitebark Subdivision No. 1 by BHH
Investments 1, LLC Located 2135 E. Amity Road Request: Final
Plat Approval Consisting of Twenty-Nine (29) Building Lots and
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 6 of 76
Five (5) Common Lots on 10.54 Acres of Land in an R-4 Zoning
District
CC. Final Order: FP 15-008 Three Corners No. 3 by Conger
Management Group Located Southeast Corner of N. Locust
Grove Road and Chinden Boulevard Request: Final Plat
Approval Consisting of Twenty-One (21)
Single-Family Residential Building Lots and Four (4) Common
Lots on Approximately 6.81 Acres of Land in the R-4 and R-8
Zoning Districts
DD. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Approval: AZ 15-001
Bellabrook East by ZWZ Properties, LLC Located 398 S. Locust
Grove Road Request: Annexation and Zoning of 5.19 Acres of
Land with an R-15 Zoning District
EE. Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law for Approval: Continued
from March 17, 2015: PP 15-001 Bellabrook East by ZWZ
Properties, LLC Located 398 S. Locust Grove Road Request:
Preliminary Plat Approval Consisting of Nine (9) Buildable Lots,
Two (2) Common Lots and One (1) Other Lot on 5.14 Acres of
Land in a Proposed R-15 Zoning District
FF. FP 15-009 Biltmore Estates Subdivision No. 2 by Oakwood
Estates, LLC Located South of W. Victory Road and West of S.
Meridian Road Request: Final Plat Approval Consisting of
Twenty-Nine (29) Building Lots and Five (5) Common/Other Los
on 10.62 Acres of Land in the R-4 Zoning District
De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. Council, Item No. 6 is our Consent Agenda.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: With the vacation of Items 6-E and I, I move that we approve the Consent
Agenda. Authorize the Clerk to attest and the Mayor to sign.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve the Consent Agenda as changed.
Madam Clerk, will you call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 7 of 76
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 7: Items Moved From Consent Agenda
De Weerd: There were no items moved from the Consent Agenda.
Item 8: Department Reports
A. Mayor's Office: Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) Update
De Weerd: So, we will move right into Department Reports and I will invite our Youth
Council representative forward to give you an update on what their activities are.
Lawrence: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, my name is Mackenzie Lawrence
and I'm a senior at Renaissance High School and I'm also the vice-chair for the Youth
Advisory Council and today I will be updating you on the events that were held in March.
So, the first thing that our council did in March is -- our last meeting we had 80 of our
council members in attendance, which for this time of the year where seniors are getting
ready for graduation and there is prom and there is all kinds of spring sports and events is
unprecedented, that's an amazing number of students that are still coming to the meetings
and we have 125 active members, which has never happened before. That's our highest
number so far I think in the history of our council and it had been really awesome to see
how much we have grown over the past couple of years, but with that we have also had a
few growing pains, so we have over this last year redefined some of our leadership roles,
specifically with the vice-chair position, so as you might have noticed, I have been
updating you guys for the last about four times, so we decided to add that to the vice-
chair position, because it's something that just kind of worked out that way and also the --
that specific position has kind of fallen by the wayside over the past couple of years. It
kind of -- there is not really specific duties that it has, so it's been kind of difficult to find
things that I can do regularly to help. So, one of the things is the Council updates and
also I make all of the PowerPoints for the general meeting, so we are kind of defining what
it means to be the vice-chair. I also have been putting together information and materials
for the rest, so that they can distribute that through the schools. We have also revised the
communication liaison position where they are using new ways to get information out for
our council, as it has grown. It's not enough just to send an e-mail, because there is so
many contacts that the e-mail can't really facilitate that anymore, so we have been using
Remind 101, which students can sign up for, and it's kind of a blind text messaging
application where the communication person, she can't see anyone's number or see
anyone's contact information, but she can send out a message to everyone as a
representative for MYAC and also we have elected and appointed sub committee leaders
for TAC community service and government affairs, so that some of the responsibilities is
taken away from Ken and it allows other people within the council to have a leadership
position that's separate from just the executive council, so that has been really interesting
and exciting and I know that the sub committee leaders are excited to report to Ken and
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 8 of 76
the executive council monthly to kind of keep us updated on what they are doing. So,
that's been really interesting as we have grown to kind of define more specific leadership
roles and, then, the next thing is the Prom Extravaganza and that was on March 14th. It
was a Saturday. And it was a fashion show showing off Paige's Boutique, their prom
dresses and the tuxes and rentals for this upcoming season and it benefited CATCH,
which is the Charitable Assistance For The Community's Homeless and it really raised
awareness of the importance of reaching out to the homeless in our community and that
it's an issue that we like to help and it was a good way for our council to be involved in
kind of a fun thing, you know, we all love to get dressed up and walk and have pictures
taken of us and I think we learned some really valuable lessons about the importance of
awareness and community partners and I think it was a really fun thing for our council to
be a part of for a first year event. The next thing is in executive council we have been
meeting with different department directors and kind of getting their advice on leadership
and kind of their methods for working with their team and talking about important topics.
So, this month we had talked to Chief Lavy and he had kind of talked to us about
awareness of bullying and teen suicide, which is something that our council has tried a
few times to really talk about, but have been unsure how to proceed forward with a
sensitive issue. So, this is really interesting, because he gave us a lot of really good
advice on how to start the conversation and one of those things was just to talk about it.
We don't have to put on a grand event, we can just slowly start to talk about it with friends,
with the family, with students we go to school with, with our council and he also talked
about caution communication and confidence and this applies to a lot of different
situations, specifically personal safety and internet safety and it was really interesting for
him to give us different tools to talk with the council and with our fellow students about the
issues of bullying and teen suicide, because that's something that our council have
expressed an interest in working with and kind of trying to start a community conversation
about. So, we really enjoy these director meetings. I know that I get a lot out of them.
And the next thing that we did was TAC Dart Warz and this was just our March fun youth
event and we like to try and have a monthly event, usually on a Friday night or a Saturday,
where our advisors and the members of our council can just go and have fun without
having to worry about any sort of pressures or bullying. This is a way that we support that
anti-bullying message. We try and facilitate events where students can come and hang
out with other students and get to know them and have that support network available to
them and also we really like to do fun things, like Dart Warz. And after that we also like to
do fund things at our meetings. We know that -- I think everyone knows our meetings can
get really dry sometimes, kind of boring when we are getting down to the nitty gritty
planning stuff, so about once a month I would say we try to have a guest speaker -- a
guest speaker or a fun event that we plan and have an activity with the other council
members, so for the March 30th meeting we had ComedySportz come and talk to us and
if guys don't know about ComedySportz, they have been an amazing partner with us.
They come to any meeting we ask them to come to. They do a lot of very fun --
sometimes embarrassing activities, but they also support our anti-bullying message and
they have a nobody cares about you kind set of activities where it's like they get us to do
all kinds of silly things. Like you have to pick an animal and like go walk around the room
and make that animal noise and like everyone has to make different noises to each other
and it's kind of the idea of don't be so preoccupied with what everyone thinks about you,
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April 7, 2015
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because they are really not thinking about you, they are thinking about what they are
doing and kind of be comfortable with yourself by doing all these weird, funny activities
that are also team building and fun and in their actual performances they do
ComedySportz, it's family friendly, they get penalized if they swear or if they make any
sort of explicit reference, so it's kind of interesting seeing their family message and it really
-- they work really well with us and they are so fun and we really enjoy doing things with
them. And, then, finally, tomorrow is April 8th and it is Do The Right. So, we have 5,000
Do The Right stickers. I'm sporting one right now. And we also have 2,500 Be Kind
stickers that Ken is wearing one of them and we are really, really excited about this event
and I know that we have been talking about ways to share the message and to really get
involved and one of the ways that we have done that is the stickers and we have also
distributed Post-it pads to all the local Dutch Bros, Albertson's, the Boys and Girls Clubs,
the Meridian Library, about 50 Chamber businesses and we are really trying to support
our message of Do The Right, get the community involved, share the message with other
people. So, we are going to play this video that we made for this as like kind of our
promotional video.
(Video played.)
Lawrence: So, for all of you I have a pad and both the stickers and as a council
encourage you guys to participate in Do The Right and you will also see one of these fun
little tokens and these are called Kindness Coins and it's from Denzels and what their
message is is that it takes about five people to make just one of these -- one of these
Kindness Coins and the idea that not only are we spreading kindness in the community,
but everyone is coming together to spread that message, so by distributing the Kindness
Coin it's showing how the community comes together in events like this to show how
supportive everyone is of each other. So, tomorrow and even every day, but specifically
tomorrow we encourage you guys to participate in Do The Right and to share your
kindness messages with everyone.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mackenzie. Council, do you have any questions or comments for
Mackenzie?
Rountree: Just a comment, Madam Mayor. The enthusiasm hasn't slowed down a bit.
Are we going to see you next month or are you going to be departing?
Lawrence: We just talked about that and I think I am planning on doing the April update
and, then, a May update. So, two more times.
Rountree: Great. Great.
Lawrence: Pass the torch on to someone else.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mackenzie. And those of you that came in might have noticed a
sticky note on your seat. We hope that you will all be part of that movement of
compassion and be kind tomorrow to a person on your right, whether it's a coworker, a
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April 7, 2015
Page 10 of 76
neighbor, or a friend, to just pay it forward and we would love to see this really take wind
and our -- our youth council, they were tired of seeing the negative, they were tired of
seeing the suffering of some of their fellow students and they are being part of a solution
they hope does take and gains speed. So, thank you, Mackenzie, for the role that you
play on our community.
Lawrence: Also one last thing. If you have been on social media #dotheright, so we can
track everyone. Take a picture of what you do, so we can kind of see how you have
shared kindness messages.
De Weerd: Thank you. And Mackenzie is just one of 125 kids that we get to work with.
So, that is -- that is our future.
B. Mayor's Office: Resolution No. 15-1061: Re-appointing Stephen
Lewis to Seat 5 and Tracy Hopkins to Seat 6 of the Meridian
Transportation Commission
De Weerd: Okay. Item 8-B is also under the Mayor's Office. Council, in front of you you
to have a Resolution 15-1061 to reappoint Stephen Lewis to Seat 5 and Tracy Hopkins to
Seat No. 6 of the Meridian Transportation Commission and I would entertain any
questions. If not, I would entertain a motion to approve these appointments.
Zaremba: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba.
Zaremba: With appreciation to the service that these two gentlemen have already given
to Meridian Transportation Commission, I move that we approve Resolution 15-1061
reappointing Stephen Lewis to Seat 6 and reappointing Tracy Hopkins to Seat 6 of the
Meridian Transportation Commission.
Rountree: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 8-B. If there is no discussion,
Madam Clerk, will you call role.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
C. Parks and Recreation Department: CableONE Movie Night in
Meridian and Meridian Community Block Party Sponsor
Recognition
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 11 of 76
De Weerd: Item 8-C is under our Parks and Recreation Department and I will turn
this over to Colin.
Moss: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. I am here this evening at
Council's request. I'm very appreciative of the request to pay respect to the businesses
locally here who support our local events and so, you know, I will jump right into the first
one. We are -- we are talking about CableOne Movie Night in Meridian. CableOne Movie
Night in Meridian is coming into its ninth season this year and it's been -- become one of
those events that, you know, it's every Friday in the summertime. People have kind of
gotten used to it. It's become a family favorite and we are very -- very happy that it's been
that. So, Movie Night costs the city approximately 17,000 dollars to put on. About 80
percent of that is covered through sponsorships from local businesses. The other 20
percent we are able to raise with concessions revenue. Obviously, sponsorships is the --
is the ticket. We need sponsorships to be able to put on this event and so that's why we
are here tonight to -- to recognize those sponsors and the first one has to be CableOne.
They are the ones that are on the -- that are on the title of the program. They have been
with us since day one in our ninth season. So, CableOne, I just wanted to put them, you
know, at the front, just because you don't see a contract with them every single year,
because we are in the middle of a five year contract with them. We are in our fourth year
of our contract and I just want to make sure that Council knows that that contract is alive
and well, that we are very much beneficial -- you know, mutually beneficial partners with
CableOne. They did purchase our movie screen that we use for Movie Night and, then,
our partnership conditions every single year. They produce our welcoming videos and
they also have a representative there that works with all of our sponsors, so that every
single -- every single week I'm able to have a DVD with our welcoming video and all of the
sponsor commercials that are, you know, there for that week and so it's a hugely
beneficial service or program and after this contract is up at the end of 2016 I can tell you
right now we will be, you know, pursuing another five year contract with CableOne if it's
amenable to them and I hope that it is. We were supposed to have -- we were going to
have a representative from CableOne here tonight and we may and if you will bear with
me for a moment, with the fantastic audience that we have tonight I was really not able to
connect with her and so if you don't mind -- Cheryl, were you able to make it? Thank you
so much for coming, Cheryl, I appreciate it. So, Cheryl is the general manager for
western Idaho and eastern Oregon. Typically we work with CableOne representatives out
of Arizona to put together the contract. Cheryl -- I have not had a chance to meet Cheryl
before. We work on a fairly limited basis with representatives here in the Treasure Valley,
except for with CableOne advertising, who we work with very closely every year. So, very
happy that Cheryl was able to make it tonight. So, in addition to Cable One, Rocky
Mountain Audio Visual has been our audio visual sponsor for -- the sixth season is coming
up. They have provided all of our AV services for Movie Night at a discounted rate and so
we are very happy to have them on board again this year. St. Alphonsus Meridian Health
Plaza is one of our presenting sponsors and this is going to be their fourth season as a
presenting sponsor, seventh season total as a sponsor. They were a single night sponsor
before that. And so very excited to have St. Alphonsus Meridian Health Plaza back as a
sponsor again. They have, obviously, been -- been here one of the longest supporting
businesses. And, then, our other presenting sponsor this year is Connections Credit
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April 7, 2015
Page 12 of 76
Union. This is their first year as a sponsor of Movie Night. They have recently began to
be very, very involved in the events that we have done here in Meridian, because they are
in the middle of construction for -- on a new Meridian Branch at Ten Mile and Pine and so
they were at the -- they were at the Trunker Treat in the fall. They were also one of the
big sponsors of our Christmas parade this year and so we are very happy to -- to have
Connections Credit Union on board this year and we have worked very well with them
over the past year or so. And, then, we have a whole bunch of single night sponsors and,
you know, we have been very lucky to have a lot of single night sponsors who have been
supportive of this program year after year. I will try to go through them -- you know,
Mayor's Youth Advisory -- Mayor's Anti-Drug Coalition has been the longest supporter.
This is going to be their sixth season as a sponsor of Movie Night. Meridian Firefighters
Association has also been a big supporter. This is the fifth season. Sierra Trading Post it
is going to be their sixth season as well, including two as a presenting sponsor. And,
then, we have R.C. Willey is going to be back with their fourth season. Meridian Library
District for the third season. Idaho Central Credit Union for their third season. Meridian
United Soccer Club for their third season Westside Body Works for their second season.
Tucanos, Brazilian Grill for their second season. And Bio Lab Plasma Services for their
second season. And, then, Parkview Christian Church, right across the street from
Settlers Park, is going to be their first season. So, we are extremely lucky. You can tell
by the number of return sponsors that we get for the season, only two, Connections Credit
Union and Parkview Christian Church, are first year sponsors and so, you know, it's a
testament to how supportive and engaged our business community is in the -- in, you
know, city events that we have those businesses coming back year after year. So, we are
very lucky in Movie Night. So, with that I will move on. We are also recognizing sponsors
from the Meridian Community Block Party. This -- tonight, because we have all of -- all
four of our major sponsor contracts on your agenda. I know it's a little bit early. The block
party isn't until September 19th, but we are very excited for the move to Kleiner Park this
year. This is an event that's been at Settlers Park and has been extremely involved with
in the past and, you know, we were at Settlers Park for five years. This is our sixth year of
the event and with the move to Kleiner Park there has been a lot of opportunities to grow
the event, to bring in some of the new businesses that are coming in over at The Village
At Meridian and we have local business that we are working with to put -- to put on a chalk
art festival during the event and we are also planning on adding a concert at the end of
the event in the band shell now that we have a built-in band shell to use for the event, so
we are very excited about that. But our sponsor is still the block party. Idaho Central
Credit Union, who is -- as I have already mentioned, has been a big sponsor of Movie
Night. They jumped on board as our presenting sponsor and so that was really the first
big domino to fall and we are very appreciative to Idaho Central Credit Union to be our
presenting sponsor. And, then, we have -- The Village At Meridian has joined on to be the
stage sponsor during the block party and, then, the Boise Co-op, kind of a newcomer to
town, who is going to be going in right there at the end of the Village At Meridian, they
were extremely excited to be what we are calling the Kids Corner, kind of a new thing for
the block party this year and not only is Boise Co-op sponsoring the Kids Corner, they
have actually offered to run it themselves and to go out and get the face painters and the
balloon twisters and -- and all those different things and so they were extremely excited.
They have their own initiative that involve -- that involve youth and healthy choices for
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April 7, 2015
Page 13 of 76
youth and things like that. So, it really ties into, you know, the Meridian Parks and
Recreation and the city's overall, you know, goal. So, we are very excited to have those
new sponsors for the block party this year and, then, returning sponsors for the block
party, the Meridian United Soccer Club, who also has been involved with -- with Movie
Night. This is going to be their third year coming back as the sponsor of our mascot
dance off event during the block party, which has been extremely fun and very popular
and then -- and, then, Rocky Mountain Roll as been with us for five of six years as a
Meridian Community Block Party. They are the ones that provide all the bounce houses
and other inflatables and the climbing walls and the mini bikes for the mini bike races and
so Rocky Mountain Roll has been an credible partner in the block party as well. So, that's
really all that I have to say about those events. You know, I'm just excited that Council
was interested in having us come and give those sponsors some public recognition,
because they most definitely deserve it and so with that I would stand for some comments
from Council about those events and our sponsors. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you, Colin. I think you picked the right meeting to give exposure to the
sponsors; right? Council, any questions?
Cavener: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Maybe just a quick comment and it speaks to some what of Mackenzie talked
about and that's making community and this is truly a partnership for our community and I
think ultimately the vote of confidence in you, Colin, and our Parks Department, what a
great job you do in executing these events. They are great for our community to come out
and participate. It's a win-win for our sponsors, it's a win for our community and our
residents, so great job. Keep up the good work.
Moss: Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Mr. Bird.
Bird: Thank you, Colin, for everything you have done to get the sponsors and thanks for
the sponsors and this just proves that Meridian still is a community minded community.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mr. Bird. And you know that it's your comments the reason that
this is on the agenda. So, we wanted to give recognition to our community partners.
Bird: I did call him Colin.
De Weerd: I know. Offline I was going to congratulate you for that, too. Any other -- you
beat us all to the punch. Any other comments? Mr. Zaremba?
Zaremba: Madam Mayor, I would just add my appreciation for Colin's work. He's been
the driving force behind many of our events. Getting the Christmas parade going back.
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April 7, 2015
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Winterland lights parade going and Fourth of July program and several of the other things,
whether or not they were his original idea, which they may have been, but even if they
were somebody else's idea, he has taken the leadership of making sure they happen,
make sure they are successful, making sure that if it's a good thing it happens again the
next year and I really appreciate the leadership that you have taken, so --
Moss: Thank you.
De Weerd: Well -- and to CableOne, we do appreciate your partnership. Colin had this
great idea first in Idaho to really bring the Family Movie Night to our city park and it has
been wildly popular, in some cases too popular with teens that are not there to watch a
movie. I know. Dark park and, you know, that's kind of -- but the challenges to a
successful event is -- doesn't even hold a mirror to the -- the community building that you
have done and I cannot believe it's been nine years.
Moss: Well, thank you. And if I may just build on your comments just a bit. With -- you
know, with the challenges we have had in Movie Night, as you know this year we did
expand our security efforts for the event. We are bringing in a third party security
company, which is greatly increasing the cost for the program and, in turn, we have to
raise the prices for all of our sponsorship opportunities and, again, it's just a testament to
how committed those businesses are, that we only have two new sponsors this year.
Returning sponsors, having paid less the year before, agreed to sign on again having to
pay a little bit more just, you know, wanting to be a part of that community event. So, I
was -- I was very -- I was a little bit surprised, you know, very humbled by -- by how -- by
how interested those businesses were in coming back and continuing their support. So,
we are very -- we are very lucky to live in the community that we do.
De Weerd: Any further comments?
Rountree: Thanks, Colin.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Moss: Thank you.
De Weerd: I think all of you are doing the right tonight with this applause. I think it's great
that you recognize the efforts of our -- our employees and what they do to make a
difference. Thank you.
Item 9: Action Items
A. Public Hearing: Proposed Summer 2015 Fee Schedule of the
Meridian Parks and Recreation Department
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 15 of 76
De Weerd: Item 9-A is a public hearing under Action Items and so who is doing this?
There you go. Jake, welcome. I saw Colin walk out and it was like, okay, I'm not sure
who is up.
Garro: Thank you, Madam Mayor and Members of City Council. Well, it is -- surely
excited to be here. This is my first City Council meeting in the City of Meridian. I was just
hired in February. Moved over from Nampa. So, it's great to be here. Exciting times in
the Parks and Recreation Department. We are currently working on our Summer Activity
Guide, which will be scheduled to be released April 17th with our summer classes
beginning -- registration for our summer classes beginning April 20th, that Monday. Then
our summer classes, which will kick off May 5th. Some of the summer classes I'm excited
about. Our Mer-Ida-Moo summer day camp will begin June 8th. Our Let's Play Sports
camp will begin June 15th and, then, our Outdoor Adventure camp will kickoff June 22nd
and some of the new classes that are coming on board this summer are Learn To Love
Lacrosse. Lacrosse is something that's huge in our community and we found a gentleman
of the Idaho Indoor Soccer Center that has numerous years of coaching Lacrosse, so we
are going to offer a Learn To Love Lacrosse for children ages three through ten. And
another exciting trip that I'm really excited about -- one of my goals was to come over here
and increase the number of activities that we offer to our senior citizens in our community
and May 8th I will be taking a -- a trip down to Shoshone Falls to look at the -- to look at
the water falling over the falls. That's something I'm -- I'm excited about doing and just
working -- working at increasing the number of activities that we have for that
demographic in our community. And with that being said, I am seeking approval of these
new fees and if there are any questions I would gladly take those at this time.
De Weerd: Thank you, Jake. And Jake also works with our Mayor's Youth Advisory
Council on the teen activities efforts. Any questions for Jake? Okay. Thank you, Jake.
Garro: All right. Thank you.
B. Resolution No. 15-1062: A Resolution Adopting the Summer
2015 Fee Schedule of the Meridian Parks and Recreation
Department; Authorizing the Meridian Parks and Recreation
Department to Collect Such Fees; and Providing an Effective
Date
De Weerd: Okay. Council, Item No. 9-B is Resolution 15-1062.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move we approve Resolution No. 15-1062, resolution adopting the summer 2015
fee schedule for the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department.
Cavener: Second.
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 16 of 76
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second -- and would ask is there anyone who would
like to make comment on these park fees? Oh, so you weren't all here for that. Gosh. I
was misled. Okay. I have a motion and a second to approve the fees for our next season
of classes. Madam Clerk, will you call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
C. Public Hearing: RZ 15-001 Paramount Southeast Subdivision by
Brighton Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N.
Meridian Road and W. McMillan Road Request: Rezone of 5.05
Acres of Land from the C-G Zoning District and 3.37 Acres of
Land from the R-40 to the C-G Zoning District
D. Public Hearing: PP 15-002 Paramount Southeast Subdivision by
Brighton Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N.
Meridian Road and W. McMillan Road Request: Preliminary Plat
Approval Consisting of One (1) Building Lot in the R-40 Zoning
District; Twenty-Two (22) Building Lots in the C-G Zoning District
and Five (5) Common / Other Lots on 36.04 Acres of Land
E. Public Hearing: CUP 15-002 Paramount Southeast Subdivision
by Brighton Investments, LLC Located Northwest Corner of N.
Meridian Road and W. McMillan Road Request: Conditional Use
Permit for a Multi-Family Development Consisting of 280
Dwelling Units in an R-40 Zoning District
De Weerd: Okay. Council, Item 9-C, D and -- are public hearings on RZ 15-001 and PP
15-002. I will open these public hearings -- oh, as well as 9-E on CUP 15-002 -- with staff
comment. Thank you.
Watters: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. The first application before
you tonight is a request for a rezone, preliminary plat, and conditional use permit. This
site consists of 46 acres of land. It's currently zoned R-40 and C-G. It's located at the
northwest corner of North Meridian and West McMillan Roads. This property was
annexed into the city in 2003 and was included in the preliminary plat and planned
development for Paramount Subdivision. The conceptual development plan approved
with the planned development included multi-family and commercial uses on this site. A
detailed conditional use permit was required prior to any development on the multi-family
portion of the site and that is what is before you tonight. The Comprehensive Plan future
land map designation for this property is high density residential and commercial. The
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April 7, 2015
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rezone request consists of 5.05 acres of land from the C-G to the R-40 district and 3.37
acres of land from the R-40 to the C-G district, increasing the overall R-40 area by 1.68
acres. There is a detail on the screen there that shows the proposed rezone areas. The
applicant states that the northeast six commercial lots -- these right here -- may develop
with multi-family residential uses in the future if market demand is insufficient to consume
the available commercial property at the corner. In this case a new conditional use permit
would be required for a multi-family residential development on that potion of the site.
Staff is not recommending a new development agreement or amendment to the existing
development agreement with the rezone as the proposed development is consistent with
the previously approved concept plan. The preliminary plat consists of 28 building lots --
excuse me -- a total 28 lots consisting of one building lot and five common lots in the R-40
district and 22 building lots in the C-G district on 36.04 acres of land. All of the lots
comply with the dimensional standards of the applicable zone. Landscaped street buffers
are required along all collector and arterial streets and along local streets within the C-G
district. Four public street access are proposed for this development, two via McMillan, as
you see here where my pointer is, and two via North Meridian Road. Both arterial streets.
Additionally, two driveway accesses are proposed, one here and one here. One via
McMillan between Meridian and Motion Picture Drive, and one via Meridian Road between
Studio Drive and West McMillan Road. These driveways are restricted to right-in, right-
out. Because the UDC limits access points to arterial streets in an effort to improve
safety, staff recommends access to the site is limited to the public street accesses and the
driveway accesses are removed. Approval of the accesses as proposed requires City
Council approval of the waiver to UDC 11-3A-3. ACHD did deem the proposed layout will
provide a good split of vehicular traffic in all directions within this development and
approved the access point as proposed by the applicant. ACHD did not require a traffic
impact study for this development, as they reviewed and approved this site in 2003 as part
of the original Paramount preliminary plat and planned development and the proposed
density is substantially the same. There are three existing stub streets from Cedar Creek
and Paramount Subdivisions to this site that will be extended and connect to Studio Drive.
A detached sidewalk exists along the entire frontage of North Meridian Road and along a
portion of the West McMillan Road frontage. The remainder of the sidewalk along
McMillan is required to be constructed with the first phase of development. Detached
sidewalks are also proposed along the public streets within the development. A
conditional use permit is requested for a multi-family development in an R-15 -- excuse
me -- R-40 zoning district as required by the UDC and the previously approved planned
development. The development is proposed to consist of a total of 280 dwelling units
within four two story, 16-plex structures fronting on a pedestrian corridor at the center of
the project and nine three story 24-plex structures containing a mix of one, two, and three
bedroom units. The previously approved planned development for Paramount anticipated
a total of 270 apartment units at a density of 18 units per acre. The reconfigured R-40
area with 280 units results in a comparable density of 17.9 units per acre. The applicant
is required to comply with the specific use standards for multi-family developments listed
in the UDC, which include requirements for private usable open space, common open
space, and site amenities. And this is a copy of the original conceptual development plan
that was approved with the planned development for Paramount. It depicted multi-family
residential here and, then, commercial right on the corner. Building elevations were
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April 7, 2015
Page 18 of 76
submitted for the two and three story multi-family structures and the garages as shown.
The garages are these units right here. Building materials are proposed to consist of a
mix of horizontal and vertical siding with stone accents. Final approval will take place with
certificate of zoning compliance and design review application. Staff finds the proposed
development is consistent with the planned development previously approved for this site,
the zoning, and the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission recommended approval of
the subject application. Mike Wardle testified in favor. Jenny Wethers and Brian Hessley
testified in opposition and written testimony was received from Mike Wardle, Dr. Linda
Clark, Brenda Duggan, Ken Swanson and Wendy Ann Trent. Key issues of discussion by
the Commission. There was a general consensus that the applicant has been responsive
to neighborhood concerns and made changes to the plans accordingly that have
enhanced the project. They were in support of the applicant's for a waiver to UDC 11-3A-
3 for access to allow all of the driveways as shown on the site plan. The Commission did
not make any changes to the staff recommendation. The only outstanding issue for City
Council is applicant requests a waiver to UDC 11-3A-3 as previously mentioned for
access to allow all of the driveways shown on the site plan. Written testimony since the
Commission hearing has been received from the following: Please excuse me if I
mispronounce your name. Carry Karmashu or something like that. Bob Cooper. Brian
Hessley. Frank Brannon. Michael Arnold. Crystal Peters. Greg Reynolds. Aaron
Ebright. Sally Reynolds. Allen Rittle. Terry Patten Jenkins. Cheryl Tenbrink. Becky and
Eric Phillips. Carol and Joe Davis. Lisa Wood. W endy McKinney. All of which are
concerned with traffic and they request a new traffic impact study to replace the one done
in 2003 with the original Paramount development. A letter has been received from ACHD
in response to the request for a new traffic impact study. In short, ACHD did require a
new study, as the proposed development substantially complies with the concept plan and
density approved for this site in 2003. The city also received another note from Dr. Linda
Clark with the West Ada School District, stating that the West Ada School District rezone
Paramount Elementary to accommodate the growth from the proposed subdivision.
Middle and high school growth will be accommodated by the boundary changes for the
new middle school and expansion of Meridian School. Staff will stand for any questions
Council may have.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions for staff at this time?
Bird: Not at this time.
Rountree: None right now.
De Weerd: Okay. Would the applicant like to make comment? And just because we
have probably some new people here, we have the applicant give comments for 15
minutes, then, we will accept testimony at three minutes each and they will have
concluding remarks up to ten minutes.
Rountree: The applicant.
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April 7, 2015
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De Weerd: The applicant. Yes. If you will, please, state your name and address for the
record.
Wardle: Madam Mayor, Council Members, Mike Wardle, Brighton Corporation, 12601
West Explorer Drive in Boise. Sonya made it quite easy and I'm not going to take 15
minutes, because she has covered the basis of very, very well. I just wonder if there is
any enthusiasm still bottled up from your Youth Advisory Committee that might be
available for some of the rest of us that have moved a little bit further down the path. I
would just note that this item was in front the Council, as noted by Sonya's presentation,
12 years ago and I did present to the Planning Commission and I would give you
additional copies if you wanted, but this should be in your record. This is -- these are
excerpts -- an eight page excerpt from the original hearing record application and the
hearing records before Planning and Zoning and the City Council. If you desire additional
copies of these in front of you I would be happy to provide them. But this simply shows
that 12 years ago all of the issues that are in front of you this evening relative to
apartments on that specific site and the commercial uses were considered and approved
and in all cases they were clearly called out as apartments. At that point it was estimated
to be a 270 unit project. It is 280, but it's still within and slightly below the densities
approved in 2003. Sonya, how do I -- okay. Sonya showed the existing zoning. The next
slide, then, shows the -- the changes that were made through this applicant where a few
of the acres -- 3.37 specifically from the C-G -- excuse me -- the R-40 zone will be
rezoned to commercial and 5.05 acres of the commercial ground will be rezoned to R-40,
even with that additional five acres of ground we are still talking about ten unit increase in
the density. The other application as noted -- and Sonya did make the comment in our
narrative submitted with the application we identified the future commercial to apartment
option and this actually came about as a result of extensive discussions with the
neighborhood. We had our first neighborhood meetings in April of last year and it was
pretty obvious that there were a lot of concerns. So, we took six months to work with a
neighborhood committee to identify ways that we could moderate the impacts and the
concerns and noted them in the final discussion with that committee. In fact, the
committee itself put out an e-mail to the neighborhood and this is also of record with the
Planning and Zoning Commission that should also be in your Council packet. They
specifically noted that Brighton converted a portion of the land for the apartment to
commercial or high density. This is now planned for professional office spaces and will be
marketed as such. However, if it doesn't lease, Brighton will need to rethink that land,
reserving the right to develop as they choose, including potentially more apartments and
Sonya noted that process, of course, would require additional applications and
consideration by the Council and Planning and Zoning Commission in the future. Next
slide -- in fact, the next two slides are simply kind of a history. We have had kind of a
crayon version in 2003 of a master plan, but this is the first professionally prepared plan
from 2006. We clearly identified the multi-family and commercial uses and the current --
the next slide shows the current version that's on the Brighton website today, which still
carries that multi-family residential and commercial designation. During the discussion at
the Planning and Zoning Commission there was a lot of concern about impact on schools
and we appreciate Dr. Clark's restatement of the fact that those issues were addressed at
the original point of approval. Brighton's initiatives over the course of this 12 year period
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include helping the school district acquire the high school site at a discount. The
elementary school site was donated to the district. And there are some yellow and red
designations that show intersection and sidewalk improvements that were done because
in 2007 Brighton initiated joint development agreements with the Ada County Highway
District to improve both the Linder-McMillan and Meridian-McMillan intersections to their
full eventual capacity and, then, there was -- we also constructed a sidewalk along
Meridian Road from the Producer Drive to the north down to the intersection, so that the
students going to the muddle school would be able to traverse that area safely and, of
course, the highway district did put in a crosswalk signal that also activates in that vicinity.
I noted the extensive neighborhood process that we went through for a six month period
last year that led to this refined project. I would also note that the amenities being
provided in this project really addressed a lot of the concerns. There were issues about
would the people in this facility be utilizing facilities in the single family community at
Paramount. There are actually two playground areas. There will a clubhouse. A pool.
There is, in fact, a pedestrian corridor that will connect the existing single family
community through the apartment site between two story 16 unit buildings to the
commercial area that would enable at least pedestrian access if people choose to do that.
So, the two arrows referenced and those that you will see on the next slide, refers to the
pedestrian boulevard as it's identified in some of our submittals that show how people will
be able to go through that area. There would be only one drive aisle that will be right at
the front of that slide that people will have to cross in order to reach to back of that project
at a public street. The second view down below -- excuse me. Back one, Sonya. Shows
the setback buffer evidence of the three story units behind the garage structures and I
would note that the landscape plans and the details that we were provided to that are in
the record indicate a significantly greater buffer and landscaping than depicted in this
particular rendering, but it shows how visually buffered those taller structures are. Those
three story structures specifically. The next slide is -- references the only item that to the
Council and that would be the driveway access waiver that we have requested, that
ACHD has approved and that was recommended by the Planning and Zoning
Commission. You will see that in the improvements that we did in 2007 with the highway
district, there are two access points created on Meridian Road and on McMillan. Both of
those -- well, the one on McMillan will have to shift just slightly in order to meet the
dimensional separation that ACHD would like to include now, but, essentially, those were
accommodated in the original improvements of that intersection. So, we would, again,
request the Council's approval of that waiver. And, finally, in summary, we just note that
from the very beginning of this project the apartments have been a significant component,
as has the commercial. All of our public documents and marketing renderings have
clearly identified those uses. The traffic study that was submitted in 2003 and approved
by the highway district accounted for those densities and uses. Brighton's initiatives have
provided for schools, enhanced pedestrian safety and transportation system
improvements, and I think most important is the fact that Brighton did respond to
neighborhood concerns and in those in -- in the changed plan that was formally presented
for hearing the density was reduced significantly. The elevations and scale of the
buildings was softened and moderated and so, Madam Mayor, Council Members,
because the proposal is consistent with the plan from day one and because the traffic
issue is addressed, and as identified and considered by the highway district from day one
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and that Brighton has, in fact, accelerated some of the long-term solutions by the
improvements that have been made to the intersections and because the project is in full
compliance with the Paramount plan and agency requirements, we respectfully request
that the Council approve the proposed zoning modifications, the preliminary plat, and the
conditional use permit for the apartment building, along with the access waiver. And if
there are -- I would be happy to answer questions.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions?
Bird: I have none, Mayor.
Rountree: I have none. Thank you.
De Weerd: Okay. Thank you, Mike.
Wardle: Thank you very much.
De Weerd: Okay. I do have a few people that have signed up. When I read your name
and what you checked on the sheet, if you would like to provide testimony at that time I
will invite you to come forward. David McKinney signed up against. Okay. Good
evening.
McKinney: Thank you. My name is David McKinney. I live at 1225 West Bacall Street in
the Paramount Subdivision.
De Weerd: Thank you.
McKinney: Many of the concerns that the residents of the subdivision have relate to traffic
issues and in particular, you know, the impact of this development on the surrounding
traffic. I'd like to refer to the ACHD traffic report that was provided with this particular item.
I presume the Council has a copy of this report. It's dated February 12th, 2015. The -- if
we look at the -- oh, I guess page 14 of the report it just sets forth the basic -- in their
conclusions of law restates the criteria that are used for analyzing this kind of a
development. Conclusions of Law Item F-2: ACHD requirements are intended to assure
that the proposed use or development will not place an undue burden on the existing
vehicular transportation system within the vicinity impacted by the proposed development.
The concerns that -- that I have and that other residents have relate to that issue and so I
would like to look at some of the aspects of this report that raises some concerns that
suggest that perhaps some additional information is needed. If we look at page two of this
report, Item B, it gives the traffic findings for consideration in this case. Particularly there
is a table that gives traffic counts on Meridian Road and McMillan Road and if you notice
at the far right, the projection of traffic of the level of service of the streets, including this
project, is level of service E on McMillan Road, but if you look in the footnotes, ACHD
indicates that a level of service D is considered acceptable. That suggests that their own
report gives facts that suggest that the project gives traffic volumes that are not actually
acceptable under ACHD standards. Now, another concern here -- if we look below that to
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April 7, 2015
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Item B-3, it indicates that the traffic counts that were used in making this analysis were
taken on Meridian Road south of McMillan Road and on McMillan Road east of Meridian
Road. The trouble is this project is on Meridian Road -- most of McMillan Road and on
McMillan Road west of Meridian Road. So, we have traffic volumes that are being used
for this particular analysis that don't reflect the actual traffic at the location of the project
and that raises a little bit of a concern. Additionally, the -- if we look at page five of this
same report, under Item 4-C, it indicates that the applicant is proposing to construct
detached sidewalk on McMillan Road and is proposing to widen the pavement and
construct vertical curb and gutter. Then below in Item D it indicates the applicant should
widen the pavement to a minimum of 17 feet from center line, plus a three foot wide gravel
shoulder. This item simply is one thing that's unclear whether that is exactly what is
happening or not and I would request some clarification from the applicant on that matter.
De Weerd; Mr. McKinney, I'm sorry, I will have to ask you to summarize your testimony.
McKinney: Okay. Thank you. Basically the inconsistency in ACHD's own report suggests
that additional information is needed on the traffic issue. In fact, the traffic impact study
that was done in 2003, one lingering question was simply have all the assumptions that
were the basis for that report been actually considered to see whether reality today is
consistent with those assumptions and, if not, that would suggest that a new traffic impact
study is needed. Thank you very much.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions for Mr. McKinney?
Rountree: I have none.
Bird: I have none.
De Weerd: Okay. Thank you. I have Barbara -- okay. That's understandable. Okay.
Thank you. Becky Barnes signed up against. Good evening, Becky. If you will, please,
state your name and address for the record.
Barnes: My name is Becky Barnes and I live at 4431 North Kylie in the Cobblefield
Crossing Subdivision.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Barnes: First of all, I want to thank you and I honor you for your service. I come to you
tonight not really prepared, but I do want to speak from my heart. I have had contact with
Mr. Wardle. I have worked with him on trying to get sidewalks on McMillan. I am very
concerned about the traffic on McMillan. I have testified before the transportation
commission. My main concern is -- along with the traffic is the safety of our children. But
for this reason I come with the safety of our children, but not only that, the building of all
these apartments, we will have additional enrollment in our schools. I have used this
chart before. We have enrollment -- I have the enrollment in the big numbers last year.
We have increased the enrollment at these schools -- the schools right here within a one
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April 7, 2015
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mile area of Linder and McMillan. Schools in Meridian are already overcrowded. If you
add 280 additional units and they have already been said that they are going to be one,
two and three bedroom, that tells me that there is going to be additional children. Just
guessing, but I think there is going to be kids in those three bedroom apartments.
Paramount is going to be building another section directly across from Cobblefield
Crossing. It's 60 acres. Now, logic tells me that those 60 acres are going to have houses
in them and in those houses there are going to be two, three, four, maybe five bedrooms
and there is going to be kids in those. Now, with that, guess what, those schools in that
area are going to grow and grow and grow. What are we going to do about it? It just
seems logical to me that we really can't afford to build something this -- on this scale. This
was approved in 2003. Great. But in the meantime we have had apartments built right by
Rocky Mountain now. Right next to us west of Cobblefield Crossing Subdivision there
was 20 -- there is 28 four- plexes being built. They are almost ready for occupancy. And
down at Linder and Ten Mile there is a whole bunch of apartment buildings almost across
from Hunter Elementary. Now, those have all been built since 2003. I just ask you to take
a look at what's been happening. The growth of Meridian is exponential. Meridian is a
beautiful city, a beautiful place to live, so I just ask you to revisit, look at the impact,
schools, police fire, safety, and most of all look at it for our kids. Look at it for the schools.
De Weerd: Thank you, Becky. Council, any questions for Becky?
Rountree: I have none.
De Weerd: Becky, we will need your poster, because it is now part of public testimony.
Holman: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Can we take a picture of it?
Holman: Yes. That's what I was thinking.
De Weerd: The look on your face I hate to take that from you, but we do need a picture of
it.
Barnes: You have seen it before; right?
De Weerd: I have seen that somewhere before. Next Donn Doss signed up against.
Good evening, Donn. If you will, please, state your name and address for the record.
Doss: Donn Doss at 381 West Dreyfuss, Meridian. Mayor Tammy, City Council, I wasn't
prepared to speak this evening, but I am a property owner within the Paramount
Subdivision and I have attended several meetings in which Brighton outlined their
proposal on the original 280 apartments and I have been in contact with several other
concerned property owners concerning the rezoning that is before the City Council this
evening. I'm going to make this as brief as possible. I don't pretend to hold any -- any
weight within the community in which I live, I am speaking as an individual, and it was
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brought to my attention after the fact that Brighton used an e-mail that I had sent to David
Turnbull as a recommendation for the original 280 units and I -- in that e-mail it was
certainly not any formal recommendation, I was speaking for myself and it was a way that
-- e-mail was strictly as a -- a thank you, David, for allowing our concerns to be heard and
they were addressed subsequently and this evening I would appreciate the Council taking
into consideration everything that has come before the board in relationship to the request
for this zoning from commercial to the R-40. We do have major concerns with the -- the
density that is currently planned for future developments within Paramount, as well as the
traffic study, which is under consideration now and when I say under consideration now by
virtue of having it proposed this evening and without further adieu I would really
appreciate some further consideration in this regard, because this proposed additional
rezoning and -- this is only the start of what is going to happen in that particular
subdivision, as there are other major parcels concerned that are going to be proposed in
front of the board at some future date and without some consideration as to the density
that we are faced with, the width of that street between the Paramount Subdivision and
McMillan and Meridian Road, that our children are going to be in danger of just walking
down that street to get to the school and we would really like some relief and really some
discretion amongst you all. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Elaina -- and I don't know the last name, but -- signed up against.
It begins with an H, I believe. Okay. If -- so, at the end of this, if I didn't call your name
and you might be on here, I will still invite you up. Amy McPhearson. Thank you.
Amy, thank you for joining us. If you will, please, state your name and address for the
record.
McPhearson: Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor and Council Members. My name is Amy
McPhearson. I live at 530 West Dreyfuss Lane in Meridian and that's in the Paramount
Subdivision.
De Weerd: Thank you.
McPhearson: I just want you all to think about proposals -- where were you told your
investments would be 12 years ago versus where they are now? Where have they
forecasted that the housing market would be today with prices and what's happened in the
interim. They didn't forecast that we would have that great drop. So, I am very grateful
that Paramount and Brighton has heard our concerns about the elevations and some of
the others and that they have added the sidewalk. I appreciate that, as I have two sons
that get themselves to and from the middle school on Meridian Road. But, yes, they may
have fulfilled the legal requirements of this study 12 years ago, but that was based on
what they thought might happen and there are so many housing developments that have
come up beyond that. It was farmland 12 years ago. And so I would really like them to be
asked to -- to do that again, because we all know that things change over time and we
can't accurately predict and that is a significant time period in the development of the City
of Meridian if you look at what your population was 12 years ago versus what it is now. I
also have some concerns about adding two more roads onto both Meridian and McMillan
-- or access roads with the safety of our children, but I haven't researched that enough to
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April 7, 2015
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know if that's a valid concern or not. But I would like you to -- before you approve any of
these changes to ask of them to do another road study to check the schools. The
superintendent has given her approval for these and says that the issues will be dealt with
of the overcrowding, but that would be four or five years down the line and that's only a
middle school and a high school. That doesn't address the issues of Paramount
Elementary, which is already overcrowded and so to keep Meridian an appealing place for
people to want to move into, I think -- even if school districts and schools aren't your thing,
but I do see a conflict of interest of the superintendent who has received land free and
land at a discounted rate that she has said she's okay with this and with what it will do to
the schools. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Any questions from Council?
Cavener: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Brief question. Thanks for your testimony. Did you participate in the
neighborhood committee that Brighton had formed?
McPhearson: I was not on the committee.
Cavener: Okay.
McPhearson: I received some of the e-mails and things, but I was not on the committee.
Cavener: Okay. Thank you.
McPhearson: Uh-huh.
De Weerd: Is there anyone else who would like to provide testimony on this application?
Yes. Good evening. If you will, please, state your name and address for the record.
Reynolds: Sally Reynolds and I live at 1166 West Bacall Street in Paramount. I actually
previously just lived at 472 Dreyfuss in Paramount, so I have owned two homes in
Paramount and it's been a wonderful place to live. We have enjoyed it. We have enjoyed
the neighborhood and the surrounding areas and my children have enjoyed also attending
the schools, so -- we have lived in Meridian for eight years previous and we just came
back, because we loved it so much. So, it's been a wonderful city to live in and I thank
you all for your service. I'd just like to echo the concerns with Mr. McKinney with the traffic
findings. I did also send an e-mail to ACHD asking them to please do another traffic
impact study and the e-mail that they sent back I even replied to that, because I said, well,
then, just some clarification. So, from 2003 your statement is still valid now. I haven't
received clarification from them on that yet, but as Mrs. McPhearson said, I just find it hard
to believe that something 12 years ago when things have changed so much and Meridian
as they are a growing community, could be valid as of today. Also it concerns me that
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those traffic findings were not in the correct location. I do have a middle schooler that I
drive every morning and, you know, middle schools, I mean they are wonderful, but that
bus service that goes works from Heritage into Paramount has now stopped and during
the winter months many parents have chosen to drive their children. Now that I'm on I am
1.3 miles away from Heritage and my son has to get to Heritage and he carries a
saxophone in a large backpack, I have decided to drive him during the winter months and
I can tell you that that traffic is insane. There is no other word for it right now and, you
know, people are crazy trying to get to work and trying to get their kids here and there and
I am worried about the extra two access points and they create a congestion that's going
to be especially as cars already line up all the way through that light. So, the traffic is a
concern. Also the enrollment issue, I also echo the concerns about our superintendent
where she has expressed that this will not create a lot of overcrowding in our school, but,
I'm sorry, I don't remember her name, that showed up with the chart that shows that the
numbers show otherwise. So, I just would urge the Council if they would, look at those
numbers, look at those findings, I think that there is a great value and analysis and that
these numbers do bear out the residents' concerns and I thank you for your time.
De Weerd: Thank you. Is there any further testimony? Yes, ma'am.
W.McKinney: My name is Wendy McKinney and I also live at 1225 West Bacall in
Paramount.
De Weerd: Thank you.
W.McKinney: I really appreciate all that Brighton has done. When my husband and I
looked to move to Meridian back in 2010 we specifically found Paramount Subdivision,
because it was a planned unit development and they had mixed use. That was one of the
draws that we had to Paramount and two years later when we actually moved there we
chose Paramount again because of those things. We knew from the start that we were
looking at Paramount, that those things were in the master plan and we saw them clearly
and we have no qualms with people in apartments living there. In fact, all of us have been
in apartments and a lot of those people will probably be building single unit homes within
our subdivision and will be our neighbors in different spots within Paramount. So, that's
fabulous, we welcome that. I am also grateful for the sidewalk, but because it is so crazy
-- my daughter bikes to a close location and, then, walks. She can't even get there safety
by bike. I would encourage you to go to this corner and sit there on a school morning
anytime between 7:30 and 8:30. Just sit there for an hour and you will see what we are
talking about. I'm also concerned that with Brighton spending six months talking to us
about improvements and all of the things that they are working with us as a subdivision,
what other areas were developed on those other two corners that did not take the time
and we were not asked for improvements and slid under the radar and got their places
approved quicker and faster, I don't think you should be asking Brighton to do all these
improvements and by doing a traffic study and by asking ACHD to do their part, they
should be asking all of the builders in this area that has all of this growth to contribute to
the proper roadways for our citizens.
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
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De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions?
Cavener: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Another question. It sounds like you were very active in the process. Is it fair to
assume that you were a part of this neighbor group that worked with Brighton?
W.McKinney: I spoke with one of the leaders the day after the first meeting a year ago
May -- or almost a year ago and offered my services to help them, but they were very on
top of things and met without needing me, but when my husband and I went to the
Planning and Zoning Commission meeting a month ago we were alarmed that some of
the rezoning that took place there would give them the possibility of doing many more
apartments at a higher density than the R-18 all the way to the corner and that's an open
issue and we will have another meeting to discuss that. But that's when my husband and
I jumped in and started participating a little more fully.
Cavener: Follow up?
De Weerd: Uh-huh.
Cavener: You made a comment that intrigued me and that's that your daughter doesn't
feel safe to bike all the way to school. Would you mind elaborating what you mean by
that?
W.McKinney: There is too many bikes. She would get knocked down trying to bike to
school by other bikes.
Cavener: Thank you. I appreciate that.
De Weerd: Now, I don't think I have ever heard someone say there are too many bikes in
Meridian. Actually, I think that's awesome. My daughter went to Heritage Middle School,
so I certainly have driven those roads. Any further testimony? Okay. Mr. Wardle, would
you like to come back and have your concluding remarks and address some of what we
have heard. Council, before I ask Mr. Wardle to do that, do we want -- Justin, are you
here tonight? ACHD's representative. I hate to put you on the spot, but would you like to
also make comment? There has been a couple of concerns related to the 2003 study and
some of the responses from ACHD on this application. If you can make comment.
Lucas: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, Justin Lucas. I represent the Ada County
Highway District. Business address is 3775 Adams Street, Garden City, Idaho. I don't
have too much to add than what was in writing from the highway district. Just speaking to
the requirement of what was required in 2003 and what's required today, it is not
uncommon that ACHD requires a traffic study and that the development lags behind that,
especially a development the size of Paramount. So, we do our best to look at it
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holistically and not piece by piece and so a few comments on that. The level of service
comment related to McMillan Road -- so, that's an existing level of service and it does
show a little bit higher than what we would normally accept, but as you are all aware,
Chinden Boulevard is not fully improved and so we anticipate over time the level of
service on McMillan to fluctuate depending on what happens with Chinden. So, as
Chinden is fully improved, would anticipate that the McMillan Road will actually potentially
have a better level of service as those improvements are made along Chinden. Now
people are using McMillan, because Chinden, as you know, as a state highway is not a
very efficient facility during certain times of the day and McMillan Road is an obvious
bypass to that. Now that's not preferential to the highway district and I don't think to the
City of Meridian. The state facility should be carrying those regional trips. If we were to
widen McMillan Road and accommodate those trips they would certainly come, but I don't
think that will be the answer we all want, which is more traffic on McMillan. By keeping it a
three lane facility with bike lanes I'm certain in the short term while Chinden -- while we
wait for Chinden to be widened, there may be some pressure there, but we anticipate that
pressure to be less as Chinden is developed as a state highway, which we would all hope
for and expect. So, I just wanted to speak to that one point, which I can hear. Other
questions I can certainly respond to. Hopefully I discussed the -- I addressed the issue
why no further traffic study was required. The main reason being that the densities and
the land uses and the zoning that was anticipated in 2003 has not changed in any
significant manner and the traffic counts and all the other things that are happening out
there show that what was anticipated is what is happening. The school issue -- now, that
one is a very specific issue and ACHD works very closely with the school districts to try
and mitigate those issues as best we can. But anytime you have a middle school located
basically on the corner of two arterial roadways, you're going to have these kinds of issues
and ACHD does not control where the school district locates their schools. We work with
them as best we can to mitigate those issues, sidewalks, special lights specifically for the
schools, et cetera. But the -- the issue of having a school on the corner, there again,
there is going to be traffic issues during the buses and kids and all those things happening
that are somewhat outside the control of the highway district. So, I hope that addresses
most of the concerns and I can certainly respond to any questions.
De Weerd: Council, any questions?
Rountree: I have none.
De Weerd: Okay. Thank you.
Lucas: Thank you.
Wardle: Madam Mayor, Council Members, Mike Wardle, 12601 West Explorer Drive. And
I just have a couple of very brief responses and, then, Mr. Turnbull will conclude. It's
pretty interesting that communities grow and the city has had a Comprehensive Plan for
many years of anticipated growth. It has been noted by some of the testimony that the
thing that appealed was the fact that Paramount was planned. It had mixed uses and did
include the schools and so forth. But I have to assume -- and we can't take the
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responsibility for other development that occurs within the vicinity, but those also occurred
within the context of the city's Comprehensive Plan and planned densities and so ACHD
and its -- and COMPASS in their long range planning anticipate those and project the
types of facility improvements that are needed. Let me just comment to Mr. Doss that we
did not include his comments to note endorsement. We included them to simply show a
process of how we took time to work with the neighborhood and how he and others
expressed acknowledgement of that effort. One other concern expressed about the time
of school drop off. School drop peaks are quite different from commercial peaks. The
commercial activity will occur at times of day that are quite different from what the -- the
drop-off period would be. And, then, with regard to checking out -- we actually did, as
Mrs. McKinney suggested, to go sit on that corner for an hour from 7:30 to 8:30 and we
have the results of that if the Council are interested in seeing it, but just to note that we
believe that we put a great deal of good faith effort in implementing the plan as presented
12 years ago. I would ask Mr. Turnbull now to conclude.
De Weerd: Good evening. If you will, please, state your name and address for the
record.
Turnbull: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. David Turnbull, 12601
West Explorer Drive in Boise. You know, as I was going through some of the records for
tonight's meeting I came upon an article from 2003, the cover of the Business section of
the Idaho Statesman and I was going to hold it up for you, but Mayor Tammy would
confiscate it for the record and it's the original article and I'm not about to give it up. But
they did an article, front page of the Business section, when Paramount was approved
and it specifically noted that there would be several mixed use areas, there would be 270
apartments, 73 townhomes, areas of commercial. Exactly what we have always
represented. I want to go back a little bit when I believe Councilmember Zaremba was on
the Planning and Zoning Commission -- Mayor de Weerd, I think you were on the City
Council, along with Council Member at that time Nary and Council Member Bird, when we
initiated, in a captive agreement with all of the land owners in Ten Mile square mile area,
North Meridian Area Plan and the idea was to bring all the stakeholders together to put
together this long-term plan. We involved ITD, ACHD, the school district, utility providers,
everybody that's included and the thought was let's get out ahead of this, let's plan this to
be a unique area, not just cookie cutter subdivisions, but let's have a mix of uses, a mix of
housing types, a mix of services. This was all planned starting in 2001, adopted in 2002,
and we had the opportunity in 2000 -- latter part of this. It was kind of a surprise. We
owned other property in that area -- the opportunity to purchase what is now known as
Paramount came to us and we did that. It was at that time called Celtic Heights and I
don't remember if it had an approved preliminary plat or one that had been submitted, but
it didn't meet the planning principles that we had just adopted in the North Meridian Area
Plan. And so Mike Wardle and I started from scratch. That newspaper article I was going
to show you I was 43 years old in the photo. I don't seek publicity, but they insisted on
putting a photo in there. I'm now getting senior citizen discounts at certain establishments
around this town. So, we were -- we were -- we started from scratch. Took a blank slate
slat and everything that we have done since then has been implementing that plan. Some
things come first. That's the way it always is. I remember a conversation with this City
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April 7, 2015
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Council and certain mayors about, you know, we didn't have very many services back in
the '90s and I just said be patient, certain things come first. First roof tops, then, services
and so this is just a natural progression of the city. I do just want to address a few
comments as -- you know, Becky Barnes talked about all of the different developments
that are getting approved. Ours has really been the one that's been the most uniquely
master planned and implemented over time and so if you're saying that this can't be built
-- I thought I had ten minutes. It's already been ten? I mean you're talking moratorium
and I don't think that's where this city is going. As Mike said, we didn't reference Mr. -- Mr.
Doss actually came up to me after the second neighborhood meeting, shook my hand,
told me he appreciated how we have worked with them. Then later sent me an e-mail and
we only included that in the record, because there were many others that came to me and
thanked me, but that was one where, you know, I had something that I could submit to
show our good faith intent in working with this neighborhood. I do think we came up with
a much better plan. We are really happy about it. We have significant open space. We
have a pool. We have a community center that's probably bigger than this Paramount
community center. You know, just one other item. And I guess, you know, I might
preference this. We went out there Monday morning from 7:30 to 8:30. If you took
ACHD's grid on level of service A through E, that intersection at peak hour a.m. traffic was
operating somewhere between level of service B or C and that's the current situation. I
will say this: We are in discussion -- we initiated this over a month ago, because this
project will potentially generate over two million dollars in impact fees to ACHD. We
initiated discussion with ACHD over a month ago to allocate those funds to further
improvements of Meridian and possibly McMillan Roads. So, those are discussions that
we are having right now and you may see further extensions, curb, gutter, sidewalks,
crossings, all of those things. We are cognizant of the fact that the school is there. We
have always planned for their safety. You know, I hear this with -- you know, we made
available the site for the Rocky Mountain High School. Well, that's a -- that's a tough thing
to do, you know. Not everybody wants to have a high school in their neighborhood. But
we have a proactive effort -- record of working with the school district to locate their
facilities and so we hate to see that effort used as a two edge sword to cut against us. So,
with that, you know, as Mike said, the only thing that -- well, let me -- one more thing. The
rezone we are asking for, everything we are doing here could be done with the existing
zoning. The rezone we are asking for is to accommodate the residents' desire to perhaps
add more commercial, less residential. Otherwise, everything we are asking here could
be done with the current zoning and the access points as mentioned were -- were built in
2007 and we just appreciate the City Council's recognition of those previously planned
and constructed efforts. Thank you. I will stand for questions.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions?
Bird: I have none.
Turnbull: Thank you.
Rountree: Thanks, David.
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De Weerd: Thank you. Council, do you have any further needs for any of the -- those
that testified, the applicant, or staff?
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: Question for Sonya. Is this conditional use permit required for an R-40?
Watters: Excuse me. This was -- excuse me just a second, Councilman Rountree. It was
required as a provision of the planned development and I can't remember if it is in the CU
or not. Yes, it does require conditional use approval in the R-40 district.
Rountree: That's all I needed.
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba.
Zaremba: Madam Mayor, I just would follow up on a comment that Mr. Turnbull made. I
was on the Planning and Zoning Commission at the time that this was first presented and
it was a very good example of what was intended by the North Meridian Area Plan and, in
fact, the planning and development for the Paramount project worked its way -- worked its
way into much of what we did when we created the Unified Development Code. You
heard Sonya mention UDC, that's what that means, Unified Development Code. Before
that we had a series of ordinances that were not necessarily coordinated with each other
and the Unified Development Code is -- is now our ordinance for development, but we
depended very heavily on the process of this particular project. At the time when the
entire Paramount project was proposed -- sorry, my microphone is not on.
De Weerd: Thank you. I thought it was just me.
Zaremba: It was the first project of its size and my recollection is that if it wasn't the entire
square mile, it was like 90 percent of the entire square mile and the ability to plan a project
of that size -- frankly, before the Planning and Zoning Commission made any
recommendation to the City Council we beat them up for quite a few of the amenities that
-- that were not part of the old ordinances. They have become part of the new UDC. But
many of the amenities that the current citizens that live there now enjoy were the result of
that planning process at that time and the ability to either act with a development of a
process of -- of a project that was that size enabled the balancing of the different uses.
Unfortunately, many of our projects are smaller and so we are saying, okay, we are talking
about this one little area, but here is how we hope it will fit into the whole area around it.
With this project we were able to talk about that whole big area and -- and in balancing the
uses and in determining where the different densities would go, where the different types
of uses would go and seeing how it has come to fruition over the 12 years since we first
started talking about it -- 12 or 13 years -- this is the kind of development that makes
Meridian what it is. It's why people want to come here as several people have said and
this additional aspect of it was already considered, was already planned, as ACHD has
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April 7, 2015
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mentioned, in our Comprehensive Plan, and in the North Meridian Area Plan, we knew
there would be other developments around it and much of that is taken into account. So,
in the minor adjustments that I believe are being asked for tonight, I feel this still meets the
intent of the plan that started many years ago and I will have to say I'm in favor of it,
because I think it's what was expected and even looked forward to.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mr. Zaremba. Any other comments? If not, do I have a motion to
close?
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I would move that we close the public hearings on RZ 15-001, PP 15-002 and CUP
15-002.
Cavener: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to close the public hearings on Items 9-C, D
and E. All those in favor say aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: A number of issues. Appreciate the issues of concern. You have to keep in
mind that we also rely on other agencies and independent groups to provide us
information. One specifically in this case is Ada County Highway District. We don't
control the roads, they do. We rely on them to be our traffic engineer and our road -- and
our highway department. They have corresponded and in their conclusion of law, in their
information that they have provided both the applicant and the city, they have stated that
the proposed site is approved and follows the site specific standard, conditions of
approval are satisfied, which the application has -- has agreed to. Given that it's hard for
me to counter for what Ada County Highway District says -- ask them again to do
something they have already done and said is sufficient. We have a similar situation with
the school district. But the reality is is this particular proposal before you, as Mr. Turnbull
just stated, would go forth without any of this public input per se on zoning change, but
just how you could go about conditioning the already approved multi-family development
in this particular zoning to make it more acceptable, if you will, to the community, which
appears to have happened. The idea that you can testify that you don't want it or it needs
to be something else, they already have a right now with the zoning that's there to put
multi- family dwellings to a density very close to what they are proposing with this new
proposal with zoning shifts in commercial zoning to allow for more frontage of commercial
endeavors on Meridian Road. So, to me the idea that what's being proposed here this
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April 7, 2015
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evening is going to be inconsistent with what's already approved and they already have a
right to do, really the only way I could say you can't do it is if you don't incorporate
measures into your plan that address such things as elevations, design criteria, which
they have met. Access and those such things. But they are allowed the density of an R-
40, which they are way under. So, I guess from my perspective I have a hard time either
denying or requesting more from them.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I agree with what Councilman Zaremba and Rountree has stated and I -- they are --
I don't see any way that we can ask for anymore out of it and if we don't have anymore
discussion, I will be glad to make a motion. I move that we approve RZ 15-001 and to
include all staff, applicant and public testimony.
Rountree: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 9-C. And this is about the
rezone. Any comments, discussion? Okay. Madam Clerk.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Item 9-D.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move that we approve PP 15-002 and I think this is where we waiver UD 1 --
Rountree: 1.1.3.
Bird: -- 1.1.3D. Is that right? Waiver that and to include all staff, applicant, and public
testimony.
Rountree: Second.
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April 7, 2015
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De Weerd: I have a motion and a second under Item 9-D to -- for approval. Any
discussion? Council, I believe that one of the comments was regarding the connectivity
and the sidewalks and the sidewalks will be done in phase one. So, any comments?
Madam Clerk, will you call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Item 9-E.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move we approve CUP 15-002 and to include all staff, applicant, and public
testimony.
Rountree: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 9-E. Any discussion from
Council? Madam Clerk.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Thank you for those that came and joined us tonight.
Bird: It's nice to see everyone doing --
De Weerd: It is nice to see participation. Oh, thank you for that.
F. Public Hearing: RZ 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak
Leaf Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden
Boulevard; West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way
Request: Rezone 26.09 Acres from the C-N and the R-15 Districts
to the R-15 (8.48 Acres) and C-C (17.61 Acres) Zoning Districts
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G. Public Hearing: PP 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak
Leaf Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden
Boulevard; West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way
Request: Preliminary Plat Approval Consisting of One (1)
Residential Lot, Three (3) Commercial Lots and Three (3)
Common Lots on Approximately 23.59 Acres in the Proposed R-
15 and C-C Zoning Districts
H. Public Hearing: CUP 15-003 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak
Leaf Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden
Boulevard; West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven Way
Request: Conditional Use Permit for a Self-Service Storage
Facility Consisting of a Care-Taker's / Office Building and Fifteen
(15) Storage Buildings on Approximately 11.18 Acres of Land in
a Proposed C-C Zoning District
I. Public Hearing: MDA 15-001 Jayker Village Subdivision by Oak
Leaf Development Company, Inc. Located North Side of Chinden
Boulevard, West of N. Tree Farm Way and N. Tree Haven
Request: Development Agreement Modification to Exclude the
Proposed C-C Zoning Boundary from the Existing Development
Agreement
De Weerd: Item 9-F, G, H and I are public hearings RZ 15-003, PP 15-003, CUP 15-003
and MDA 15-001. I will open all four of these public hearings with staff comments.
Parsons: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. Next item on the agenda
is the Jaykers Village Development. You can see here on the plan before you that the
property is annexed and zoned in the city, currently zoned C-N and R-15. The
development is currently -- or the property currently has two existing buildings on the site
here located near the southwest corner of the development. They will remain with the
development of the property. The applicant is proposing that they remain with the
development of the property. You can see a majority of this property is currently vacant
and has been that way since approximately 2006 when it annexed into the city.
Surrounding this development is primarily single family residential homes, zoned R-8 and
R-15. As I mentioned to you, this project was annexed in 2006. The project at that time
was known as the Tree Farm. Here is the approved concept plan that was tied to the
original annexation and as part of tonight's presentation I have highlighted the area in
which we are discussing that was part of -- and approved with that concept plan in 2006.
You can see here that a portion of it was approved for a neighborhood -- mixed use
neighborhood commercial and, then, also village housing, which is hard to read the
legend here, but the village housing component was to contain a mix of townhomes,
condominiums, or apartments, and, then, of course, the commercial portion would have a
mix of neighborhood from the commercial uses. You can also see on this concept plan
that the original concept included the primary access into that development would be from
Tree Farm Way or the mid mile access point, which is currently in this location here and it
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April 7, 2015
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is currently constructed -- and was constructed with the earlier phases of the residential
development. The applicant is here tonight to discuss a rezone from the R-15 and the
C-N zoning district to the C-C zoning district in the R-15 zoning district. So, here in the
highlighted -- the red area here I have highlighted which area is proposed to go -- is
proposed to change from C-N to C-C and, then, what is to remain R-15 going forward.
The applicant is also proposing to preliminary plat the project, consisting of one 6.41 acre
residential lot, which could be further subdivided in the future. No plan for that at this time.
Lot 2, Block 1, as I mentioned earlier in my presentation, will contain the two existing
structures located here in the southwest corner. Lot 3, again, is another vacant
commercial lot that may be developed with three office buildings in the future. And, then,
the applicant has also followed up -- or submitted a concurrent application in a DA
modification to allow not only the CUP for the proposed service facility, but also tie them to
a new concept plan and request a new development agreement for the entire zoning
boundary of the proposed C-C zone. And for simplification tonight, instead of attaching
the plat, the landscape plan and the concept plan, I'm basically going to focus my
presentation on this exhibit, because it really details what the applicant is proposing to do.
So, as I mentioned to you, the primary access to this development is from Chinden
Boulevard, which is this street here labeled as North Tree Farm Way and, again, that was
developed with the residential development. Also with the residential development North
Tree Haven Way was also constructed, which is a local street, which provides access to
not only the future commercial, but also the proposed storage facility and, then, as part of
the preliminary plat requirement, the applicant will be required to extend a portion of the
collector road, which, again, is also North Tree Farm Way and this is part of ACHD's
master street map and this is a future collector road that will ultimately run through the
property to the west as shown on the concept plan and will ultimately tie into Black Cat
Road and serve as a backage road to Chinden Boulevard, much -- much as to Brighton
testified in the previous application where McMillan is acting as a backage road to
Chinden Boulevard until the improvements are done. So, typically these improvements do
happen at the time of lot development and now that this plat contains that roadway
extension, they will have to extend it with the development of this project. Landscaping for
this site will consist of a 35 foot wide landscape buffer along Chinden. Existing
landscaping exists on common Lot 1, Block 1, here in the southwest corner and that was
installed with the residential portion of the development. The 20 foot wide landscape
buffer was installed along the west side of North Tree Farm Way, the collector road, and,
then, when commercial development happens on Lot 3, Block 1, there will be a
requirement for a ten foot wide landscape buffer and, then, along the proposed collector
street the applicant is doing common lots and they will be providing the 20 foot wide
landscape buffers and also enhancing -- if you have ever been out there and seen that
North Tree Farm Way they have proposed to install center medians to give it a more
attractive look and a boulevard look to the development as well. Here is the visual impact
from the adjacent roadway. So, the applicant has provided these exhibits for you this
evening. Here is the visual view from Chinden Boulevard, which will include the 35 foot
landscape buffer, decorative walls and berming and, then, per the specific use standards
of the storage facility the applicant will have to provide solid fencing or a block wall along
the Chinden Boulevard side, in which they are proposing this evening. This would be the
view looking from the north side of the development adjacent from North Tree Haven Way
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and, then, also the main entrance off of North Tree Haven Way and I will get to that --
back to that. So, basically, here is the Chinden Boulevard view, the main entry from Tree
Haven Way, and, then, that other exhibit was for the northern boundary of the
development in order to mitigate those concerns from the residences. The applicant,
again, did provide a concept plan for Lot 3, Block 1, which is located in this area here.
You can see they are proposing a mix of office buildings or uses. This one building rate --
sizes range in between 6,000 square feet and 13,000 square feet. The applicant has tried
to have the buildings front towards the street and provide all the parking internal to the
development, so it does minimize impact to the adjacent residences. Moving forward the
applicant will have to receive certificate of zoning compliance and design review for those
office buildings on Lot 3, Block 1. One thing that I did bring to the attention of Council and
Planning and Zoning Commission was currently the existing two buildings on lot 2, Block
1, are operating with commercial businesses that have not received city approval.
Because the applicant is rezoning the property tonight and has provided proposed DA
modification, we have some DA provisions that recommend that he bring that site into
compliance within 90 days if you Council desire to approve this application this evening.
Here are the proposed elevations for you this evening for the office -- for the concept plan
of this office building I just discussed. You can see they include a mix of materials. Staff
finds that these are consistent with the design standards in the UDC. Again, any building
proposed for that lot will have to come back, get city approval -- or staff level approval and
be consistent with these elevations moving forward. The proposed storage facility. This
is the office slash caretakers unit. It will have someone that lives on the sight 24/7 for
security purposes and maintenance of that facility. Hours of operation for that facility will
be restricted between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., due to the fact that it is
adjacent to a residential land use slash zoning and elevations this evening are meant to
emulate or match the existing elevations constructed within the Spurwing Subdivision as
well. The CUP for the storage facility itself will -- there will be 15 buildings on
approximately 11 acres of land. The primary building materials for that will be metal. In
the staff report staff has recommended additional design criteria to be added to the
building and the plans that are presented this evening do -- are consistent with staff's
recommendations in the staff report. And these are just -- I don't have color views of
those for you, but it's -- as you can see, it's a mix of metal siding and splotched
wainscoting along the perimeter. Because that facility will be screened by a majority of a
fence and landscaping, really, our focus, as far as, design review process goes will
involve the building along the east boundary and the buildings along the north boundary.
So, in our staff report we have paid particular attention to those elevations and moving
forward they will have to comply with the design standards as well. So, the Planning and
Zoning Commission did recommend approval -- or denial at their March 5th hearing. In
my hearing outline for you this evening in the interest of time I will spare you the details of
all the folks that have testified, but they are -- all of their names are part of the public
record. So, 17 residents testified in opposition. There was also a petition with 238
signatures from the residents in the area in opposition of the project. The applicant and
his representative did testify in favor of the application and there was one resident that
also supported the application moving forward. Key items of discussion by the
Commission included the commercial traffic entering the development with that single
access point, as I mentioned to you. Hours of operation for the commercial development.
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April 7, 2015
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And, then, rezoning the property to a more intense commercial zoning, merely to allow the
self storage facility to use. That's really where the Commission felt this didn't -- wasn't
really compatible with the adjacent subdivision. Again, some of the concerns and some of
the issues discussed by the Commission was the entrance of that facility for the storage
facility in the relation to the pool complex and you can see this is the primary entrance to
that facility and the adjacent subdivision and the pool facility adjacent directly to the north
of this here and per the specific use standards the applicant will have to have a secondary
access from Chinden Boulevard. So, primary access, again, would be from the local
street consistent with the UDC. Secondary access coming from Chinden Boulevard. And
outstanding issues for this evening. In looking at the proposed development agreement
provisions I did note an error in there. So, one thing that I want to bring to your attention --
because along the west boundary of this site the applicant adjacent to R-15 zoning, the
applicant is seeking a Council's -- seeking Council's waiver to reduce the landscape buffer
from 25 feet down to 15 feet. Staff is amenable to that, because the property adjacent to
that is currently vacant. So, the storage facility will be constructed before the residential
comes in and also there is an existing landscaping that the applicant wants to utilize along
that boundary. So, as part of the development agreement modification this evening we
are recommending these DA provisions moving forward. So, the first one will be
consistent with the design standards and the design manual. As I mentioned to you, I
errored in one of the DA provisions and we forgot to include Lot 4 as part of the approval
with the concept plan, the site plan and the landscape plan that I'm presenting to you this
evening. Because of the neighborhood opposition we wanted to insure that there were
neighborhood friendly uses on this particular property, so we have prohibited specific uses
on this site moving forward to minimize the impact to the adjacent residential
development. Again, ordinances, change over time, so we wanted to make sure that
there is adequate provisions in place that they comply with the ordinances in effect.
Again, because the Commission's concerns with the hours of operation we have limited to
those as well -- restricted the site to that. And, then, as I mentioned to you currently the
two office buildings in there -- two commercial buildings are operating with illegal uses at
this time, so they will need to come back before the city and get approval of those if it is
your desire to approve this application tonight and that really references the last four or
five DA provisions here. So, in closing -- or I should say after the Planning and Zoning
Commission hearing we did receive additional testimony. One from the applicant, but also
in looking at the public record I have identified over 308 residents who submitted either
written testimony or a petition in opposition of this project and the applicant did submit
comments in regards to the Commission's recommendation. In general they are in
agreement with the -- the conditions in the staff report. The applicant -- if the Council acts
favorably on this application they are asking that you modify two conditions. The first will
be Condition 1-B, which recommends -- which originally staff had recommended a wider
landscape along the east boundary of the proposed self storage facility. Because the
applicant has reached out to the irrigation district and received approval for them to add
additional landscaping within their easement area, staff is amenable to that change and,
then, also in our staff report we had required that solid gates be located along the entry off
-- at least the secondary access off of Chinden Boulevard and we wanted a solid gate to
minimize the impacts of the visual effects from -- into the development from North Haven
Place or Tree Haven Place -- or road, excuse me, and so the applicant -- based on the
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April 7, 2015
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mechanical mechanism to operate that gate, the applicant has to put in a lighter door or a
wrought iron fender in order for that mechanism to allow folks to enter and exit that
building. So, we are amenable to that change provided they provide solid fencing
adjacent to the gates and that was represented in the exhibit that the applicant provided
here. You can see they are doing solid fencing here, along with the entry of the gate, and,
then, the gate would be visible from the street. Other than the reduced buffer along the
west boundary, the modification to the DA that I presented to you and, of course, with
Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation of denial, this will conclude my
presentation and I would stand for any questions you may have.
De Weerd: Thank you, Bill. Council, any questions at this point?
Bird: Not at this time.
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba?
Zaremba: Madam Mayor, if I may. You have mentioned the second access, which would
be off Chinden several times. Recently there was a storage unit project a little farther up
or down Chinden, depending on which way you say, but within maybe a mile or two of this
one and the discussion on that one was that the required second access would be an
emergency only access. I have not heard you use this word on this one. Is that going to
be -- is the intent for that to be a usable access or would it be an emergency only access?
Parsons: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, Councilman Zaremba, that is the
intent, is that it would be in an emergency access only per the conditions of approval.
Zaremba: Okay. Thank you.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: Bill, what uses originally or under the original approval in C-N were allowed?
Parsons: Councilman Rountree, from the Planning and Zoning Commission -- Madam
Mayor and Councilman Rountree I don't have the exact list, but there is a couple of things
that set out in my mind what you're seeing on the concept plan or the plan this evening. In
the C-N zone currently the -- on the concept plan here this larger building shown here
depicts that space in the proposed storage facility here. Based on the C-N zone, neither
one of those uses would be allowed in the C-N zoning district. So, we need the C-C zone
in order for that to happen. But anything from medical office, retail, restaurants, those
types of uses, professional services, they could all happen in either district. The original
DA did not really specify specific uses on this property. It was pretty much the DA was
structured that it would be subject to what -- what was allowed in the zoning district at the
time that they annexed in. And so right now, as it currently sits, there is C-N. So, they are
allowed to do whatever is allowed in the C-N zoning district and I can look for the --
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through this very quickly for you. Caleb provided this to me. So, it looks like animal care
facility, artist studio, arts and entertainment, recreational indoors. Outdoor facility would
be a conditional use in the C-N zone. It would be a permitted use in the C-C zone.
Building material, gardening equipment supplies, conditional use in the C-N zone.
Allowed use in the C-C zone. A church is a permitted use. Civic organizations,
conditional use in both zones. Gravel mining, conditional use in both zones. Education --
private and public education is principally permitted. Equipment rental, conditional use.
Fuel facility is conditional use in the C-N zone, permitted use in the C-C zone and that's
why we restricted that in the development agreement. We wanted to make sure and
minimize those impacts. Those seem to be the gist of it. Laundromat. Dry-cleaning. A
multi-family would be allowed in the C-C zone with a conditional use permit and it's not
allowed in the C-N zone, so --
Rountree: Thank you.
Parsons: So, it's pretty wide open.
De Weerd: Any other questions for staff at this time? Okay. Would the applicant like to
make comment? Gary, is this what your slide show will be?
Allen: Yes.
De Weerd: Okay. Well, we want to make sure that these are included, so that the
audience knows what was part of this.
Allen: Everybody get a copy? Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members the Council. My
name is Gary Allen. My address is 601 West Bannock in Boise with the Givens Pursley
law firm, representing the developer Oak Leaf Development. You have a choice tonight.
The easy thing to do would be to decide this application on emotions and politics. If you
do that you're going to deny the application and you will probably make most of the people
here go home happy. But the question we ask is if you deny the application will you make
Meridian a better city and will you do it in the real long term interest of this neighborhood.
You have -- next slide. Or can I work this? I'm sorry.
Parsons: Take the pen there and touch the screen.
Allen: This one?
Parsons: Just take the pen and touch the screen.
Allen: Oh. Okay. There we go. Oops. That turned into something else. How do I jump
to the next -- oh, I have to use that. Okay. All right. So, sorry about that. Technical
difficulties. So, you do have another choice. So, you can look at this project based on the
facts and we believe that the facts lead you to these conclusions. Number one, storage is
a good use in this location based on the large inventory of commercial properties in the
area and the desirability of placing storage near the residents who use it. Number two, a
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storage facility and other uses in Jayker Village will provide a quiet buffer between
Spurwing Greens and Chinden Boulevard. Number three, the neighborhood will only
have a limited view of this facility and what they will see is attractive and well landscaped.
Number four, traffic is a nonissue. Number five, the storage facility will be safe and
secure based on the excellent security measures that are provided by Republic Storage.
Now, let me briefly introduce the project, the developer, and the storage facility owner
and, then, I'm going to discuss those points. So, Bill's been through this with you. We
have a -- this area of the project. This is the original plan for Jayker. This is the first
commercial element of the Tree Farm master plan that was approved about ten years
ago. So, as mentioned we have got C-N zoning for what's proposed to be rezoned C-C
and, then, R-15 zoning on the remainder of the parcel that's already in place. Your
Comprehensive Plan asks you to balance a variety of commercial and retail opportunities,
protecting the residential properties from incompatible development and requiring a site
design that's compatible with surrounding uses and we just want to note staff's opinion at
this point, this storage is an ideal transitional use from Chinden Boulevard into this
neighborhood. Bill showed you the site plan. It's a nice, clean plan. Well designed plan
that has the residential on the north, the office area in the east and, then, the storage area
tucked in behind it. So, we think that that's -- that's really a -- it's a well designed plan for
what we are trying to do. So, staff's analysis was that the project meets the requirements
for all needed permits and they recommended approval. Now, let's talk about the
neighborhood concerns here. A number of Spurwing Greens residents oppose this
development and they feel that a nearby self storage facility would detract from the
country club setting that they live in. They are concerned about this adversely affecting
their property values and they are concerned with traffic. Mr. Carnahan met with the
neighborhood three times and tried to address the neighbors' concerns, but the bottom
line is they are not interested in the storage use in any form in this location. Now, our
point is simply that the most affected neighbor is the developer himself. Not only is he
developing both the office and the residential parcels that are immediately adjacent, he's
also the owner of Jayker Nurseries to the west. This means that nobody cares more than
the developer that this development is an asset to its neighbors. So, for those of you who
don't know Doug Carnahan, he's the principal of Oak Leaf development. Doug and his
wife Meredith have made Meridian their primary home since 1985. Doug and Meredith
are sitting right here. For many years Doug ran the Boise division of Hewlett-Packard.
Meredith started Jayker Wholesale Nurseries in 1982 and this application is part of that
Jayker facility. The Carnahans and Jayker have made innumerable contributions to
Meridian over the decades, but this is relevant to this application only as a testimonial that
this developer and his family care deeply about this community and would only offer you a
project that they firmly believe makes Meridian a better place. Republic Storage is owned
by Jake and Stacy Smith. They own 17 Treasure Valley storage facilities and are also
very deeply engaged in your community. What has struck me about Republic is that
cleanliness, safety, and security are central to their business model, as it providing
services within the neighborhoods where they are located. In short, their business doesn't
work if they aren't good neighbors. So, let's talk about some of the questions that have
been raised about the storage facility. First, is there a need for storage here? What's the
facility's role as a buffer? What's the visual impact of this facility? What are the traffic
impacts? How does the facility affect neighborhood access and, then, will the facility be
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safe and secure. First looking at the need for storage. So, there is a strong national trend
to take self storage uses with residential customer bases out of industrial areas and put
them near the residences where they are serving, so there is convenient access for those
self storage users and this application follows that trend. The market demands storage in
this location more so than additional commercial and office uses, so the application
responds to that, and it's also -- storage is in keeping with the city's desire to have all the
uses that residents need within your city boundaries. So, as we will discuss more in a
minute, the storage facility is not going to harm property values and here is the question
we want to leave you with there is a need for self storage in north Meridian. So, if you're
not going to put it here where will you put it, because there aren't a lot of locations you're
going to find that are as good or certainly not better than this one. So, we asked that -- to
further this market discussion we asked Peter Oliver of Thornton Oliver Keller to prepare a
market analysis and addressing the demand for storage in this location compared to other
commercial uses. I know his letter is going to be hard to read here. It should be
elsewhere in your records, but I will point out some of the highlights. First of all, self
storage is critical for neighborhoods like Spurwing where the CC&Rs require people to
park in their garages, so they are not supposed to keep their stuff in their garages. Those
folks need a place to store their things and this is Peter's quote on that issue. And, then,
secondly, what we found is looking at the Linder self storage facility, which is in
Paramount that we just heard about, the storage facility itself has become a valuable
amenity for that facility and the surrounding neighborhoods benefit from that and as you
know Paramount has been one of the more successful neighborhoods in Meridian. And
we will take, you know, from our own experience, there are six lots that are across the
road by the pool house next to this property and they were put on the market and priced at
the high end of the range for this neighborhood. All sold within a week with two full price
offers and this was after those buyers were shown the plans for the Jayker Village
Subdivision. All right. Next. So, the second issue is that this development wouldn't work
with a larger office or commercial component, instead of storage. This has sat vacant for
this long for a reason and one of the reasons is that, you know, there is only so much
demand for office and commercial uses that can fit here. Peter's opinion is that this is
about the right -- that commercial office component is about the right size and that if there
were more commercial we don't think that the project could absorb it . So, storage is not
the most lucrative use from the owner's standpoint, so we have a strong incentive to
develop something with more -- with intense commercial uses, but the market just isn't
there. Looking at the potential -- or the -- the buffering potential here, you see that the
storage facilities is already a nice buffer for -- from Chinden to the residential
neighborhoods and, in addition, you have got about 400 feet of buffer in the residential
and office areas between the storage facility itself and the surrounding residences and, or
course, on the west that property is owned by Jayker, so they can provide appropriate
buffering there when they develop. Let's look now at the visual impact. Just to
summarize. This project is screened on all sides by landscaping and walls and various
other devices. It includes various -- varied attractive walls and six foot wainscoting on the
adjacent walls. It has a quality manager home that's matched to the pool house and will
have unobtrusive signage. So, that's -- you have seen what this looks like. Let's go
through that briefly again. You can see the landscaping and screening that's consistent
with the city's requirements here on Chinden. It's a combination of trees and shrubs,
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varied fencing materials or features to break up the walls and this is very much in keeping
with what -- what you will -- the city wants to see along Chinden Boulevard. If we go to
the next slide you see the north side and as Bill discussed, you have a strong landscaping
here, various heights of walls. Some of these walls are ten -- or 14 -- 12 and 14 -- even
16 feet high six foot wainscoting, varied heights, varied materials, windows, and, you
know, just a very attractive use and please remember this will be completely invisible to
the existing neighborhood once the R-15 area builds out. Then we look at the pool house.
Again, you have got the architectural style matching the adjacent pool house, strong
landscaping along here, six foot solid fences to match what's by the pool and a wrought
iron gate as the entrance to the storage facility. Now let's talk about traffic. From the
standpoint of the traffic agencies, first of all, traffic is a nonissue for this application. It
meets district policy for ACHD and even had too little impact for a traffic study. From
ITD's perspective no objection. The project will not generate more trips than anticipated
under the Comprehensive Plan. So, notwithstanding that, because traffic was a
significant concern of the neighborhood, the developer had Thompson Engineering
prepare a report comparing the possible uses that might go on this site, so he did a
residential option, an office option, and, then, a storage office residential mix that was
actually proposed. Bill, could you -- there we go. Pressed the wrong thing there. Okay.
So, if you look at a conservative residential opportunity -- option based on R-8 housing
you can see in the office portion it generates 847 trips a day. If you go to the overall it's
1,589 trips a day. Now, moving to the office -- or the storage portion, 1,180 trips a day
and 2,217 total. Then looking at what was actually proposed, you only got 461 trips under
the ITD manual for storage and 1,313 trips total. So, if you add all that up the traffic
agencies find traffic is insignificant. The Thompson study shows that this generates less
traffic than other uses and Republic did their own study based on actual usage of a
comparable facility and found that it only produced ten percent of the level of traffic that
the ITE manual would -- would expect. Plus having a close in location near the
residences that will use the storage facility reduces overall traffic on the road system. So,
we do want to point out that contrary to what some of the neighbors have said that Tree
Farm is not the only access to this property, that there is, in fact, a second access, which
it connects to Long Lake and Chinden as a gated access that all the residents have
access to in there and, then, as Bill pointed out there will be a -- there is a future access
on Black Cat as this area builds out. So, there is a minor traffic impact and there is
certainly adequate access for everyone here. From a safety and security standpoint there
is an on-site manager for this facility and it will be there 24/7, an advanced alarm system,
so when you key into the gate in this facility in notifies the manager you're there, it only
allows you to open your -- your own unit. An alarm goes off if any other unit is opened, so
if somebody jumps the gate or tries to get into somebody else's unit you can't do that. So,
this is proven effective. There have been virtually zero break ins in Republic facilities
since this was implemented several years ago and despite the concerns of neighbors
about meth labs, there has never been a meth lab in a Republic facility. I will be just a
moment here. Almost finished.
De Weerd: You do need to wrap up.
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Allen: I will. Yes, ma'am. So, as Bill mentioned, the conditions of approval are
acceptable, with a couple of minor changes that we mentioned that we believe the staff is
in agreement with and, in conclusion, we think this is an appropriate mixed use that
protects the neighborhood, is attractive and unobtrusive and we ask your approval with
the minor changes that the staff has recommended and with that I would take your
questions.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions?
Zaremba: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba.
Zaremba: I do have a couple if I may. Thank you for the presentation. You mentioned
that there are a number of the residents who simply don't want to have a storage unit
there. Have they expressed to you what they would like to see there?
Allen: I probably will leave that to Mr. Carnahan for his testimony, unless you would like to
have him come up, because he has been present at those meetings. You know, I think
everybody wants a coffee shop or -- but you're own -- you can only do one coffee shop,
you can't do 16 acres of coffee shops and I think you might would probably be hearing
complaints about just any commercial use, because, you know, as we discussed the
traffic impacts would be much much higher for any type of commercial use than what we
are proposing. In fact, you know, it's going to be kind of dead on that 11 acres and so,
you know, there is not going to be a lot of opportunities for life that's going to make, you
know, restaurants or something else like that work in here.
Zaremba: Madam Mayor, a second unrelated question. I'm sure one of the issues that I
noticed about other storage units around is after they are in operation for a while they tend
to take on truck rental or trailer rental, like U-Haul places, and they store their trucks and
trailers visibly out in front of their -- their units and there are two or three of them around
town that I can think of now that are doing that. Is there anything in your CC&Rs or your --
whatever you would impose on the storage facility that they are not able to display rental
vehicles in their front parking lot or visible.
Allen: I have no information that anything like that is planned. We do have the storage
center owners here tonight and so, you know, if you think that's inappropriate, perhaps a
condition of approval would -- you know, could address that. Is anybody cringing here?
You're not going to do that. Okay. So, they are not going to do that. So, however you
want to address that.
Zaremba: Thank you.
Allen: Yes. Okay.
De Weerd: Okay. Council, any other questions at this point?
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Bird: I have none.
De Weerd: Councilman Zaremba, you got all your questions asked for now?
Zaremba: So far. Thank you. Yes.
De Weerd: Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Gary. I would ask Robert Newfeld.
He's a spokesperson for the subdivision, so he is allowed ten minutes. Thank you for
joining us. If you will, please, state your name and address for the record.
Newfeld: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the City Council. My name is Robert
Newfeld. I reside at 3756 West Snow Cherry Court in the Spurwing Green development.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Newfeld: I also serve as the chairman of the Spurwing Green Homeowners Association
Advisory Committee. Tonight I'm here to talk to you about many items. You will also hear
from several of the residents in our community about our concerns and the reasons why
we believe that you should uphold the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission
and deny the request for the Jayker Village Development, Action Items F, G, H and I on
your calendar this evening. First, I find it quite enlightening to sit in the audience and
listen to legal counsel for the proponent make some statements that bear absolutely zero
fact. We will tonight address those issues and, hopefully, we will be able to answer any
questions that you have. Following tonight's meeting we have gathered the signatures of
90 percent of all of the homeowners in Spurwing Greens. These homeowners are
opposed to the rezoning and to the conditional use permits. These signatures now
represent 191 of the 211 homes that are in the development and while we have had some
that declined to sign, they are only seven homes and represent only three percent of
those that would favor the project or had no opinion. That is a very significant minority. At
the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Mr. Carnahan placed into the public record
the following and I will quote directly from his remarks in the transcript, quote: The
country club image. This is a mixed use master planned facility. It is not a country club
community. That's great. I live there. I appreciate that it's turned out to be very nice.
That's great. End of quote. A bit later in his remarks he returned to the country club issue
with these remarks. Quote: We think we have an attractive option and it's just an image
thing that we are in a country club community. And if we had the slides up here now -- if I
can get to that, Bill. Go back to the -- can you get me to the very first slide, Bill, and, then,
I can start from there? We are almost there. Right here. Go back one. Right here. If
you will see the sign on the lower left potion of your screen there, you will see this very,
very clearly in the brown in the center below the pictures, a country club community. That
sign has been there for many years. I will also let you know that back in 2006 I believe --
I'm not sure of the exact date -- there was the groundbreaking for the new Spurwing
Green development. I believe Mayor Tammy was there as I recall. There were also
several of the developers from the community and several of the builders that were there.
I happened to be looking for a place to move at that particular time and that video and the
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vision that was shared by the Mayor, by the developers, and by the builders is one of the
reasons why I decided to move to Meridian and to the Spurwing Greens development.
The issue of saying that is not a country club facility is not a true statement. It is, in fact,
identified as this picture here and it is also identified by the fact that each and every
homeowner in the organization -- within the development, rather, pay an annual fee to
belong to the club at Spurwing. To me that makes it a country club community and I don't
think anybody can logically argue that that is not the case. During the issues that were
presented at the Planning and Zoning Commission we heard a lot of these concerns. We
understand the issues about traffic and we were educated. The traffic is not really
relevant -- of concern for the development of a storage facility there. This particular
facility, though, is more than just a storage facility. As you can see you have a request to
rezone and there would be additional residential in there and there would also be
commercial development. That development does add to the traffic. The fact that Mr.
Carnahan in his statements before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the
statements by Council tonight indicated that the traffic counts are very low from the
storage unit, but they are unusually high for the residential developments in there. Nine
point two trips per day for a residential development and I can tell as a resident and with
many of the people behind me here in attendance tonight that if you found anybody in that
development that makes 9.2 trips per day as part of the residential development, that that
is, again, an incorrect statement and that makes us question, then, whether the numbers
that are presented are actually correct to begin with. Tonight you will hear the neighbors
that will talk and many of them will speak against the project, but there are some who will
speak for the project. These people are our friends and our neighbors and we certainly
respect the right that they have to be able to make those kind of statements and to make
their position heard. But another statement that was made by legal counsel that is false is
nobody -- absolutely nobody in the Spurwing Greens development is against Mr.
Carnahan's development of that property. Everybody understands he has a property
right, he can delve that to the best use. The only thing that we are asking is that the use
that he presents for the community is one that is consistent with the standards that have
been established by the City of Meridian in their vision, excuse me, and also by the
developers. Back in the beginning of this the City of Meridian and Brighton did have a big
vision for Spurwing Greens and Brighton and all the builders who followed that plan have
made that dream come true. Now we have Mr. Carnahan who wishes to change that
vision. Not only of those of us who reside in Spurwing Greens, but many others
throughout the Treasure Valley look at Spurwing Greens as the premier development in
the Treasure Valley and do not want to see that image tarnished. Mr. Carnahan wants to
change that by building a storage facility that rightly belongs in a heavy commercial or
industrial area. At the March 5th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting
Commissioner Wilson stated as part of his remarks after the hearing that, quote: I don't
think that this reup in zoning makes any sense and I'm troubled by the fact that the
developer, you know, and the community have not been working together and I, too, have
serious issues with this. Well, to correct another false statement in the time that -- that
was stated that Mr. Carnahan has met three times with the public, twice was as a
requirement for the application that he had submitted, excuse me, to notify people within
300 feet of the project boundary and he met with them. We meet with him, though, as a
result of that comment by Commissioner Wilson on March the 28th. Ten of us sat down
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with Mr. Carnahan and I thanked him for meeting with us. We asked what can we do to
make this thing work and we were lectured to and we were told that we had no idea what
was good for the community. I found that to be reprehensible. The results of that meeting
were disappointing to say the least. We listened to Mr. Carnahan and now he is telling
you that he has a different message or different vision for what he is proposing for the
property. He also closed that meeting by saying that he would do whatever is necessary
to get this project approved. To us that shows that he is not really willing to work with the
residents to find a project that would fit in the neighborhood. Tonight we respectfully
request that our representatives, the Mayor, City Council of the City of Meridian, follow the
recommendation of your Planning and Zoning Commission and deny the RZ 15-003, PP
15-003, CUP 15-003 and MDA 15-001.
Thank you and I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
De Weerd: Thank you. Council, any questions?
Bird: I have none.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: You mentioned that you and the folks that you have been talking to will be
supportive of development that is essentially approved here by the existing zoning and
you heard a partial list of those kinds of activities, so --
Newfeld: Right.
Rountree: -- those are amenable to you -- you feel that you represent --
Newfeld: Absolutely, Mr. Rountree -- Councilman Rountree. If I may, if we could get --
one more time. They were here. I saw them before. Have a lot of pictures in here and I
apologize for this. Because people coming up, some of them will be using this as well.
I'm trying to find the pictures here that are part of the Paramount entrance and I don't -- do
not see them. I know they are in here. But when you drive off of Linder into the
Paramount development in through the commercial development that's there, I think that
that -- and I'm not speaking on behalf of every resident, but I think that I can honestly say
the majority of the people could deal with something like that of we had that type of
development proposed for that property up there or something that looked like that, very
attractive, would certainly be supported.
Rountree: Thank you.
Cavener: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Cavener.
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Newfeld: Oh. There we go. Thanks, Bill. Yeah. This -- something like this -- this is,
obviously, just the -- the entrance, but, here, something like this would be very, very
beneficial to improving the -- the image that would be presented as you enter into the
Spurwing Greens development. The single entrance is, obviously, an issue of concern.
The traffic counts we understand are something that could be questioned, but we are not
here to do that tonight, we are here to say we are not opposed to Mr. Carnahan
developing the property. We never have been. We want it to be consistent with the
community that we live in and something that would support the lifestyle that we all bought
into.
De Weerd: Mr. Cavener.
Cavener: Thank you for testifying tonight. A question I guess to your point about the
community standards. Do you feel the esthetics of the proposed project meet your
community standards?
Newfeld: I do not.
Cavener: Can you maybe give me some clarification as to the why not?
Newfeld: It was presented to us that the bedding -- the buildings, excuse me. The
buildings will be metal buildings. They are not the stone face that the -- even the north
side building that would be, quote, screened on there would have a metal backing. They
would not be something that is substantial. If you look at the project that was recently
approved by the Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission for the Citadel project,
they required a block wall all the way down on the Chinden side of that property down
there. Something like that in a colored block wall I think would be acceptable in the areas
where it actually faces out to where people would look at it from their homes.
Cavener: Appreciate it. Thank you.
Newfeld: Thank you.
De Weerd: Okay. Any other questions from Council?
Newfeld: Thank you very much, Mayor.
De Weerd: Thank you. Travis Hawks. Good evening. If you will, please, state your
name and address for the record.
Hawks: Travis -- excuse me. You guys could make some money by selling water I think
up here. It's been kind of a long night. Travis Hawks. 6828 North Sunset Maple Way in
Meridian. Madam Mayor and Members of the Council, appreciate the opportunity to
address you. As way of background, I have been a resident of Meridian for 19 years. I
have a business that I own that's in Meridian and I also employ 30 people who live in
Meridian and I have chosen to live and do business in Meridian because I am pro growth
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and I am pro business, pro growth, and I have appreciated the way in which Meridian has
grown and supported growth. That issue with this storage unit in this neighborhood is
simply one of it does not fit. My wife and I bought a lot in the Spurwing development
about three years ago and at the time we purchased that lot we checked on the zoning in
the surrounding areas to look at the type of projects that could come into the
neighborhood and certainly a storage unit was not a possibility based on the zoning at the
time we purchased the lot. For -- you know, the developer, had they wanted to put in a
storage unit they should have asked for that zoning originally. There is a lot of talk about
traffic and a lot of talk about traffic counts. I think it's important for the Council to
understand that the storage units are going to bring the wrong kind of traffic for our
neighborhood. It's going to bring RVs and boats and large trucks and moving vans and
trailers that are going to be passing next to a school bus stop and next to a community
pool and in a residential area with kids walking around. So, I could care less about the
number of cars or the traffic counts, I care for my family and my children about the boats
and the RVs and the trucks and the type of traffic. Simply put, it's not smart growth. It
does not fit in this neighborhood and I would just leave the Council to think about this, that
there is really no reason -- no compelling reason to go against the recommendation of the
Planning and Zoning Committee, no compelling reason to change the zoning in this area
and no compelling reason to bring this type of traffic into this neighborhood. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. Jennifer -- I will not even try to mutilate your name.
Because I see it with O's and I see it with A's. So, I will just let you tell us what your last
name is.
Domiano: Thank you, Madam Mayor and Members. My last name is Domiano. Jennifer
Domiano.
De Weerd: I'm so glad I let you say it.
Domiano: No worries. Eleven years of marriage and I'm still working on it, so --
De Weerd: Thank you for joining us.
Domiano: I -- excuse me. I reside at 3656 West Red Jade Court in the Spurwing Greens
Estates. My husband and I bought a lot in 2013 and we built a custom home there. We
reside there with our nine year old son and our three year old son. When we originally
looked we had been in Idaho for ten years and we looked in Eagle, Boise, Meridian, to
find where we were going to build our home -- our dream home. My husband and I both
work full time and we wanted a great place to raise our children. A safe place. And so we
found Spurwing and we have loved it. We have invested everything to be able to live in
that neighborhood. Our children play outdoors every day and we will soon be using the
bus stop that's there within the subdivision. My concerns are that the traffic and the
individuals that will be using the entrance to our neighborhood, again, won't see our
children. I have seen the RVs and I have seen the trucks -- it's just not possible to see
little children on bicycles and scooters and walking and I'm concerned. I'm concerned for
our kids that use the pool that there is going to be an accident. It's evitable. So, that's
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where my husband and I's large concern is is for the safety of the kids that live in that
neighborhood. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Domiano: Thank you.
De Weerd: Don Wyman. Good evening.
Wyman: Good evening, Mayor, Council Members. My name is Don Wyman. I live at
4304 West Highland Fall Drive in the Spurwing Greens development in the area that's
known as The Grove, which is directly north of this planned development. I come to you
today to address -- is this coming across? Okay.
De Weerd: Yes.
Wyman: To address the concerns that we have regarding the public safety. I'm sure that
storage units build safe and secure facilities for the people that you use them. However,
what I'm here to talk about is is the fire and hazardous exposure and potential in those
units. I'm a firefighter of 40 years. I have been on fires in storage units such as these that
have people living in them that can't afford a home, unfortunately. They jerry with the
electrical and they fall asleep smoking or they put a camp stove and it takes off in their
unit it, spreads to the next and the next one and before you have it you have half of one of
those long rows of buildings going. Well, when that happens, if everybody is honest and
lawful, there is not too much of a worry about having exposure to your citizens around the
storage unit and that's probably why they put them in industrial and heavy commercial
zoned areas. But what happens is those nice sofas that we store in there, they meet fire
and they produce smoke, they produce cyanide gas, depending on the materials they are
made out of. I have also been on fires where there were clandestine drug labs inside the
units, pot grows, and meth labs. Now, I'm a little concerned about Council's comment --
we never had a meth lab. LA probably thought at one point in time they never had a meth
lab. I would ask that you be proactive and take into a realm of possibility that what I have
just put before you can happen. It puts your city employees at risk, public works with the
runoff, it puts your firefighters at risk. It puts your police officers at risk. I mentioned this,
because staff didn't include any of these comments that I made to the planning division,
so I'm having to repeat them to you and the other thing -- police can't get in there, you
can't in there, I can't get in there, the 24/7 resident that lives on that property cannot get
into those storage units to inspect them on any kind of regular basis. So, once the person
leaves something in and pulls that door down and locks it shut, we have no way of
knowing what's going in there. The state doesn't provide for it and the city code doesn't
provide for it. I think that's something we, as not just Meridian, but as a state and as a
nation need to address. So, with those minor concerns, I would simply ask that you, the
Council and the Mayor, stand with that 300 and some people that have signed this petition
and deny the rezoning request. We don't have a problem with the neighborhood
commercial, because this can't go in under neighborhood commercial. But when you
change it to community commercial, it can go in and they can explore your electorate,
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your friends, neighbors, and possibly family that live in this area to what I have described
to you tonight. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mr. Wyman. And I will assure you that these minutes are part of
the public record. All testimony that was given at the Planning and Zoning hearing has
been reviewed by this Council and it's also part of the public. So, it doesn't fall on deaf
ears.
Wyman: Okay. Great. I just wanted to make sure you got it, so --
De Weerd: Thank you.
Wyman: Thank you very much.
De Weerd: Gary Walker. Good evening. If you will, please, state your name and address
for the record.
Walker: Good evening. Gary Walker. I live at 6856 North Topaz Jewel Place in Meridian
in the Spurwing Greens Subdivision.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Walker: And I do want to second Mr. Hawks' statement you need water in this room.
De Weerd: There is a water fountain just right in the lobby.
Walker: I'm a retired sheriff's commander. I have handed you a copy of a document from
the Meridian Police Department. It was distributed by Sergeant Matt Parsons at our HOA
meeting on the 31st of March. It shows crime statistics from January 1, '14, to 12/31/14.
You can see that our subdivision had a total of three incidents. One break in, one DUI,
and one other offense. I suspect it must be a misdemeanor of some sort. Sergeant
Parsons stated that our area was the, quote, jewel of Meridian. He stated that our area
has probably less than one percent of the crimes of other subdivisions in Meridian. I don't
know if that's true or not, because I didn't see the other crime statistics. I would ask that
you not tarnish this jewel by allowing the change in zoning to allow a storage unit to be
built next door. In my experience as a commander I can recall incidents where storage
units were involved in housing meth labs and all the toxic materials that go with it, stolen
property from burglaries, robberies and thefts, and were utilized as an illegal transfer
point. No one really knows what's in a storage unit. Storage units are treated like a
home. An officer needs sufficient evidence to get a search warrant to enter a storage unit.
The units themselves are not inspected by the workers. Anyone, including crooks, can
store just about anything they want without question. I have two personal incidences
involving my family. My older son is a special agent for the FBI. He related to me an
incident recently where tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline, which was stolen, was
discovered in a storage unit. It was stashed there by an organized crime unit. I'm not
saying there is one here, but I'm just saying it exists. My oldest daughter had most of her
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household stolen and it was stashed in a storage unit. It took the better part of three
months, countless hours of personal investigative work, thousands of dollars in attorney's
fees and the help of a confidential informant to obtain a search warrant and a court order
to seize her own property. I would venture to say that not one of your police officers in
this jurisdiction knows exactly what is stored in a storage unit. I want to comment a little
bit about what the attorney stated earlier. I strongly object to what he said. He was
determining what was in the long term best interest of our community. I object to that
strongly. There are 308 residents who do not believe so and neither does the Planning
and Zoning Commission. He also stated that the entrance -- there is two entrances and I
believe that he's referring to the entrance that goes to the country club. It takes two gates
to go through there and if you look at the ACHD map there is no road that connects to
Spurwing Greens. It goes Balata and, then, it goes to two separate gates, through a golf
course. It is not a county road. I believe it's a private road. I would encourage you to
support the decision of your Planning and Zoning Commission and not allow the proposed
change to the zoning of the property in question. Thank you.
De Weerd: That was perfectly timed.
Walker: I timed -- I timed myself at home, but I had to add those two comments. It was
supposed to be two minutes and 50 seconds.
De Weerd: Well, we will give you that.
Walker: Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Walker: Any questions? Thank you for your time.
De Weerd: Larry Graham. Keith Allred. So, we will open it up to open testimony.
Bird: He's Larry.
De Weerd: Oh. Well -- okay. Larry, I just called your name. Come on up.
Graham: My name is Larry Graham. I live at 6824 North Tree Haven Way. And just a
couple of comments tonight. First off, there is going to be a lot of RVs in that storage
facility that's proposed. Most of the RVs will run approximately nine feet to 14 feet in
height. We were told at the last meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting
that we attended, that the north fence would be -- if I recall correctly, six foot in height.
So, the RVs are going to be stored underneath the covered overhead area and they will
be visible to the residents of Spurwing Greens and also in addition to that, there is safety
items involved. Almost all RVs have propane tanks. So, if there is a fire in any one of
those buildings and it spreads to the RVs, you can't manage the explosions that will occur
around that area and it will be a safety threat to the residents of Spurwing. As stated
earlier, that storage facility belongs in an industrial area. It doesn't belong in a residential
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area. The facility down the road, Citadel, does not have RV storage. You don't see RVs
from that facility, because they are not there, they are not permitted to go in there. That's
-- I'd just like to close. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mr. Graham. I am going to call a five -- five minuteish break, so
all of you can get a drink of water and so can we. So, we will reconvene at 9:10.
(Recess.)
De Weerd: -- a few minutes break and we will reconvene. I will ask if Keith Allred is here.
Good evening. If you will, please, state your name and address for the record.
Allred: Keith Allred. 6811 North Topaz Jewel Place. When I was here last month
testifying I noted that these microphones needed to be higher. It hasn't happened so far.
I will do my giraffe impersonation here if I may. I have lived in Meridian for the last seven
and a half years. The first five years I was in the Lochsa Falls Subdivision and two and a
half years ago my wife and I moved to Spurwing Greens and so about six days a week I
travel on Chinden to Boise State University where I'm a faculty member and I would like
the record to note that data if it's tortured enough will confess to almost anything. I say
that to note that seven and a half years ago I could drive to Boise State University in 25
minutes. Now it takes me anywhere from 50 to 60 minutes and so when I hear Idaho
Department of Transportation and ACHD saying 20-26 is doing fine, some day Chinden
will be expanded, I really struggle with that kind of data, since I'm living it every day and
the fact that there is one entrance and one exit that hundreds of people are using now into
Spurwing Greens is a significant safety issue. Bainbridge is beginning to be developed
south of Chinden now and several hundred homes will be going in there. The same
intersection will be used by those folks and so to keep talking about how traffic isn't really
an issue is just disingenuous. It's a major issue regardless of what the numbers may
indicate. I think many of you have heard a statement attributed to Mark Twain and others,
which goes like this: I use data the way a drunk uses a lamp post. Not for illumination,
but for support. And you're hearing all kinds of data. Both sides on this issue have data.
Doesn't it remind you almost of a presidential debate? So, as much as it would be
convenient if this were a matter of just facts, it would probably have been solved before
now. There are more than just facts involved. There are ethical issues and the fact that
Chinden -- no one knows and no one will acknowledge when it may be expanded, it just
keeps getting kicked down the road, like our fearless leaders in Washington DC are doing.
So, whether the facts align exactly is almost a moot point. I'm asking you to consider
ethical issues of safety and welfare and well being for the community of Meridian as a
whole and not just Spurwing Greens. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you, Mr. Allred.
Allred: Questions?
De Weerd: No.
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Rountree: I just had one comment. You don't need to go to Washington DC to see
politicians kick transportation down the road.
Allred: Amen.
De Weerd: Yeah. I had to take a breath after that one. Helen Little. Pardon? You bet
you can. Sue Philman.
Philman: Madam Mayor and City Council Members, my name is Sue Philman. I live at
6550 North Lonicera Way in Spurwing Greens. My comments tonight are mostly going to
be specific to things I have been digging out of the city's own Comprehensive Plan and it's
really interesting the things that you can find in there. We are here tonight because as
homeowners we believe the Jayker Village Subdivision does not match the city's own
vision for the future and, then, that could harm our community. The city Comprehensive
Plan is a guide that balances the city's vision for the future with the concerns of the
neighboring properties, while also balancing the developer's visions and it's a huge
challenge, which is why we are all here again. So, when I look at this, one of the things
that comes up is quality of life. The plan states that land use decisions must sustain,
enhance, promote and protect elements that contribute to the livability and high quality of
life for all Meridian residents. We all want Meridian to be a premier place to live, work,
and to raise our families. There is nothing about building a storage facility within the
community of Spurwing Greens that enhances livability or high quality of life. We have
already heard it's a potential eye sore, but also brings the real probability of crime, fire
hazard, and traffic with oversize vehicles going by that swimming pool over and over.
One of the things I found in the plan this morning at 5:00 o'clock was that we need to
protect Meridian's self identity. Well, those of us here tonight want to protect the self
identity of our own community in Spurwing Greens. The second element is land use. The
Comprehensive Plan encourages compatible uses -- we have heard this before -- to
minimize conflicts and maximize use of land. There is nothing compatible about placing
this storage facility in a community. It just doesn't fit. The entrance to the new pool -- and
if you will look at -- we have got two maps here for you to look at. The one that's on the
screen now is the one that was filed with the application and I believe on the plans that
you have in front of you I have highlighted it in color and -- oops. The entrance is directly
across. The pool and the storage facility are directly across from each other and it's a
narrow road. So, you're going to have cars going by there daily. Going to the next one.
This gives a -- sort of a master view of the community and you can see where traffic
comes in through the only entrance on Tree Farm and to the left they would go to Tree
Haven -- I think I must be making that turn with the pen, so I'm going to put it down. So,
when you go left to the Jayker Village, the entrance to the subdivision for the storage
units is down there to the left and the pool is directly across from it. But the other issue is
trucks go all the way around and, then, they come back down through there, because it's
easier to turn. So, you're going to have traffic coming from both directions on a narrow
street where people are parked, because there is no parking -- very little parking at the
pool. So, one last comment and that is property rights. We don't dispute that he has the
right to develop at C-N, but when one party benefits and everybody else suffers, your own
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Comprehensive Plan says that's wrong. We ask you to, please, stand with the Planning
and Zoning Commission's decision and deny this application. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Do I have to tell you not to do that? Okay. Thank you. Steve
Hubble. Thank you for lasting this long. If you will, please, state your name and address
for the record.
Hubble: Yes. My name is Steve Hubble. I live at 6748 North Moondrummer Way in
Spurwing Greens. And, Madam Mayor and Members of the Council, I really appreciate
this opportunity. I'm going to express what I feel, not necessarily what everyone behind
me is saying, but just a little bit of experience. I'm retired. My wife and I decided that we
would move to Idaho about three and a half years ago from the cold east and enjoy this
mild climate and we did a lot of searching in the beginning for a subdivision. In fact, we
rented for about eight months and we searched from Boise and all the towns around,
including Meridian, and a lot of subdivisions and we selected Spurwing Greens and the
reason we did that is because -- after doing all the searching I decided to become a real
estate agent myself. It just made it easier and learned from real estate there is something
called a wow factor in the real estate industry and what I mean by that -- if an agent takes
a client in to look in a subdivision, they are always looking for that statement from a client
saying, wow, we love this subdivision or we love this house and, obviously, Spurwing
gave us that wow factor and we bought in there and after purchasing the home we
absolutely love it. We have some of the greatest neighbors you could ever want to have
and we plan on staying there and living there for the rest of our lives. At the time we
bought that -- when we looked at the entrance of Spurwing there were no large buildings
that had Republic Storage on it at the entrance at the front door of that subdivision and
there were no directional signs directing me to a storage unit. It was a very open and
pleasable look at a facility that as a subdivision we thought this would be the perfect place
to spend the rest of our lives. From a real estate perspective I know that our feeling at the
time we would have never bought if we had seen those things and I feel that there would
be others have that same impression. We know -- really feel that property values will be
impacted. Obviously, assessments of the current properties -- there have been 211
homes built in that subdivision in the last four years and we collectively as residents have
probably invested 75 million dollars of our life savings, many of us, to live in this
community. We consider it a premier community. Whether it's country club living or not
I'm not sure. I have got to speak quickly here. You, as a city, did a very smart thing when
you a few years ago elected to -- and gave a developer the permission to develop
Spurwing Greens. It was the right decision and you have done an excellent job. So,
tonight I don't always speak -- I speak for myself, so I feel like I have -- right now there are
316 that have signed the petition to deny this petition by the -- by the Oak Leaf
development project and I think they are behind me when I say we want to encourage this
Commission -- this Council today to do the same thing, to deny it and really preserve what
you envisioned in the beginning as to what a premier sub should look like from the
entrance right on through it. For me keep the wow factor going. Just not for Spurwing,
but for the City of Meridian as well. Thank you for your consideration.
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De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. At this point I'd like to say -- ask if anyone wants to testify?
Now, I will tell you that I have five sheets and I'm not going to read all of your names. So,
it is part of the public record, but I would invite you to come forward. This is part of the
public hearing.
Carnahan: I signed up just like you did.
De Weerd: Yes.
Carnahan: My name is Douglas Carnahan. I live at 7270 North Tree Haven Way in
Meridian.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Carnahan: I am the guy with the target on the back. We -- my wife and I live in the
community. I don't call it the Spurwing Greens community, because it's not only a
Spurwing Greens community, there are over 50 acres of other developments and
properties. My -- I live in a subdivision that's not Spurwing Greens and I think one of the
confusing things that people are dealing with -- it is not just Spurwing Greens, it's the
Jayker Village Subdivision. It's several other subdivisions that exist there. And so I just
wanted to get that clear, because I think there is some confusion on it. My wife and I
believe in the project. We think it best meets the needs of the community with the
proposed attractive design and we do think it's an attractive storage design. The storage
image will go away over time, just like it does in other communities. The position taken is
-- and in all the meetings I have had one thing is clear, we don't care what it looks like, we
don't care what benefit it is for life, all we care is that it has storage in the label and that
storage in the label is the whole reason we don't want it. Not appearance. I couldn't get
anybody to engage on appearance when I went to talk to them. I tried. I said can we
change something. Would not talk. The room was quiet. And so that's the issue. It's a
psychological issue totally to do with -- with image. I had some remarks that I was going
to make. I think it's going to be repetitive and we would be more efficient with our time if I
-- I don't repeat the benefits. I will repeat a couple of them. The benefits -- the benefit in
traffic. People keep talking about children. They talk about all these issues related to
traffic. That traffic causes. If you use the data from the Republic Storage, the 11 acres,
the traffic they will have at full build out computes to five homes. The equivalent of five
homes. If you use the ACHD information it equates to seven homes equivalent traffic. If
you use the national standards, which are probably too high for Boise, it's 50 homes. The
point is it is so substantial, the traffic benefit, that it's just a -- why people keep arguing I'm
just -- just kind of confused. But, at any rate, I wanted to make one other point and it has
to do totally with the -- the petition. I wanted to study the petition, because I didn't know
what was going on. Was this information I was sharing, was it really getting out to the
people? And the answer was it wasn't. And how did the petition run? What happened?
You can pull this up on your computer if you have access to the petition file. There was a
document in there.
De Weerd: Doug?
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Carnahan: Yeah.
De Weerd: Can I ask you to summarize?
Carnahan: Yeah. I will just make this last point.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Carnahan: There is a document in there that was a response to one of the people that
asked them to sign a petition and here is what was said. You absolutely have my
permission to add my name and address to your petition. I would be interested in learning
more about the monstrosity you speak of. That is how that petition has been sold. It's in
writing. You can look it up. E-mail was used. Knocking on doors was used. That's how
you got 300 and some odd signatures. People didn't know what they were signing. Look
it up, folks.
De Weerd: Council, any questions for Mr. Carnahan?
Bird: I have none.
De Weerd: No.
Carnahan: I made notes on a lot of questions and things that I could answer. Do you
want me to do that all later?
De Weerd: In the --
Carnahan: It's just answering questions that were raised.
De Weerd: Yes. That's part of the closing.
Carnahan: Okay.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Carnahan: Thank you.
De Weerd: If you will, please, state your name and address for the record.
Lattimer: Sandy Lattimer. I live on the corner of Tree Farm and Jayker Village, directly
across from that. What does make Meridian better than Middleton or Kuna or Nampa?
The same thing that makes Spurwing Greens better than Paramount or Bridgetower or La
Mirada. We have a great golf course. In fact, Spurwing Greens markets themselves as
being on the corner of exclusive and accessible. I looked at the plot before I bought my
house. I'm semi retired and I saved my whole life up to live this dream I bought in
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Spurwing Greens. Nowhere on this plot does it show storage units. I looked at the
zoning. It's not permitted. Planning and Zoning says no. So, it's up to you guys to follow
through. As for my dream, my house is for sale, because I can't deal with it. So, there
goes my dream. But let me end by bringing up that paragon of logic, Mr. Spock. He said
in his brilliance the good of the many outweigh the good of the few. Thank you.
De Weerd: Okay. Ma'am in the back.
Hickey: Good evening.
De Weerd: Good evening.
Hickey: My name is Jan Hickey and my address is 4192 West Greenspire.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Hickey: And I just want to comment the attorney that opened with his comments
mentioned for you not to rule on emotion or politics, so I just want to state that my
comments will be neither based on emotion or politically driven, but more on just an
appreciation for the spirit of zoning best use and certainly preexisting zoning and I just
wanted to comment to you, Mr. Councilman, about your -- I really appreciated your
comments about the item that was up before with the Paramount Subdivision. They had
clearly planned out at least 12 years in advance what those -- what their development was
going to look like and so those apartments did not come as a big surprise to the people
that had purchased in those subdivisions that they have done. But this is different. I
mean we -- you can tell no one saw the storage units coming and, you know, I kind of
want to add that I have a -- have an Idaho real estate license and was focused more on
the commercial side and, then, went into some commercial banking and so I understand
that a lot of times land sellers will approach application for zoning changes when there is
contingencies on contracts. I don't know if that's the case with this, but I'm assuming
based on their presentation and I guess I just want to end by saying to just kind of keep
that in mind, that the -- the original intent is obvious, but was laid out and, you know, just
from talking to several of the neighbors they are not opposed, as the attorney said, to any
kind of commercial development, they are just opposed to storage units, which clearly
don't fall in the current zoning. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Yes, sir. Good evening. If you will, please, state your name and
address for the record.
Humphreys: Good evening. Glen Humphreys. I live at 6880 North Pyra Avenue,
Spurwing Greens.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Humphreys: I'm going to speak from experience. Spent just under 40 years in law
enforcement in California. I retired as an operations captain for a sheriff's office. I spent
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many years as a patrol officer and I know what attracts the criminal element. The
statistics that were displayed earlier about Spurwing Greens and how low the crime stats
are, that's for a reason, because of the residents who pay particular attention to what
comes and goes and it's also -- because right now we don't have anything to attract the
criminal element. We don't have any commercial. There is no building. There is no mini
storage. There is no items that people come to to commit those kinds of crimes. Granted,
there has been conversation about what you will find in a mini storage, but there is also
the element that comes to the mini storage, puts their stolen property inside and, then,
drives around to see what's around the area and what you're going to find is a golf course,
a high end residential area, which is going to attract a certain element. The other
commercial property, it's in the plan, we can't stop it. It's also going to attract more traffic
that is going to look to see what's in the area. I have stopped plenty of people who were
in the area for no purpose in other jurisdictions, other than looking for something. I don't
want them in Spurwing Greens looking for something to burglarize, because they were
there using the mini storage and I would ask that you also oppose approval of the
rezoning as the Planning Commission did. Thank you very much.
De Weerd: Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Good evening.
Klure: Madam Mayor and fellow Council Members, my name the Melinda Klure. My
address is 3752 West Magic Spruce Drive. I'm a homeowner of the Spurwing Greens
residential community. I oppose the application for the use permit, which would allow the
construction of a storage facility near Tree Farm and Chinden. I have three points I would
like to make. At the last Planning and Zoning meeting an Oak Leaf developer's
representative stated that the traffic would not have an impact on our neighborhood. The
statement is simply not true. The type of traffic created by this facility is not compatible
with residential use and would impact our community's livability. Instead of local cars and
trucks traveling on our streets that are paying attention to children and all the other people
that use the space for walking, it will be nonresidents driving large vehicles, pulling trailers
and boats and driving their RVs in and around our narrow streets. The streets in our
neighborhood were not designed for that kind of traffic, especially since the entrance of
the storage unit is directly located across the street from where our swimming pool is. It
was also stated that we are a multi-use neighborhood, which is true. However, we are
also a country club neighborhood. According to our CC&Rs we are required to pay dues
to Spurwing Country Club as social members, with the opportunity to join as golf
members. Putting in industrial storage units will greatly diminish the value of our property
and how we live in the community. There is no way the units can be built to disguise their
use as proposed by the developer. And as an aside, I did notice on their -- their plan that
they have these beautifully large trees and plants and said that we won't notice. I would
like to know how many years it's going take for those plants to mature in which to
completely cover what is being built. My third point concerns safety for our neighbors.
We had the police officer, which you have heard about, come and speak at our HOA
meeting last week. He stated that there is no crime rate to speak of in Spurwing Greens,
because we know our neighbors and we know who is coming and going. When you have
people who do not live here driving through our streets with full access to our community
and no accountability for its safety, we lose the ability to monitor local traffic and help
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insure a safe community. In short, this proposed use is not compatible with the existing
residential community and contrary or our Mayor's stated desire to maintain safe
neighborhoods in an attractive and sustainable environment. I respectfully urge you to
decline using -- issuing the requested use permit. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Yes, ma'am, in the back. Good evening.
Lee: Hi. My name is Sharon Lee. I live at 6832 North Topaz Jewel Place in Meridian.
Spurwing Greens.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Lee: I represent two areas and I am a consumer of storage units, so I come from that
experience and I am opposed to the rezoning. First, I work in the healthcare industry,
which I have had the honor of having the Mayor through and showing her our facility. We
use storage. I am the administrator there and I get the calls when the locks have been cut
off our storage unit. This has happened multiple times and in those times -- this is in a
residential area -- this particular area where the storage is. My other is from an owner of a
construction business and I will tell you that the majority of the folks in Spurwing
Subdivision do not need a storage unit. We have three to five car garages and most of
our hobbies are located in there. What you will get is my husband's construction company
in there. It's close to where all your new developments are going out on Chinden and we
make money by using less gas. So, I will store my concrete chemicals in there and my
trucks will go in and out and as the owner of this I will get the calls when we broke the
curbs when we run over stuff and this will happen, because it's already happening in our
subdivision. So, I am opposed to this and it's from a consumer point and as an owner in
this subdivision. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Sir.
Welch: Thank you, Madam Mayor and Council persons. My name is Major Wendell
Welch, 96 Air Force retired. I came to Meridian as a last assignment down in Mountain
Home and just recently my second crew where I work with the Bureau of Land
Management, in particular with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, doing distance
learning for wild land fire training. Last year and this year we have trained over online
information about wild land fire training over 15,000 folks, because we are getting ready
for a season that could be -- well, you know, you have been here long enough. I also
am the principal trombonist with the Meridian Symphony Orchestra and now I look forward
to a performing arts facility in Meridian someday and I also invite you to our performance
on April 25th, we have our young artist concert and you will hear amazing playing while
we are at the Centennial Performing Arts Center and I also serve as an elder with the
Linder Road Church of Christ. So, I'm involved in this community and when the -- my wife
and I started searching all over this area for a new home we kept going back to Spurwing
Greens. We tried not to. We tried not to go back, but we would look in other areas and
we would say let's go back to Spurwing Greens and we would drive by and, then, we
would look at each other and say do you think we will ever live here? And while our
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house was being built we kept saying do you think we will ever live here? I have pictures
of it going up. It's a wonderful place and on March 14th, my wife's birthday, we signed the
papers for that house. And so I tell her I bought her a birthday -- or a birthday gift of a
house. Now, the next year she only got flowers. But I bought her a house in a country
club community, because it says so when I moved in and at that time it was not near or
next to a storage facility, nor was there any known intention of building one. We have
been very involved in Meridian. I am an empty nester, which, just think about it, I'm
downsizing and I got a 1,000 square foot garage. I got plenty of room and I also use it as
my office for my study. I practice my trombone in it. No one can hear me. My wife
doesn’t know what I'm doing when I'm practicing, because she's asleep. I also wanted to
make a point that I -- when I -- I do research. Have been for over -- in my job when I was
in the Air Force and now. I do research and I look through all the information that I can
get and I always use the best scenario to support my point of view and, you know what, I
usually win, because the scenarios are way better than the actual outcome. So, I
encourage you to deny this rezone. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Howell: Thank you. My name is John Howell. I live at 6562 West Lonicera Way and kind
of adding onto some -- all the comments that have been said before. Traffic that's been
said a lot. Yeah, there is traffic. The big thing about traffic is the type of traffic, not the
quantity of traffic I think people are concerned about. The initial briefing talked about --
my concern is the compatibility of this plan with the -- with the subdivision. The initial
briefing talked about there is a considerable amount of storage that exists -- or storage
requirement. I think that there is probably a considerable amount of storage already
available in the Meridian area and I'm -- that's just an off-the-cuff comment from there.
We talked about signage and the security of the facility. On the display there was no
indication of signage on -- on the building that they -- on the drawings that they showed.
Security of the building -- security being -- security system of the Republic area, my
thought there is the Republic areas that I'm familiar with when I drive up and down
Chinden have concertina wire around them and -- and the view there and that just, in my
mind, just does not fit in with the atmosphere with the environment that we are in here.
That step may or may not be what is envisioned with this development -- with this plan,
but that's what's in my mind from driving up and down and seeing the other Republic
Storage area. So, lastly, if there is not really enough demand to fill up the current C-N
storage, one option -- possible option would be to explain the residential option and put in
something like patio homes or something along those lines for -- to complete that
development area. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. Any further testimony? Oh. Mr. Turnbull.
Turnbull: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, I generally endeavor to stay out of
applications by other developers. Oftentimes it's nonproductive or counterproductive. I
mostly came here and to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to defend my
reputation, if necessary. Now, I would say I have known Doug Carnahan for a number of
years. He used to be a tenant in one of my buildings when he was turning out lots of laser
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printers and so forth at HP and Gary Allen is a pretty decent attorney. He actually
represents us in a lot of applications and he --
Rountree: But he is an attorney.
Turnbull: He's a very fine attorney. You know, when -- I will just -- the reason I have
come here is because when this application first hit the -- you know, the neighborhood
meetings we got a tremendous number of calls. You know, Brighton, along with Chris
Anderson, we are the -- basically, the board of the homeowners association and the
homeowners wanted us to take a position. As I stated previously we find it sort of
counterproductive to do that as a developer, so we just yielded that to the advisory
committee, which we formed. Now, we keep control of our subdivisions until we are done
with them and oftentimes maintain them after the fact on benefit -- for the benefit of the
homeowners, because we think we do a pretty good job of that. But left that to the
advisory committee and what they have organized here is what you have seen is a result
of that and so I was warned, though, that many people were upset with us, because they
thought that we owned that property, that we had something to do with the application,
and as much as we tried to dispel those rumors it didn't seem to work, but -- so, I just
came here more or less to defend myself if somebody blamed us for whatever and I didn't
hear any of that and, actually, what I heard was I think we have been doing a pretty good
job. But, then, Gary Allen introduced a letter for Peter Oliver, who used to be a partner of
mine, talking about the comparison between Paramount and this application. We did do a
storage unit in Paramount. It's about half this size. Paramount is roughly four or five
times the size of Spurwing Greens. There is no outdoor storage. It is in a C-G zone. It
didn't require a rezone. It shares a commercial collector access and so, you know, as
much as you want -- if you want to bring those comparisons in they are really not
applicable. It's an inept comparison. I'm not able to comment on this particular
application, but that's just -- I just didn't want that comparison to stand. I think that -- then
one of the residents got up and compared Spurwing Greens to Paramount and saying one
is better than the other. I think they are both great. Paramount is a different type of
community. Totally different type of community. W e recognize that. We marketed it as
such. It happens to be the best selling community in Idaho and we are pretty proud of
that. So, that's all I had to say. I just wanted to clarify that for the record if you have any
questions I would be happy to answer them as well.
De Weerd: Good timing on that.
Rountree: Thank you, David.
De Weerd: Any comments?
Cavener: Just maybe a quick question and maybe this is a better question for the
advisory committee, but in -- in Spurwing Greens, the CC&Rs, does it specifically ban
recreation vehicles, trailers with four wheelers or snowmobiles, those types of things?
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Turnbull: There are limitations on what you park, where you can park, what kind of
garages you can have. You have probably seen other neighborhoods in the area that
have turned big overwhelming RV garages on small lots. I call them quasi-residential
industrial zones. You know, they -- they start to look awful and we -- we are very, very ,
very careful with our architectural control. You know, we do allow some larger doors that
maybe you could pull a boat into, but you're required to park your vehicles in the garage.
You're not supposed to use your garages for storage that would prevent you from parking
the number of vehicles you plan to keep. So, we have marked this as a country club
neighborhood. That's what it is. All of our residents pay into lifestyle membership for the
country club and -- so, anyway, I'm not here to comment specifically on that, but --
Cavener: Appreciate your clarification on that. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Lynn Southam.
Southam: Madam Mayor, Council Members, my name is Lynn Southam. I live at 6408
North Salvia Way, Spurwing Greens. We moved here a year ago with my wife. We had
been attracted here like approximately 60 to 65 percent of the people in that development
from out of state, because this place is known out of state for what is it. Meridian is an
exemplary community and this particular area is premium. It is special. Most of us have
not had houses like this until we have been able to retire and put things together and we
simply want you to protect what we have worked for all of our lives and what was
represented to us. There was representation made by counsel today about a number of
things. I'm also an attorney. I'm retired. So, there is a doctrine called burden of proof and
there is also something that happens in the law where straw men are set up and all of
these irrelevant things get thrown at us that hopefully will take us away from the real
issues. I will simply say that if we make the wrong assumptions we will come to the wrong
conclusions. Therefore, I'm going to go very quickly -- and I hope you can bear with me.
We were told that after the last hearing before the Planning and Zoning Committee there
was a traffic study done by Thompson Engineering. If you look at that it was dated a
month before that hearing ever took place. It doesn't give any specifics as to what actual
traffic count is, it simply uses the word estimate. It is not fact. Secondly, the artwork that
was presented by counsel showing what these units look like, did not show any of the
large signs that you will see in the photographs that are here for Republic Storage, nor
does it show the end of the buildings with the huge Republic Storage signs on them.
Furthermore, when you look at the trees -- someone has already mentioned them. It
shows them fully grown. Well, they are not fully grown. And, frankly, the leaves that you
see on them are not going to be there six months out of the year. You know what
happens here when the cold weather comes. People driving up and down Chinden will
see those units and when you look at the artwork you don't see the side view, you see the
end views. But if you look at the photographs that have been given to you, you will see
what those buildings look like. Republic Storage facilities are Republic Storage facilities
regardless of what they are made of in terms of the color of the metal. I would also like to
suggest to you that the zoning is something that all of us have relied upon. You have
relied upon it. Mr. Carnahan has. He knew what it was. This is not anything new to him
that this is C-N. Why would he think to change it now? None of us have asked to change
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it. So, let's play the democratic process and take a vote. I will just ask those who are
here who are against --
De Weerd: No. Please don't.
Southam: You can't do that? Well, let me illustrate it for you, then.
De Weerd: We already got the hint.
Southam: Okay. There is 300 people who have signed a petition against this. There is
one man who says do this. That has to count for something. I would suggest to you that
if we wanted to have an industrial facility in our neighborhood we would have moved to
that kind of neighborhood. I would suggest to you a rhetorical question, which we do in
the law. How many of you would buy a home next to an industrial storage facility? I
would suggest, as I get ready to close here, then, that there are some things that we
would hope that you would suggest. When you look at those drawings and the artwork,
the scale of the fence is not in proportion to the actual size of the buildings. That's a little
bit of a disillusionment on my part to see that. Also we were told that six of the lots were
sold for full value. Yeah. They were sold to a builder, not to private landowners. Not to
people building their own homes. Put all of it in perspective, make the right assumptions,
come to the right conclusions, deny the petition. Thank you.
De Weerd: Thank you. Okay. Mr. Allen, are you going to wrap this up or Mr. Carnahan?
Yes.
Allen: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. Gary Allen. 601 West
Bannock in Boise. One thing is very clear from tonight's testimony and that's that the
people who live in Spurwing Greens love their neighborhood and that -- that's a great
thing and that's -- that's important and that's the basis for a quality community. So, we
appreciate that and we want to remind everyone that Mr. Carnahan has a property right
next to the -- that he's operated a wholesale -- a business there for over 30 years. So, he
in invested in this neighborhood as well. So, this isn't just a -- you know, this is -- this is a
bunch of people who all care about this neighborhood and they are trying to do the best
thing for it. Yes, Tree Farm had a nice commercial node that was set forth for this area.
Well, what's very clear now is that, you know, with that and other things that are available
along Chinden, there is too much commercial property. So, you know, Mr. Oliver's opinion
-- and we have no reason to doubt this -- is that there is no reasonable basis to think that
you're going to be able to fill up all of that commercial property with the type of uses that
people would like to see. It would be much more lucrative for Mr. Carnahan if he could
put the type of office and commercial buildings that the neighbors were showing in this
development and fill that entire 16 acres with it. But that's simply not -- not realistic at this
point. So, what do you do at that point? Can you put in residential in an area like that?
Well, I think that, you know, what anybody will tell you is the closer you get to a road like
Chinden the more difficult it's going to be for -- to put in residential properties, the less
they are going to be worth, the more they are going be a problem for the neighborhood.
So, that's not a viable option and that is why you had a buffer area along Chinden in the
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original plan. So, it still comes back to what do you do and the only thing that we have
found that is a viable use there is the storage use and we recognize that's not a desirable
use from the standpoint of this neighborhood. But if you look at that site plan it is almost
one hundred percent blocked from the neighborhood. So, it's behind all of those acres of
R-15 development, behind five acres of commercial development. The only thing you see
is a well landscaped entrance with a home and a gate and -- you know. So, we think that
that's gone an awfully long ways to -- to limiting those -- those visual concerns that people
have. Otherwise, what we heard over and over again from the neighbors is simply, you
know, there is a taint with this use. They have bad perceptions in their minds about --
about what storage units are like and, you know, what Republic plans to do here and what
they have done in other places is -- obviously, you have to hit the highest level you
possibly can with a storage facility here. So, it's a very high quality design. It's -- you
know, the best, you know, type of building materials and things that you can do with this
type of facility and the best safety -- the best safety practices that you can possibly use.
So, they know that the bar has to be high and I think this one of those things that once it
goes in it's -- it's, essentially, going to disappear within this neighborhood. It's a tiny little
entrance within here and, you know, I think that it's -- it's something -- it's one of those
things that everybody is thinking about it now, because we are talking about it, but if you're
living with it we don't think that they are going to see it. You know, you hear a traffic count
of possibly as low as 40 something trips a day is what Republic is experiencing in their
facilities. Even if those are trucks they are -- you know, that's a few trucks an hour -- or a
few trips an hour and, you know, I'm sure some of them are trucks. There would be RV
storage and things in here, but that's not the bulk of what's happening. A lot of people are
just coming in in their regular vehicles, like anything else. So, again, the question to you
tonight is what's going to fill that hole if it's not going to be a storage facility? I think you're
going to be waiting a while to come back for this piece of property or you could have it
productively on the tax rolls and performing a useful service for you community. So, I
don't want to take up anymore time than that. I want to save a little time for Doug. So,
Doug, do you have a few things to say?
Carnahan: Again, my name is Doug Carnahan and I live at 7270 North Tree Haven
Place. I just made a lot of little notes that are just kind of small things and, then, I will say
big things about the use. These are going to be real quick. There is a severe compliance
problem with parking in driveways in the community and storage is a need. People
laughed about club access. I confirmed with the club every one of those members has
the code who can get in. If they can ever get connected into the remote they have
access. I don't know why they see it as an issue. The one gate opens automatically and
they can use it. I'm confused about that one. The six lots were not all sold to builders.
So, these are kind of small ones. But let's talk about the use for a minute. That's my --
my issue. And in all fairness, we did talk about use with the homeowners and they said
residential. They also said commercial would be good uses. So, if we took half of that
and let's say could make half of it commercial and half of it residential, there might be a
plan that works like that. All I want to make sure people do understand, because we will
probably end up having a discussion like this again. We could put -- it's R-15. We could
put multiple hundreds of homes in that area and that -- that would be the outcome. We
did this plan because it met some of these other goals of demand and the traffic problem.
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So, that's the thing that we are having to face off with and we could do it. We would
probably make more money selling it that way than selling it as a storage facility. But, you
know, it's -- that's the issue we are going to be faced with. All right. Any other questions
for me?
De Weerd: Council -- is --
Allen: I don't have anything to add.
De Weerd: Okay. Council, do you have any questions for -- for Mr. Carnahan and Mr.
Allen?
Bird: I have none.
De Weerd: Thank you.
Carnahan: Thank you.
De Weerd: Okay. Council, any further questions for any of those that testified, the staff,
or the applicant?
Rountree: Madam Mayor, just to kind of go back in history, because we have had a lot of
history tonight, so -- that's the one right there. When this whole area came to us it was
conceptual. It was a bubble plan. It was kind of a first for the Council and we were
uneasy with it, because of the possibility of -- for lack of a better term -- bait and switch.
But we went with it and as the property was slowly annexed into the city you got -- what
the next slide will show, the zoning that actually occurred and in both of these it went
through a public process and it's always been conceptual in that area, that piece of
property, is going to be good for the community and that question was asked of me,
what's going to be good for the community? This has been through a public process
several times and the community, the applicant, the owners -- yeah, commercial
neighborhood. That's going to be good for the community. That's what it is. That's what
it is today. I do not see that the request to change the zoning to C-C to accommodate this
particular application is necessarily the best for the community. Obviously the neighbors
don't believe so. There is 300 and some customers that may or may not use this facility if
it were to -- to go in, so I'm not sure who that's going to be best for. So, that's kind of
where I am. There has been a lot of reasons generated for -- for not doing this, but in my
mind my position is we have lived through this process to get where we are a number of
years and a number of times and the opportunity to say that's going to be a high rise motel
or whatever have past. The storage units, that's past. I personally believe that the C-N is
probably a good zoning. I don't believe up scaling it or downscaling it, however you want
to look at a C-C, is going to -- to make it better for the community. So, that's where I am.
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba.
Zaremba: Madam Mayor, if I may -- if I may turn my microphone on.
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Rountree: Please do.
Zaremba: Thank you, Madam Mayor. One of the parts of our job is managing
expectations and there are expectations about neighborhoods when people move into
them and I ask myself is there a difference between this and the application before us that
you all sat through as well. If those people did their due diligence they learned what the
zones -- the part of the application that was before us wasn't really changing the zones, it
changed the shape of the two zones that already existed, but anybody that did their due
diligence could have known what was intended for that corner and our agreement that the
shapes of those two zones could change didn't really change the nature of that area. I
see this application as different. As Councilman Rountree pointed out, we have been
through this many times and C-N seems to be the appropriate thing for this area. Those
of you who did your due diligence before you bought your property expected that to be a
C-N. Now, what can go into a C-N varies and I don't think the city has a problem with
what can go into C-N. You all have said by buying property there that you don't have a
problem with what could go into C-N and I do see the difference between -- they are both
called a rezone, but this is a change of zone, as opposed to a reordering of it and my
opinion would be that I don't support the rezone.
De Weerd: Any other comments from Council?
Cavener: I will be brief, because I know the night is getting long. This is -- this is -- to
quote my grandpa, it's been a real humdinger for me, you know. I respect, you know,
property owner's rights and I also respect -- quite frankly, you know -- somebody asked
the question would you want this next to your home. Personally, I wouldn't mind that. I
think they have put together a great project, something that I think esthetically would look
nice. The challenge for me is -- is what you as homeowners have said is important to you
and your community, specifically related to safety and so you -- you sit here and you go
back and forth and you don't want to paint with a brush broad strokes and for me the thing
that I keep coming back to is that you as a community said that recreational vehicles,
boats, four wheelers, those things are something that's part of our community, in part
because of safety element and it's a challenge to open that Pandora's Box and say, well,
it's okay if you participate in storing those products there and so I sit here and say, okay, I
can see this side, I can see this side, and what I come to is -- and I think one of the -- I
have heard from so many attorneys tonight my head is going to spin. But one of the
attorneys talked about burden of proof and it's a challenge for me to say that there has
been enough evidence shown that the benefits to make the change. You guys have
demonstrated it is important to our community and you don't want it changed and -- well, I
don't mind it. I respect you as residents say this is important to us. So, like the two
Councilmen who much more eloquently spoke before me, I have to say I agree in denying
of this.
Rountree: And that is a humdinger.
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De Weerd: I was just going to say when you started with humdinger that that does set the
tone.
Rountree: That would be a first being a new Council person.
De Weerd: I want to just make a remark. I agree with what the Council Member said that
one of the things that disturbed me was Mr. Carnahan standing up and saying he had a
target on his back. I can't think of -- of two people that are better than the Carnahans.
They have been a valuable member of this community in getting trees to our parks and
our golf course and supporting nonprofits and -- in fact, I think I went to their house when
they opened it up to botanical garden tour and, you know, the visual -- I believe they could
probably achieve that, because that's the kind of people they are. With that said, I
disagree with Mr. Allen that it's going to disappear. It may disappear on the neighborhood
side when you put stuff in front of, but you drive by it to get into a subdivision every time
and I agree with the neighbors, this is a premier neighborhood. The same thing that the
Carnahans had a vision for -- they were part of Tree Farm, they have been a part of
Spurwing Greens. They want what's best for this community as well. Different visions.
The neighbors did their homework. I agree with -- is it the best use, no. Is it compatible?
Not for the premier community that it is. Does that mean that storage units don't belong
near subdivisions? I don't agree with that. We do have it by subdivisions, but they
generally are before the homes so they know what they are buying by and they buy it
because that's important to them. They can store their toys and have the confidence of it
being well kept. I also liked what was -- was said that it's not necessarily the traffic, it's the
wrong kind of traffic and when someone mentioned that in order for the -- the boats or the
RVs to make that corner and that -- you might have to go around and come back, that
made sense. That would have disturbed me, too. I just want to tell the Carnahans you do
not have a target on your back. You had neighbors that disagreed with this development
and that's when the emotion comes in and I don't think that -- we hear emotion almost
every week. We look for the right arguments and you have had very solid arguments that
I think has convinced this Council up here and we appreciate that for the most part you
have been well respectable and behaved. But I just think that we will find the right thing
and I encourage you, Doug and Meredith, to work with your neighbors and find what can
benefit you and the community as a whole and I just want to thank you for your
involvement in the community and your generosity and -- and whether you have a target
or not, I still really like you. So, Council, any other discussion? If not, I would entertain a
motion. Because I can't make it.
Bird: We have got to close the public hearings. I will close the public hearings.
De Weerd: I would entertain that motion.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
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Bird: I move we close the public hearings on RZ 15-003, PP 15-003, CUP 15-003, and
MDA 15-001.
Zaremba: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to close the public hearings on Items 9-F, G , H
and I. All those in favor say aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: I just had a question, Madam Mayor. Based on the anticipated motion that if --
if that's a denial, do -- is it moot for G, H and I or is there action required on those as well?
Nary: Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, you still need to take action on the other
three. The basis of those -- if there were to be a denial on Item F, the basis of denial on
the other three is because you haven't granted the rezone.
Rountree: Okay. Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: I move that we deny the request for the rezone in Item 9-F for RZ 15-003
based on the reasons stated by Council.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second. I think there was a discussion -- probably Mr.
Attorney has that basis. Okay. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, will you call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Item 9-G.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
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De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: I move that we do not approve the preliminary plat for Item 9-G, PP 15-003.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to deny Item 9-G. Any discussion from
Council? Madam Clerk.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Item 9-H.
Rountree: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Rountree.
Rountree: I move that we do not approve the conditional use permit PP -- or 15-003.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to do not approve --
Rountree: Yes.
De Weerd: -- 9-H. Madam Clerk, will you call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: 9-I.
Rountree: 9-I. Madam Mayor, I move that we do not approve the requested amended
development agreement, 15-001.
Bird: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to deny Item 9-I. Madam Clerk.
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Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
De Weerd: Thank you all. Item 10-A is under Department Reports. I will turn this over --
Caleb, why don't we just take a quick break and -- I won't recess this, but I'm just going
to --
(Pause.)
Item 10: Department Reports
A. Community Development: Review and Approve City Roadway,
Intersection and Community Program Project Priorities for 2015
De Weerd: Okay. Item 10-A. I will -- I will turn this over to Caleb.
Hood: Thank you, Madam Mayor, Members of the Council. This item has actually been
moved to this -- this agenda item. We discussed on March 17th the city's priority project
lists for 2015. At -- near the end of that meeting on the 17th it was requested that I put
together a draft cover letter or our priorities, as well as the top 15, top 20 project rankings.
So, you have not seen the top 20 -- top 15 yet. It's actually 15 and, then, there is the next
roadways, the next five intersections, if you would want to change these, but as we
discussed last time, it's the top ten, the 15 projects, that really carry any points or weight
with ACHD in their prioritization process. So, these are the most important ones. In the
packet you also have, again, the cover letter and all of the lists that we discussed -- what
was that, three weeks ago. The only change I have made to the list thus far -- and I didn't
really receive much feedback last time, so if there is any other changes, please, share
them. Just as a quick refresher -- I can't remember if Councilman Borton was here last
time or not. It seems like we had somebody absent anyways. But the yellow highlighted
projects are projects that either moved up or down five position points from last year that
you all approved at the recommendation of the transportation commission. So, on the far
left-hand column is their rank. The only change I have made was -- I heard from the
Mayor last time about the Rail With Trail project. She didn't give me an exact number, but
commented it was somewhere around 20. She asked that it be moved up. I moved it up
to five and, in fact, I just flip-flopped it with another project, the Locust Grove, McMillan to
Chinden, project. This one is a pretty small project. It is under construction. We are
actually working with ACHD right now on their project team, setting design -- it will
probably move forward. I think moving it back ten or 15 spots isn't going to hurt it any. It
will probably move forward again. It's only a couple hundred feet of sidewalk. An
important project still, but just for simplicity, it was pretty easy for me to just flip-flop them.
So, other than that, the lists are, again, what you have seen before. I'm not going to read
the letter to you, but on the second page of my memo in the packet is the letter. I did
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April 7, 2015
Page 72 of 76
discuss briefly today with Councilman Rountree some changes potentially to paragraph
four. I'd like to just read to you what I drafted over the past three and a half, four hours, or
however long we have been here not -- as a change to that paragraph four. This really
was an effort in anticipation of the joint meeting today with ACHD. It talks about engaging
VRT, ITD, and the other cities within Ada county to talk about things like public
transportation, state highways, and not maybe overbuilding the -- I will try to get it, so that
you can read that entire paragraph. To work with ITD so they don't -- ACHD doesn't
overload their portion of the network, because ITD was failing to do some of their
improvements, Chinden was an example we even talked about during the Paramount.
ACHD may overreact on McMillan and, then, Chinden gets widened and maybe you don't
need to make McMillan seven lanes. So, I have really paired that down, again, at the
direction of Councilman Rountree and I would just like to read to you to replace with what
you see on the screen now as -- as a follow up instinct we are meeting with the council
and myself. This is in the Mayor's voice. On April 7th. We encourage you to continue the
dialogue about potential partnerships with other agencies, particularly VRT, ITD, and the
cities within Ada county. And it just -- it ends with the transportation network is not made
up solely of ACHD roadways, so, please, let us know how we can support you in having a
dialogue with these agencies and the other cities. Please come forward. It takes all of
that and makes it two sentences. Again, kind of a thank you for meeting with us today
and it doesn't say anything here that was really talked about today. So, that's -- that's
what I heard. So, I can give it to the Mayor to review and edit. If the Council is
comfortable with that -- this version. But I stand before you now to seek your approval of
the priorities for 2015. Oh. One more thing. Since Brian made the map for me, I would
be remiss if I didn't at least put it up. Last year you all requested a visual of how the
projects lay out around our city and area of impact. So, this is updated for this year with
roadway and intersection priorities. The bigger the box you will circle the higher the
number priority rank. So, you can see 26 is smaller than a four. So, one through five is a
certain diameter, five through ten, 11 through 15 and so on and so forth. So, this is kind
of what that -- in visual form what our priority list looks like and I will let you take that in for
a minute, because this is -- you don't have this in your packet. But, again, Madam Mayor,
not a lot has changed since we talked about this three weeks earlier. I hope you have all
had a chance to look at the list and I am ready with my pen if we need to change anything,
so --
De Weerd: Thank you, Caleb. And I love the visual, so let's make sure to have that next
year --
Hood: We will keep on doing that.
De Weerd: -- as we are looking at the list, because this makes it make a lot more sense.
Council, any questions or comments? Changes needed?
Bird: I have none.
Rountree: I'm okay with the changes and --
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 73 of 76
De Weerd: Yes.
Bird: I am, too. Yeah. Go for it.
Rountree: Joe was not there today, but it was a good session with ACHD. We talked
about partnerships, being involved in the railroads --
De Weerd: Is your mike on?
Rountree: It should be. Okay. And getting those relationships started moving forward
and they were receptive to that.
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Yes, Mr. Bird.
Bird: I think another thing that we -- I took away from today was we need to make sure
that we get with ITD, ACHD, ourselves, and not let Linder overpass fall under the -- it took
us -- with Locust Grove it took us about two -- two years to get that going, because the
ITD usually goes and gets federal money and you have that deal, but I think -- I think
that's one of the major items that we need for our transportation in this city is -- and, then,
we are done with overpasses and, then, when they get the interchange at McDermott we
are done. So, I think it's something that we need to just get a -- not let it fall through the
cracks and I think ACHD was very receptive to that, too. I liked their attitude today.
Rountree: Yeah.
De Weerd: Okay. Well, we will move forward and -- with the letter and the list as is and
appreciate all your work and thank Brian for the visual. Okay?
Item 11: Ordinances
A. Ordinance No. 15-1640: Repealing And Replacing Meridian City
Code Section 3-1-2, Regarding Authorization Of FBI National
Criminal History Records Checks
De Weerd: Item 11-A is Ordinance 15-1640. Madam Clerk, will you, please, read this by
title only.
Holman: Thank you, Madam Mayor. City of Meridian Ordinance No. 15-1640, an
ordinance repealing and replacing Meridian City Code Section 3-1-2 regarding
authorization of FBI National Criminal History record checks, adopting a savings clause,
and providing an effective date.
De Weerd: You have heard this read by title. No one is here, so do I have a motion?
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 74 of 76
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move we approve Ordinance No. 15-1640 with suspension of rules.
Rountree: Second.
De Weerd: You're not no one, but --
Bird: I know the lieutenant didn't want it read. He didn't want to read it.
De Weerd: Madam Clerk, will you, please, call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
B. Ordinance No. 15-1641: An Ordinance (AZ 14-015) for the
Annexation and Rezone of a Parcel of Land Being a Portion of
the N 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 5, Township 3
South, Range 1 East, Ada County, Idaho, Establishing and
Determining the Land Use Zoning Classification of Said Lands
from RUT to R-8 and Providing an Effective Date
De Weerd: I didn't mean no one was here, just no one from the public. Okay. 11-B is
Ordinance 15-1641. Madam Clerk, will you, please, read this by title.
Holman: Thank you, Madam Mayor. City of Meridian Ordinance No. 15-1641, an
ordinance AZ 14-015, Granton Square for annexation and rezone of a parcel of land being
a portion of the north one half of the southwest one quarter of the northwest one quarter of
Section 5, Township 3 North, Range 1 East, Ada county, Idaho, as described in
Attachment A and annexing certain lands and territories situated in Ada county, Idaho,
and adjacent and contiguous to the corporate limits of the City of Meridian as requested
by the City of Meridian, establishing and determining the land use zoning classification of
said lands from RUT to R-8, medium density residential district in the Meridian City Code,
provided that copies of this ordinance shall be filed with the Ada county assessor, the Ada
county recorder and the Idaho State Tax Commission as required by law and providing for
a summary of the ordinance and providing for a waiver of the reading rules and providing
an effective date.
De Weerd: You have heard this read by title. Council, do I have a motion to approve?
Meridian City Council
April 7, 2015
Page 75 of 76
Bird: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Bird.
Bird: I move we approve Ordinance No. 15-1641 with suspension of rules.
Rountree: Second.
De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 11-B. Madam Clerk, will you
call roll.
Roll Call: Rountree, yea; Bird, yea; Zaremba, yea; Borton, yea; Milam, absent; Cavener,
yea.
De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried.
MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT.
Item 12: Future Meeting Topics
De Weerd: Under Item 12, Council, any agenda items for future meetings?
Zaremba: Madam Mayor?
De Weerd: Mr. Zaremba.
Zaremba: Does everybody know that tomorrow's meeting with Ada County
Commissioners has been canceled?
Bird: Yeah.
Zaremba: Okay. I was the last to learn that.
De Weerd: Well, you know, save the best for last.
Zaremba: Okay.
De Weerd: Do I have motion to adjourn into Executive Session?
Bird: Madam Mayor?
Borton: Madam Mayor?
Bird: Go ahead, Joseph.