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"A Tradition of Building Excellence Since 1956"
BCA
BUILDING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
OF SOUTHWESTERN IDAHO, INC.
January 14, 2015
6206 N. Discovery Way, Suite A
Boise, Idaho 83713 A7141.d.11h
(208) 377-3550 NMB
(208) 377-3553 fax N.%iu,-,A..-niu.
111 Hi W]: BL 11 111 KS
Website: vvwvv.bcaswi.org
E-mail: bca@hentagewifi.com
The Honorable Mayor Tammy de Weerd and City Council Members
Meridian City Hall
33 E. Broadway Avenue
Meridian, Idaho 83642
Subject: Changes to UDC Amendments
Dear Mayor Tammy and Meridian City Council Members:
The Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho (BCASWI) appreciates
the opportunity to have been able to participate in the amendment process for more
than a year in order to update and amend the Meridian City Unified Development
Code (UDC). The following are our comments related to this matter and we hope
that you will consider them as you make your decision.
Due to the scheduling of our Board meetings, we missed the opportunity to provide
comments to the City Council at the December 15th hearing. Additionally, the
International Builders Show (Builders Convention) is being held next week and
many of our members will be unable to attend your upcoming hearing on this item.
Rest assured that our inability to attend your meeting does not reflect a lack of care
or concern, but rather is the result of these rare meeting conflicts.
A substantial amount of collaborative effort and analysis has gone into the proposed
changes to the UDC with contributions coming from City staff, the public and many
members of the building industry. We recognize the building industry did not get all
the changes we requested, but we believe the net result was a fair compromise for
all parties concerned.
It has come to our attention that the City is considering not adopting all the
dimensional standards as recommended by this committee. Specifically, we
understand there may be further discussion by the City Council on the R-4 and R-2
standards at the next hearing. One of the reasons the committee decided to
recommend these changes was to avoid any confusion by the public when an
applicant has to request a higher zone, not for the higher density, but to try to
achieve the stated densities in the comprehensive plan through a relief in
dimensional standards, including lot sizes. Historically, it has been very common for
an applicant to request an R-8 zone only to try to achieve an R-4 density (between 3
and 4 dwelling units per acre). However, requesting an R-8 zone often RAISES great
alarm for the public as they suspect the applicant is trying to achieve 8 dwelling
units per acre. By allowing the proposed changes in the dimensional standards, an
applicant will be able to request an R-4 zone to try to achieve the desired 3 - 4
dwelling units per acre.
We wish that more of our members could be in town for the hearing on January 19th
to be able to discuss this directly with you. Since this is not the case, we request the
City either: 1) approve the dimensional standards as proposed by the committee or
2) defer this to the next available hearing so that we can have representation at the
hearing.
We are not seeking a delay as we view it very important to implement these new
standards as soon as possible. We only ask that the item be deferred so that our
representatives can be present to answer the Mayor and Council's questions, if
necessary.
We support the collaborative efforts with the City and we sincerely appreciate your
consideration of our comments.
Joe Atalta, President
Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho
cc: Dennis Schaffner, Chairman
Builder -Developer -Government Affairs Council