PZ - Gem Project Narrative rev01 Gem Innovation School Project Narrative
Gem Innovation School is seeking annexation of property located on McDermott Road north of McMillian
Road in the City of Meridian with a proposed R-15 zoning. The site will be utilized as an educational
facility. The property consists of a single parcel which is in the ADA County boundary limits and is
contiguous to the City limits. The parcel will have an 8-inch water and 8-inch sewer service available from
Doublerock Drive. The current emergency response time to the site exceeds the required response time
of 5 minutes. In order to mitigate this timing,the school is incorporating the following items to mitigate.
• The building will provide fire sprinklers.
• An AED will be provided in the nurse's office.
• There is a future fire station planned within the 5-minute response time.
Gem Innovation School is an established charter school campus with an existing school site located at
2750 E. Gala Street in the City of Meridian. Gem's goal is to open a second campus to provide additional
educational opportunities to the residents of Meridian. The intent in their first phase is to have a K-5
student population eventually expanding to have a K-12 grade level.
About Gem Prep
Gem Prep is a college preparatory school. Every program, K-12, at Gem Prep is designed and aligned to
prepare students for success in college and beyond. The philosophical premise is that students need a
tailored and rigorous instructional environment to help them develop the knowledge, skills, and
competencies that will assist them in their success in college and beyond.
Gem Prep's instructional methodology is to provide instructional access to content designed to prepare
students for the rigors of college-level instruction. Because the elementary grade levels include
foundational content, Gem Prep utilizes a personalized approach, which leverages technology to adapt
instruction to student needs, while simultaneously providing them with real-time feedback and
remediation. As students' progress to secondary grade levels, the focus of student competency
development shifts toward independence, ownership of learning, and exposure to new skills. Students
engage in courses in person, online, and through video teleconference to gain skills of professional
communication and collaboration with colleagues (other students and teachers) in remote geographic
locations. Secondary students also participate in college preparatory courses, which are dedicated to the
development of competencies such as mindsets, communication skills, and habits of success.
Summary of Applications
The Gem Innovation School project proposes a 42,408 SF 1-story building including a hard top and
recreational play fields on an existing 8.0-acre parcel.The applicant is requesting the following approvals:
• Annexation
• Request for a Council Waiver to reduce the requirement to replace the existing tree removed
calipers with trees that add up to same caliper removed.
While this site is located within a residential district, as a public school, it is a permitted use. The site
does not need to obtain a Conditional Use Permit as it is less than 250,000 sf, does not included lighted
ball fields and will generate less than 1,500 vehicular trips per day.
A pre-application meeting was held with the City of Meridian Planning and Development staff on October
15, 2019. A neighborhood meeting was held on March 3, 2020 at the Meridian Library, 1326 W. Cherry
Lane, Meridian, ID 83642.
Annexation
Gem Innovation School is requesting the following parcel identified below be annexed into the City of
Meridian.
PROPERTY FOR ANNEXATION APPLICATION
Parcel Address Current Zone Proposed Zone
SO428325600 5390 N. McDermott Rd RUT R-15
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Request for a Council waiver
The City of Meridian requires that the total caliper of trees removed be replaced with trees that add up
to the same caliper.The total caliper of the existing 37 trees being removed came out to 508 inches,which
would require over 254 additional 2" caliper trees to meet this standard. As this is a school site, it is
important to provide sufficient open space including sport court and active recreation play fields. We are
currently proposing these existing 37 trees are being replaces with 167 new trees and 42 of those
additional trees beyond the City's typical requirements. With this landscaping plan, we believe granting
a waiver meets the needs of the City to provide adequate screening and shading now and the future.
Summary
With the current growth in Meridian and proposed Oaks North subdivision surrounding the parcel, a local
and accessible school for the neighborhood will create a compliment to the City's community vision. We
are respectfully asking for approval of this application for Annexation and Council Waiver for Landscape
Caliper Mitigation.