2020-06-29 Ada County
Ada County Courthouse
200 West Front Street
Boise ID 83702
208.287.7900
Fax 208.287.7909
www.adacounty.id.gov
Department Divisions
Building
Community Planning
Engineering & Surveying
Permitting
Ada County Commissioners
Diana Lachiondo, First District
Patrick Malloy, Second District
Kendra Kenyon, Third District
ADA COUNTY
Development Services Department
Richard Beck
Interim Director
June 26, 2020
Via Email: sallen@meridiancity.org
Sonya Allen
Meridian City Planning Department
33 E. Broadway Avenue #102
Meridian, ID 83642
RE: Apex Subdivision / H-2020-0066
Sonya,
The City of Meridian has requested feedback regarding the proposed Apex
Subdivision, which will include a mixture of residential and commercial lots on
approximately 487 acres of land located in the vicinity of the Locust Grove
Road/Lake Hazel Road intersection. The application includes the annexation of 40
acres of land in unincorporated Ada County, within the Meridian Area of City
Impact.
The Future Land Use Map for Meridian designates the subject property as a mixture
of Mixed-Use Community, Medium-High Density Residential, Medium Density
Residential and Low Density Residential. While the proposed development may be
in general compliance with the Future Land Use Map, the County feels that the
impact on schools, roads and urban service providers will be significant enough to
warrant reconsideration of the feasibility of expanding urban land uses at this time
into this rural area of the County.
The demand for urban services that the proposal will generate will be more costly
and inefficient for service providers and existing customers due to the project’s
distance from existing facilities and infrastructure. This will include an increased
demand on Ada County services such as the Paramedics, Coroner, Mosquito
Abatement, and others. Approval of urban development in this location also has the
potential to incentivize and enable the development of surrounding rural la nds
further compounding the impact on service providers.
Additionally, much of the subject property is currently being irrigated for
agriculture, and portions are designated as Prime Farmland by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, which are lands identified as having the best combination of physical
and chemical characteristics for the production of crops that are still available for
farming. As Goal 2.5b of the Ada County Comprehensive Plan supports the
conservation of irrigated farmland and prime agricultural land, the County would
prefer these lands remain in agricultural use as long as possible, and that urban
developments such as this be located closer to existing services.
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The preservation of agricultural land is especially important at this time due to the significant loss of
farmland the region has experienced due to growth, and the development pressures that continue to affect
agricultural lands in the County.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide feedback.
Sincerely,
Brent Moore, MCMP, AICP
Community & Regional Planner
Ada County Development Services