2020-12-02 Greg Stock questions
Charlene Way
From:Greg Stock <gregstock138@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, December 02, 2020 9:05 AM
To:Chris Johnson
Cc:Bill Parsons; Charlene Way
Subject:Re: Council Meeting AZH-2020-0987
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Thank you all very much, this just we needed.
Best
Greg
On Wed, Dec 2, 2020 at 8:09 AM Chris Johnson <cjohnson@meridiancity.org> wrote:
Mr. Stock,
After a commission makes a recommendation to City Council, the assigned planner updates their Staff Report as the
Recommendations from the Commission. The update is made and placed in the record by the time the agenda is
published, which is the Wednesday prior to the hearing. In this case, that is December 9. The Recommendation they
write includes a summary of testimony presented at the hearing, as well as provided in writing. All writing received
from the public is included in the project folder, which is a publicly accessible living document. It is reviewed by
commissioners prior to the hearing, and also reviewed by City Council members. There is no official set deadline for
submitting comments, but we recommend 72 hours before the hearing in order to give Council members time to
review. I personally recommend having those submitted by the Wednesday prior, so they are there when Council could
potentially begin reviewing the record. In my experience, most council members typically review agenda items the
weekend prior to the hearing.
Public comments are only summarized in the staff report if they are received before it is written. They are however
considered by Council (and commission) prior to any hearing. They are part of the permanent record, and therefore are
not also included in the staff report. The Staff Report is written to analyze the project against the comprehensive plan.
It is not based solely on the applicant’s narrative, but considers many factors, such as impact on schools and roadways,
response time for fire and police, and other factors related to public safety. I have included an attachment from our
Community Development Department that explains the public’s role in development. Additionally, Meridian City Code
11-5A-6 explains the public hearing process as related to land use hearings.
I am copying Bill Parsons, Planning Supervisor, on this email. He may have additional information to share related to
the process for writing Staff Reports and Commission Recommendations.
Please be assured that any communication we receive related to an active land use hearing is included in the project
file, and diligently reviewed by our City Council. My staff and I are also here to assist should you have any questions.
We understand the process can be confusing. We will do our best to provide clarity where possible.
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Have a great day.
Chris Johnson
City Clerk | City of Meridian
33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642
Phone: 208.888.4433|Email: cjohnson@meridiancity.org
City Hall services are currently available by appointment only. Please call our office for further assistance.
All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law,
in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law.
From: Charlene Way
Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 7:28 AM
To: Greg Stock <gregstock138@gmail.com>
Cc: Chris Johnson <cjohnson@meridiancity.org>
Subject: RE: Council Meeting AZH-2020-0987
Good Morning Greg:
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I am including our City Clerk, Chris Johnson, in this email, so that he can help answer your
questions.
Have a wonderful day,
City Hall services are currently available by appointment only. Please call our office for further assistance.
Charlene Way | Assistant City Clerk
City of Meridian | City Clerk’s Office
33 E. Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho 83642
Phone: | 208-489-0394 FAX: 208-888-4218
All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law,
in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law.
From: Greg Stock <gregstock138@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2020 6:55 AM
To: Charlene Way <cway@meridiancity.org>
Subject: Council Meeting AZH-2020-0987
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
Good Morning Ms. Way,
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Regarding the Dec. 15th meeting, will there be an additional staff report and recommendation?
Secondly, would you provide us with a hard date for our input and where such written input should be sent in order to
assure it is included for Council consideration in any staff report?
Prior to the Oct 15th, P&Z meeting, the date we were given for input was after the staff report and recommendations
were completed. Thus minimal, if any neighborhood input was received and considered in making the
recommendation.
Frankly, this minimized citizen input, placed those impacted at a disadvantage. A written report by professional staff
that is based only on the applicant's narrative and does not mention any community input is unfairly slanted toward
the developer.
Such a report clearly carries more weight than any two minute presentation by an impacted citizen.
Thanks
Greg
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