2021-07-05 Amy Kelley Black Rock Homes
July 5, 2021
Mayor and City Council
c/o City of Meridian Community Development Department
33 E. Broadway Avenue
Meridian, ID 83642
RE: Open Space and Amenity Code Update
CW File No. 21895.0
Dear Council Members:
We have reviewed the proposed open space ordinance and would like to express some
concerns. We believe that the responses to the city survey conducted regarding open spaces
have been taken out of context. Therefore, the premise on which the Open Space and Amenity
Code Update is based is flawed and does not reflect the community's desires. We believe the
citizens who indicated the desire for more open space on the City's survey were desiring
additional City provided open spaces and were not referring to additional space requirements
within private neighborhoods.
Despite our concern regarding the survey interpretation, we would propose some suggestions
regarding the items before you.
A principal concern is a long-standing problem regarding what counts as open space. We
propose that all common areas count toward the open space requirement within developments.
If it is green on the map, it is counted. The HOA must maintain it; people are looking at it, and
water being consumed to maintain it. We propose increasing the required open space to 12%
and a code clarification adopted to count all common areas toward this requirement. Would you
please take this opportunity to end the eternal debate over what is usable, unusable, passive, or
active?
Below are specific proposal comments:
UDC text amendment
11-5a-6D We see this fraught with unintended consequences. What if the City does not post
correctly? What if the City damages the applicant's property? Who is going to coordinate this at
the City level? We understand the City Staff is busy; why add another task to their load? Does
the City need to take this on?
11-5a-6G
This revision is acceptable, but now is the time to add what we have long discussed, as follows:
"Staff is required to provide staff report to applicant 15 days before Planning and Zoning
Hearing". There are all kinds of deadlines for an applicant (the customer). We feel this additional
requirement is needed for the applicant, Planning and Zoning, and the neighbors.
Page 2- A Delete the Crime Prevention Through Environment Design requirement- "CPTED" is
a 68-page guide to landscape design. This booklet is full of additional regulations that we do
not believe anyone has fully vetted.
(B) Second paragraph strike "shall" and replace with "think about." Delete "centrally located"
and delete "connected by pathways." The developer should have the choice of where and how
to orientate the open space. Not all buyers want the same thing, and the developer is the one
with the expertise and is financially obligated to ensure the project works.
Page 5 B.2 must delete all ambiguity of points- WE CAN NOT LEAVE INTERPRETATION OF
POINTS UP TO STAFF. There must be set points for amenities. Otherwise, who decides how
many points? If this is not a fixed points system, it will be a constant point of contention
between applicant and staff, and you, the council, will have to be the referee.
Page 6- Delete the word "MAXIMUM" on top of the point value column of the table
DOG PARK- needs to be 4 points. This is a significant amenity and the most highly used
amongst residents- this needs more credit
Page 7- Delete the word "MAXIMUM" on top of the point value column of the table
Pedestrian circulation systems- also need to specify "Regional pathways."
The points should be 1 point per every 500 feet. Pathways are the most important thing we can
be doing in the City, and they need to be incentivized and justly rewarded for installation.
Page 9-
11-3G-5
1. DELETE- this makes no sense, and how will HOA's know where the maintenance line
is? It encourages problems with people from different communities using each other's
private property.
3. DELETE- we do not want private open space to be encouraging outside
users. These are PRIVATE spaces being maintained by the HOA.
Landscape requirement comments:
11-3B-1
Delete E- CPTED is an additional 68-page document of requirements that no one has vetted.
H. Mulching- Need to delete a sentence that requires all much to be contained by a curb or
mow strip.
o.- delete #5- makes no sense
We believe that overall clarity should be the goal. Although several areas in the proposal need
to be cleaned up, we believe this is a solution looking for a problem. The proposed changes will
result in a higher cost of homeownership through increased HOA dues, reduce Meridian's tax
base by giving up taxable land to common areas, and impact common area water consumption.
We do not believe that the possible benefits outweigh the issues created. We are not in favor of
the required increase of open spaces in private developments.
Sincerely,
Blackrock Homes