CC - Applicant's Response to Staff Report GIVENS PURSLEYLLP
601 W.Bannock Street*PO Box 2720*Boise ID 83701
December 14, 2021
via email: cityclerkkmeridiancity.org
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
33 E. Broadway Ave., Suite 102
Meridian, Idaho 83642
RE: H-2021-0064 Black Cat Business Center
Dear Mayor Simison and Council Members:
We provide this letter on behalf of ATSAW GP, LLC, the Applicant for the Black Cat
Business Center, a modern industrial business complex located north of I-84 and west of Black
Cat Road. The property is within the Ten Mile Interchange Specific Area Plan ("TMISAP" or
"Ten Mile Plan"), and the application requests annexation and Light Industrial (I-L)zoning.
Planning staff has recommended denial of the annexation and I-L zoning. After some
discussion, the Commission voted to follow staff s recommendation. Commissioner Yearsley
supported the project based on the close proximity of Highway 16, the need for industrial jobs
closer to where residents live, and the lack of available industrial land in Meridian.'
In early meetings with the Applicant, planning staff agreed that I-L zoning would be an
appropriate zone based on the Ten Mile Plan and that a mix of industrial uses, including
warehousing and distribution, would be appropriate for the site.2 Staff s stated concern at the
time was if the project might only have warehousing and distribution uses, not to preclude them
entirely.3 The Applicant made numerous changes to address staff requests, including to provide
a mix of building sizes to accommodate various business sizes and uses; to reorient the
buildings and parking areas; to acquire two residential outparcels along Black Cat; and to add
an amenity, streetscape improvements, and pathways. Planning staff ultimately determined the
Mixed Employment (M-E) designation in the Ten Mile Plan does not support I-L zoning and
instead supports only the M-E Zone to accommodate office uses.
We respectfully disagree with staff s characterization of the Ten Mile Plan as not
allowing I-L zoning for Mixed Employment designated properties. The Plan is a guidance
document that contemplates a number of possible zones and uses within each designation. And,
for the Mixed Employment designation, the Plan expressly lists the I-L zone and associated
1 November 18,2021 Planning and Zoning Commission Hearing Video at 1:13:35— 1:15:35.
a Planning staff s comments in the pre-application notes dated July 20,2021, state: "I-L would be an
appropriate zone district for this property." The notes further state: "The Plan would support some
percentage of warehousing or distribution,but the development should also contain office, light industrial,
corporate or business offices,manufacturing,research and development uses."
3 See footnote 2.
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
December 14, 2021
Page 2
uses as one of several appropriate zones.4 The project's site design and buildings are also
generally consistent with the Ten Mile Plan's design guidance.
We also respectfully disagree with staff s recommendation to prioritize office uses over
industrial uses in this key location given the City's desperate need for industrial space versus an
approximate 73-year inventory of land for office.5 We have shared data on these issues with the
staff and we will be prepared to address this policy topic specifically at the Council hearing.
The purpose of this letter is to address some of the specific issues raised in the staff
report regarding the project's compliance with the Ten Mile Plan.
M-E versus I-L zoning
Staff Rpt.: "Staff does not support rezoning to I-L and finds M-E would be the appropriate
zoning as indicated in the TMISAP." (p.5) Staff further argues that the Ten
Mile Plan only allows certain light industrial uses such as manufacturing and
assembly but not warehouse, distribution, and storage. (p.7)
Response: The Ten Mile Plan does not require M-E zoning in Mixed Employment
designated areas. The Plan expressly lists both I-L and I-H as permitted zones
for properties designated Mixed Employment.6 Both of these permitted zones
allow warehouse, distribution, and storage among other industrial uses.7
ME zoning is not feasible for a modern industrial business complex because the
ME zone requires a conditional use permit for many light industrial uses,
including warehousing and distribution. Often in industrial centers, single users
require components of manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution all at the
same location and the percentage of each varies by tenant and over time for
each tenant. Conditional uses are much harder for tenants to finance and render
project financing very difficult. The I-L zone provides the flexibility necessary to
attract a variety of business sizes and uses, and to provide room for them to
grow and evolve.
The M-E zone is appropriate for office uses, but office is not needed in this
location. Currently, the vacancy rate in Meridian for industrial is below 0.1%,
while the office vacancy rate is 14%. Meridian is in danger of losing current
and future business and employment opportunities if the City is not able to offer
this type of industrial business center.
4 TMISAP p. 2-7.
s Calculated based on trailing 5-year average absorption of office divided by vacant office, office
planned/in process, and office-zoned land on the market as of 10/15/21.
6 TMISAP p. 2-7.
UDC § 11-2C-2.
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
December 14, 2021
Page 3
Timing of Annexation
Staff Rpt: "[P]roperties on the east side of N. Black Cat Road have not fully built out as
approved." (p.1)
Response: The properties east of Black Cat are owned by developers and are in various
stages of exploring or pursuing development applications. This is also true of
properties to our north that will proceed when there is an annexation path.
Staff Rpt: "There are no anticipated improvements to [N.] Black Cat Rd and W. Franklin Rd
in the short term. ..." (p.8)
Response: The intersection of Black Cat and Franklin has already been improved to the
ultimate 5-lane buildout. Franklin is planned to be widened to five lanes in 2026-
2030, before this project is likely fully built out. The Highway 16 interchange is
now funded and planned to be completed within 2-3 years, which is expected to
expedite the Franklin Road widening. The Applicant will make improvements to
Black Cat Road, as will other developers along Black Cat.
Staff Rpt: "[T]he closest water and sewer connection is approximately 340 feet to the north
of the property." (p.8)
Response: Water and sewer are in Black Cat Road near the site. Public Works agrees the
site is serviceable with water and sewer and that the project complies with the
City's Water and Wastewater Master Plans.8
Internal Road Network
Staff: "[T]he TMISAP Land Use Map (page 3-16) shows a desired local street bisecting
the site North to South." Staff notes this has not been shown on the plans. (p.11)
Response: Two of the three maps in the Ten Mile Plan do not show this north-south local
street. ACHD has indicated they do not want this local street because they do not
want any connections to Franklin other than the planned roundabout at the north-
south collector on our western boundary.
Staff Rpt: Staff describes a second east-west collector road as being required along the
project site's northern border and notes that: "The northernmost collector as
required by ACHD is also not shown." (p.11)
Response: The Rosenlof Drain runs immediately along our northern border and then turns
south toward the east,precluding a road in that location. Two of the three maps
in the Ten Mile Plan and the ACHD Master Street Map GIS show this collector
north of the drain and off of the project site. We are already providing an east-
See pre-application notes and City Engineering comments on application.
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
December 14, 2021
Page 4
west collector south of the drain. This has been discussed with ACHD and staff;
Director Caleb Hood and ACHD have agreed the northern east-west collector
should be sited north of our property to align with the collector east of Black
Cat Road and to avoid conflict with the drain.
Staff Rpt: "The concept plan provided by the applicant reflects the east-west collector
bisecting the site to be 60' wide with all of this being travel lanes, no on-street
parking and detached pathways and landscaping outside of the 60' of travel
lanes." (p.10)
Response: The Ten Mile Plan shows the Street Section C design applies to this collector.9
Street Section C does not include on-street parking. Applicant's concept plan
showed 60'of right of way, which accommodates two travel lanes, a center turn
lane, and bike lanes. We will provide 6'sidewalks as shown in Street Section C.
We are open to designing the street section however desired by staff.
Building Size
Staff Rpt: "In the low-density employment and mixed employment areas, low-rise buildings
of 2-4 stories with shallow setbacks are recommended over much of the area
(page 3-38)." (p.13) "The concept elevations provided by the applicant reflect
large one-story industrial buildings..." (p.14)
Response: The 2-4 story recommendation applies to Commercial Activity Centers.1°For
Mixed Employment areas, the Plan states that buildings will range 1-4 stories.11
The project's buildings vary in height, ranging from approximately 26'tall to
48'tall. The largest buildings will be comparable in height to other 3-4 story
buildings; the smallest buildings will be comparable to 1-2 story buildings.
The Plan anticipates that buildings within Mixed Employment areas will have
total floor areas of 10,000 square feet to 1,000,000 square feet.12 Consistent
with this, the project's buildings are expected to range from approximately
17,000 square feet to approximately 350,000 square feet. The buildings are also
highly divisible to accommodate a variety of business sizes, including smaller
incubator businesses that grow to take over a larger space.
9 TMISAP p. 3-22.
" See TMISAP p. 3-37 and 3-38. Page 3-38 includes the language that"low-rise buildings of 2-4 stories
with shallow setbacks are recommended over much of the area"in the context of commercial areas,not
low or mixed employment areas.
11 TMISAP p. 3-11 and p. 3-50.
is TMISAP p. 3-11.
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
December 14, 2021
Page 5
Building Design
Staff: "At least 40% of linear dimension of the street level frontages shall be in
windows or doorways..." (p.13)
Response: 40% is the recommended standard for Commercial and Lifestyle Center
Buildings.13 The Plan recommends Industrial and Mixed Employment Buildings
have 20%windows.
Like other developments in the Ten Mile area, the Applicant has requested some
changes from Plan design elements, including the windows and single plane
wall elements. Due to security and visibility concerns, the light industrial use of
the buildings does not support windows across the entire frontage. We propose
enhanced landscaping and trees between entries to provide a visual break in our
single plane walls and to soften the frontage. We also propose enhanced window
glazing at the entrances. Fenestration is a secondary design consideration,
where the Plan expressly calls for "more flexibility. "14 The Project also includes
large setbacks to minimize its effects on neighboring properties.
Building Placement
Staff Rpt.: "The larger buildings A-J are oriented to a wide collector street, have larger
front setbacks, have single building frontages between 180 ft and 470 ft in
length, and are not broken down or wrapped with smaller buildings. Staff does
not believe this encapsulates the TMISAP principals for design...." (p.9)
Response: The Plan's Street Oriented design elements apply to Commercial and Mixed Use
buildings, but not to Mixed Employment buildings.1 S The Plan does not define
any specific setback for Mixed Employment areas.
The project's concept plan shows a detached meandering sidewalk with most
buildings setback approximately 20'setback from the edge of sidewalk. The
Applicant is agreeable to decreasing the setback as desired by staff, subject to
the allowed I-L zone setbacks in the UDC.
Fire Impact Fees
Staff Rpt: "The proposed fire station property is in a good location for the MFD future
station areas,but at this time there is no avenue to trade the property for impact
fees. The city would need to purchase the property outright." (p.2)
i3 TMISAP p. 3-50.
is TMISAP p. 3-31.
is TMISAP p. 3-49.
Mayor Simison and Meridian City Council
December 14, 2021
Page 6
Response: UDC§ 10-7-9 allows the City to provide an impact fee credit or reimbursement
for donated land. The Applicant remains willing to donate the north-east corner
of the site for a future fire%mergency services station in exchange for impact fee
credit. In the Applicant's discussions with Meridian Fire, the Fire Department
was supportive of this general approach and location.
Thank you for your consideration of these comments. We look forward to discussing this
project with you at the December 21st hearing.
Sincerely,
Deborah E. Nelson