2022-10-17 Terry Tate
Charlene Way
From:Terry T <tt56athome@hotmail.com>
Sent:Friday, October 14, 2022 5:25 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:OPPOSITION COMMENTS: Project H-2002-0051, Klein Huis at Victory and Meridian
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
To Whom It May Concern:
This message provides opposition comments about Project H-2002-0051, Klein Huis at Victory and Meridian. I
am a homeowner living close to this property, residing to the east in the Red Tail housing development on
Victory. My concerns are as follows:
1. Traffic volume increases and inevitable intersection blockages at the Victory and Meridian
intersection. The developer is proposing to add 250-300 vehicle parking spaces for the renters. It
already is difficult to access Victory Road from Red Tail housing during commute hours. Easy access to
public transportation is unavailable. A bad traffic situation will worsen.
2. Cut-through traffic will increase within neighboring housing developments to the north and
east. Drivers will find ways to avoid the intersection at Victory and Meridian. As well as obvious
impacts to the Strada Bellissima and Bear Creek neighbors immediately to the north, residents to the
east who are unable to access Victory from the Red Tail apartments on the corner of Victory and
Meridian will drive through our Red Tail homeowner neighborhood to reach access roads to Victory
out of Red Tail (homes), Cavanaugh or even Tuscany housing developments.
3. The proposed zoning change to increase density is incompatible with Meridian's Future Land Use
Map (FLUM) for this area. The latest FLUM update is recent. Why would Meridian want to disregard
the FLUM solely to benefit an out-of-state developer and to the detriment of local neighborhoods? The
rental development simply is proposed for an incompatible location.
4. Local schools currently are at or near capacity and would be negatively impacted by increased student
population from the rental community. Additional busing might be needed to transport students to
other schools that are not nearby. This would burden students and parents, and add cost to the
transportation budget of local schools.
5. Transitory nature of renters inevitably leads to less well-kept home and yard appearances,
negatively impacting property values and the desirability to live in nearby neighborhoods. One only
has to travel through the blocks of rental homes south of the Red Tail housing development along the
Ridenbaugh Canal to see that there is a very different look to the rental neighborhood as compared to
the adjacent housing developments of Red Tail and Caven Ridge. Pride of ownership does not shine
through in a rental development, either from the renter or landlord perspective. Renters frequently do
not care about upkeep and appearances, while landlords seek to minimize property management
costs. Any shabby appearance over time at the Klein Huis development could negatively impact
property values of hard-working homeowners in nearby neighborhoods.
6. Irrevocably destroys the last native section of the historic Ridenbaugh Canal. I walk the canal
path every day. The natural beauty of the plants and animals along the canal is a joy to experience
across all four seasons. It would be a terrible loss to the community should the land permanently be
lost to development. There is a group of concerned citizens who seek instead to transform use of this
1
land into a nature reserve, benefitting the entire community and preserving for posterity this historic
portion of the Ridenbaugh Canal. I think this is a better use for the land.
To quote Mayor Simison in the October edition of Meridian Idaho City News, "Managing growth in Meridian
presents challenges...Further, development needs to be responsible and create solutions, not more problems,
while enhancing the quality of life in Meridian." I agree with Mayor Simison and therefore urge the Planning
and Zoning Committee to recommend Against Project H-2002-0051, Klein Huis at Victory and Meridian.
Regards,
Terry Tate, Red Tail development
509 East Whiskey Flats Street
Meridian, ID 83642
2