2022-11-15 Dorene Mills
Charlene Way
From:Dorene T. Mills <dorenetm@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, November 15, 2022 1:40 PM
To:Clerks Comment
Subject:Kingstown Application for Meridian
External Sender - Please use caution with links or attachments.
To the Honorable Mayor and the City of Meridian City Council,
We, in Alpine Pointe, are not in support of the Kingstown application for two reasons:
Density and Traffic. How would you feel if you were in our shoes. You need to take this
into consideration. We live in a quiet neighborhood and this new subdivision will bring too
much traffic and people to our quiet neighborhood. In my opinion Meridian is OUT OF
CONTROL. You are letting too many people pack into small property spaces, making us
sacrifice what we have in our bigger home neighborhood.
In my opinion the transition at the north of the project should be a match or suitable sized lot to the surrounding
homes. Alpine Pointe’s smallest adjacent lot is 12960 square feet, and most of the lots in Kingstown begin at 4000
square feet and the ones next to Alpine Pointe are primarily 5250 square feet, for a sizable difference of 7710 square
feet or more at the northern shared border. Kingstown lots begin at 4000 square feet next to the smallest Champion
Park lot at 10800 square feet. Gross and net densities in Alpine Pointe are well under three units per acre.
These small, proposed lots are being used to secure an incompatible blanket higher density of R-8 to benefit the
applicant to package and sell the entitlements or to pad an estate lot that may disappear when Phase 2 comes
about. This should be a less dense zoning code, and that would be R-4 zoning with 8000 SF lot minimum sizes and 15-
foot minimum rear yard setbacks, as Alpine Pointe and Champion Park have larger lots than proposed in Kingstown,
and a comparable lot would be expected next to Alpine Pointe and Champion Park neighbors. Delano lots are 5500-6000
SF on the shared border, with single story or single story with bonus room, and R-4 zoning would be transitional to
Delano. In addition, there should not be any two-stories against one-story homes for privacy and congruency to
existing homes.
The second issue is the traffic that will be coming as the neighborhoods’ streets connect, changing traffic
patterns. There should be traffic calming measures built within the Kingstown development to slow the traffic and to
also protect the residents in Kingstown as well as the residents and neighborhoods that connect to the subdivision. New
traffic calming consideration should apply to all the area, as we currently have four schools in the near vicinity, and the
civic/school pads have room for expansion.
One might say the traffic issues are down the road from this application, and that is not entirely true, as the past
applications that connect to this infill acreage that have come before the City had roads with many flaws that are out
of technical specifications and the roads were accepted as local streets with lower traffic local street capacities
despite their obvious future use. Here we are 20-25 years later, and our peaceful residential areas are intermingling
with newer urban densities and heavy commercial projects in this area, and our local streets are being unfairly expected
to carry more and more of the traffic burdens that arterials and the highways should be carrying and the connections via
this neighborhood will change the traffic. A lot of the local streets have front-on housing, not conducive to heavier
1
collector road uses and the cut-through traffic. The light at Wingate/Troxel/Ustick is far overdue, as are improvements
at Leigh Field and Locust Grove.
Without improvements to this plan for a housing density R-4 sizes and up and new streets’ traffic calming, this
application should be denied; a remand decision for redesign to Planning and Zoning Commission may not be enough,
as there is only one chance to get this right.
The following items and information I have been given are from the current Comprehensive Plan of the City of
Meridian applies to this application and should be considered in your decision. STOP AND LOOK AT THE
PROBLEMS THIS IS CREATING. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU WERE IN OUR SHOES
(NEIGHBORHOOD)??
2.02.02C Support infill development that does not negatively impact the abutting, existing development. Infill
projects in Downtown should develop at higher densities, irrespective of existing development.
3.01.01A Evaluate comprehensive impacts of growth and consider City Master Plans and Strategic Plans in all land
use decisions (e.g., traffic impacts, school enrollment, and parks).
3.05.00 Ensure that all planning, zoning and land use decisions balance the interests of the community by protecting
private property rights for current citizens and future generations.
3.07.01A Require all new development to create a site design compatible with surrounding uses through buffering,
screening, transitional densities, and other best site design practices.
3.07.02F Coordinate with transportation agencies to align future needed infrastructure with land use plans and
implement through the development review processes.
5.01.00 Sustain, enhance, promote, and protect elements that contribute to livability and a high quality of life for all
Meridian residents.
5.01.01 Encourage the safety, health, and well-being of the community.
5.01.01B Provide pathways, crosswalks, traffic signals and other improvements that encourage safe, physical
activity for pedestrians and bicyclists.
5.01.02 Support beautiful and high-quality development that reinforces neighborhood character and sustainability.
5.01.02E Support and protect the identity of existing residential neighborhoods.
6.01.02G Work with the Transportation Commission and transportation partners to implement needed
neighborhood traffic calming and address safety concerns.
Thank you for your attention and consideration.
Dorene Mills
Alpine Pointe
2611 East Granadillo Drive
Meridian, ID 83646
dorenetm@gmail.com
2
3