Jerrie Wolf AZ
ORIGINAL
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BEFORE THE MERIDIAN PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
JERRIE WOLFE AND ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS
ANNEXATION AND ZONING
A PORTION OF SECTION 6, T.3N., R.1E, B.M., ADA COUNTY,
MERIDIAN, IDAHO
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The above entitled annexation and zoning application having
come on for consideration on October 9, 1993, at the hour of 7:30
o'clock p.m. on said date, at the Meridian City Hall, 33 East Idaho
Street, Meridian, Idaho, and the Commission having heard and taken
oral and written testimony and the Applicant not appearing but
through Jerry Wolfe, and having duly considered the matter, the
Planning and Zoning Commission makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. That notice of public hearing on the annexation and
zoning was published for two (2) consecutive weeks prior to the
said public hearing scheduled for October 9, 1993, the first
publication of which was fifteen (15) days prior to said hearing;
that the matter was duly considered at the October 9, 1993,
hearing; that the public was given full opportunity to express
comments and submit evidence; and that copies of all notices were
available to newspaper, radio and television stations.
2. That the property included in the application for
annexation and zoning is described in the application, and by this
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Page - 1
reference lS incorporated herein; that the property is
approximately 3.94 acres in size; it is on the east side of
Meridian Road north of Blue Heron Lane and between Cherry Lane Road
and Ustick Road.
3. That Jerrie Wolfe stated at the hearing that the
development would blend in with the neighborhood; that they need to
work out the access to Blue Heron Lane; that the land is planned
for eight apartment buildings which would contain sixty-six housing
units, 26 one bedroom units and 40 two bedroom units, that there
would be 108 parking spaces, a lot of berms for landscaping, a
greenbelt, 30 feet of access, and a landscaped play area in the
center; he stated that they desired a zoning of R-40 but would
develop to an R-20 standard.
4. That the property is presently zoned by Ada County
as RT and the proposed use would be for residential type
development as above stated.
5. The general area surrounding the property is used
agriculturally but there have recently been a substantial amount of
subdivision requests In the area which are single family
developments.
6. That the property is adjacent and abutting to the
present City limits.
7. The Applicant is not the owner of record of the
property, but the applicant has submitted the consent of the titled
owners, Dallan Taylor and Gary Belew.
8. That the property included In the annexation and
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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zoning application is within the Area of Impact of the City of
Meridian.
9. That the parcel of ground is included within the
Meridian Urban Service Planning Area as the Urban Service Planning
Area is designated in the Meridian Comprehensive Plan and the
proposed Comprehensive Plan.
10. There were two people testifying, one was concerned
about the access because Blue Heron Lane is a private lane; he
wondered whether Blue Heron was going to become a public road and
if it would continue to his property, he also was concerned about
a bike path intersecting with Blue Heron Lane; the other person
testifying was concerned about the heavy truck traffic that now
travels Blue Heron Lane.
11. That the property is in the CAIRNS Neighborhood as
set forth in Policy Diagram in the current Meridian Comprehensive
Plan; that the property is in the Linder District as designated in
the proposed Comprehensive Plan; that the proposed Comprehensive
Plan designates the area where the land in the application is
located to be a mixed planned use development area; that under
Housing Development on page 25 and 26 of the Current Comprehensive
Plan, property inside the Urban Service Planning Area may be
developed at greater densities than one dwelling unit per acre and
it is the policy that a density of greater than 1 dwelling unit per
5 acres may not be exceeded outside of the Urban Service Planning
Area.
12. That In the Rural Area section of the current
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Comprehensive Plan it does state that land in agricultural activity
should so remain in agricultural activity until it is no longer
economical to exclude orderly growth and development to maintain
agricultural pursuits.
13. That the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan, under
Land Use, Residential Policies, 2.1U states as follows:
"Support a variety of residential categories (urban,
rural, single-family, multi-family, townhouses,
apartments, condominiums, etc.) for the purpose of
providing the City with a range of affordable
housing opportunities."
14. That the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan, under
Land Use, Mixed-Planned Use Development, Mixed-Use Area at Locust
Grove Road and Fairview Avenue Plus Areas North of Fairview Avenue,
at page 28, 5.16U, it states as follows:
"All Development requests will be subject to
development reVlew and conditional use permit
processing to ensure neighborhood compatibility."
15. That the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan, under
Population, Housing Policies, at page 66 and 67, it states as
follows:
"1.1 The City of Meridian intends to provide for
wide diversity of housing types (single-family,
modular, mobile homes, multi-family, townhouses,
apartments, condominiums."
.. 1 . 3 An open
regardless of
background."
housing market
race, sex, age,
for all persons,
religion or ethnic
"1.4 The development of housing for all income
groups close to employment and shopping centers
should be encouraged."
"1.14 Design and performance standards should be
applied to infilling development in order to reduce
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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adverse impacts upon existing adjacent development. "
" 1 . 17 The City of Meridian intends to consider the
implementation of Planned Development (PD) methods
and the use of performance standards through
revisions of the City's land use control
ordinances."
"1.19 High-Density development, where possible,
should be located near open space corridors or other
permanent major open space and park facilities, and
near major access thoroughfares."
16. That the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan, under
Community Design, Entryway Corridors, Meridian Road is designated
as an entryway corridor.
17. That the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan, under
Community Design, Entrance Corridors Goal Statement, it states as
follows:
"Promote, encourage, develop and maintain
aesthetically pleasing approaches to the City of
Meridian."
"4.4U Encourage 35-foot landscaped setbacks for new
development on entrance corridors. The City shall
require, as a condition of development approval,
landscaping along all entrance corridors."
18. That there is a population influx into the City of
Meridian at the present time which has been going on for some time
and is likely to continue; that the land is relatively close to
Meridian and economic conditions are making it difficult to
continue farming in the area.
19. That the property can be serviced with City water
and sewer at this time.
20. Meridian
Police
Department,
Nampa-Meridian
Irrigation District, Settlers Irrigation District, Ada County
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Highway District and Bureau of Reclamation may submit comments and
such shall be incorporated herein as if set forth in full; that the
Meridian City Engineer, Central District Health Department,
Meridian Fire Department, and the Meridian School District
submitted comments and they are incorporated herein as if set forth
in full.
21. That the comments from the City Engineer regarding
Blue Heron Lane were whether the Applicant has access rights to
Blue Heron Lane and should the Lane become a public Road?
22. That the comments form the Meridian Fire Chief were
that roads need to be in and water hydrants in place before any
building is stated and that no paring on the roadway should be
allowed.
23. That the R-40 Residential District lS described in
the Zoning Ordinance, 11-2-408 B. 6. as follows:
(R-40) Hiqh Densi tv Residential District: The
purpose of the (R-40) District is to permit the
establishment of high density residential uses at
density not exceeding forty (40) dwelling units per
acre. Connection to the Municipal Water and Sewer
Systems of the City of Meridian is required.
24. That the Applicant has requested a zoning of R-40
but indicated that development would be at an R-20 standard.
25. The Meridian School District submitted comment and
such is incorporated herein as if set forth in full; its comment
was that there is no excess capacity in the schools of the District
and that residents of the new subdivision could not be assured of
attending the neighborhood schools; the School District asked for
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support for a development fee or a transfer fee to help offset the
costs of building additional schools.
26. That in 1992 the Idaho state Legislature passed
amendments to the Local Planning Act, which in 67-6513 Idaho Code,
relating to subdivision ordinances, stated as follows:
"Each such ordinance may provide for mitigation of the
effects of subdivision development on the ability of
political subdivisions of the state, including school
districts, to deliver services without compromising
quality of service delivery to current residents or
imposing substantial additional costs upon current
residents to accommodate the proposed subdivision.",
that the City of Meridian is concerned with the lncrease In
population that is occurring and with its impact on the City being
able to provide fire, police, emergency health care, water, sewer,
parks and recreation services to its current residents and to those
moving into the City, the City is also concerned that the increase
in population is burdening the schools of the Meridian School
District which provide school service to current and future
residents of the City; that the City knows that the
. .
lncrease In
population does not sufficiently increase the tax base to offset
the cost of providing fire, police, emergency health care, water,
sewer, parks and recreation services, and the City knows that the
increase in population does not provide sufficient tax base to
provide for school services to current and future students.
27. That pursuant to the instruction, guidance, and
direction of the Idaho State Legislature, the City may impose
either a development fee or a transfer fee on residential property,
which if possible would be retroactive and apply to all residential
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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lots in the City, because of the imperilment to the health,
welfare, and safety of the citizens of the City of Meridian.
28. That Section 11-9-605 C states as follows:
"Right-of-way for pedestrian walkways in the middle of long
blocks may be required where necessary to obtain convenient
pedestrian circulation to schools, parks or shopping areas;
the pedestrian easement shall be at least ten feet (10')
wide."
29. That Section 11-9-605 G 1. states as follows:
"Planting strips shall be required to be placed next to
incompatible features such as highways, railroads, commercial
or industrial uses to screen the view from residential
properties. such screening shall be a minimum of twenty feet
(20') wide, and shall not be a part of the normal street right
of way or utility easement,"
30. That Section 11-9-605 H 2. states as follows:
"Existing natural features which add value to residential
development and enhance the attractiveness of the
community (such as trees, watercourses, historic spots
and similar irreplaceable amenities) shall be preserved
in the design of the subdivision;"
31. That Section 11-9-605 K states as follows:
"The extent and location of lands designed for linear
open space corridors should be determined by natural
features and, to lesser extent, by man-made features such
as utility easements, transportation rights of way or
water rights of way. Landscaping, screening or lineal
open space corridors may be required for the protection
of residential properties from adjacent arterial streets,
waterways, railroad rights of way or other features. As
improved areas (landscaped), semi-improved areas (a
landscaped pathway only), or unimproved areas (left in a
natural state), linear open space corridors serve:
1. To preserve openness;
2. To interconnect park and open space systems within
rights of way for trails, walkways, bicycle ways;
3. To playa major role in conserving area scenic and
natural value, especially waterways, drainages and
natural habitat;
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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4. To buffer more intensive adjacent urban land uses,
5. To enhance local identification within the area due
to the internal, linkages; and
6. To link residential neighborhoods, park areas and
recreation facilities."
32. That Section 11-9-605 L states as follows:
Bicycle and pedestrian pathways shall be encouraged within new
developments as part of the public right of way or as separate
easements so that an alternate transportation system (which is
distinct and separate from the automobile) can be provided
throughout the City Urban Service Planning Area. The
Commission and Council shall consider the Bicycle-Pedestrian
Design Manual for Ada County (as prepared by Ada County
Highway District) when reviewing bicycle and pedestrian
pathway provisions within developments.
CONCLUSIONS
1. That all the procedural requirements of the Local
Planning Act and of the Ordinances of the City of Meridian have
been met, including the mailing of notice to owners of property
within 300 feet of the external boundaries of the Applicant' s
property.
2. That the City of Meridian has authority to annex
land pursuant to 50-222, Idaho Code, and Section 11-2-417 of the
Revised and Compiled Ordinances of the City of Meridian; that
exercise of the City's annexation authority lS a Legislative
function.
3. That the Planning and Zoning Commission has judged
this annexation and zoning application under Section 50-222, Idaho
Code, Title 67, Chapter 65, Idaho Code, the Meridian City
Ordinances, the Meridian Comprehensive Plan, as amended, and the
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Page - 9
record submitted to it and things of which it can take judicial
notice.
4. That all notice and hearing requirements set forth
in Title 67, Chapter 65, Idaho Code, and the Ordinances of the City
of Meridian have been complied with.
5. That the Commission may take judicial notice of
government ordinances, and policies, and of actual conditions
existing within the City and State.
6. That the land within the proposed annexation is
contiguous to the present City limits of the City of Meridian, and
the annexation would not be a shoestring annexation.
7. That the annexation application has been initiated
by the Applicant with the consent of the titled owners and the
annexation is not upon the initiation of the City of Meridian.
8. That since the annexation and zoning of land is a
legislative function, the City has authority to place conditions
upon the annexation of land.
9. That the development of annexed land must meet and
comply with the Ordinances of the City of Meridian and in
particular Section 11-9-616 which pertains to development time
schedules and requirements.
10. That this Application has been submitted prior to
the adoption of the proposed amendment to the Meridian
Comprehensive Plan; that as a condition of annexation the
Applicant, and titled owners, must agree that the proposed Meridian
Comprehensive Plan, once adopted, shall apply to the land and any
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Page - 10
development.
11. That since the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan
says that in mixed use planned development areas all development
requests will be subject to planned development methods and
conditional use permit processing, the development of the parcel
will be subject to the planned development process under the
conditional use process.
12. That under the planned development review and
conditional use processing, standards shall be required so that
that portion of Meridian Road which is included in the development
shall be aesthetically maintained with a 35-foot setback for
landscaping.
13. That proper and adequate access to the property has
not been shown and any development plans will'have to show adequate
access and will have to meet City requirements and those of the Ada
County Highway District; that Blue Heron Lane will have to become
a public road to provide adequate access.
14. That since the Applicant's property is in the CAIRNS
NEIGHBORHOOD of the Comprehensive Plan, the annexation and zoning
Application are in conformance with the current Comprehensive Plan
and do not conflict with the Rural Areas policies, it further is in
compliance with the proposed Meridian Comprehensive Plan.
15. That the requirements of the Meridian City Engineer,
Central District Health Department and Meridian Fire Department,
and of the Ada County Highway District, Settlers and Nampa &
Meridian Irrigation District, if submitted, shall be met.
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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16. That all ditches, canals, and waterways shall be
tiled as a condition of annexation and if not so tiled the property
shall be subject to de-annexation.
17. with compliance of the conditions contained herein,
the annexation and zoning of R-40 Residential would be in the best
interest of the City of Meridian. However, the Applicant shall be
limited to development of the property to an R-20 standard, this is
because that is what the applicant stated.
18. That the Applicant will be required to connect to
Meridian water and sewer and resolve how the water and sewer mains
will serve the land; that the development of the property shall be
subject to and controlled by the Subdivision and Development
Ordinance; that, as a condition of annexation, the Applicant shall
be required to enter into a development agreement as authorized by
11-2-416 Land 11-2-417 D; that the development agreement shall
address the inclusion into the subdivision of the requirements of
11-9-605 C, G., H 2, K, L and the comments of the Planning
Director, Wayne Forrey; that the development agreement shall, as a
condition of annexation, require that the Applicant, or if
required, any assigns, heirs, executors or personal
representatives, pay, when required, any development fee or
transfer fee adopted by the City; that there shall be no annexation
until the requirements of this paragraph are met or, if necessary,
the property shall be subject to de-annexation and loss of City
serVlces, if the requirements of this paragraph are not met.
19. That proper and adequate access to the property is
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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available and will have to be maintained.
20. That these conditions shall run with the land and
bind the applicant, the titled owners, and their assigns.
21. That if these conditions of approval are not met the
property shall be subject to de-annexation.
APPROVAL OF FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS
The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission hereby adopts and
approves these Findings of Fact and Conclusions.
ROLL CALL
COMMISSIONER HEPPER VOTED !J- f3 Sl/i { to \ ./J
if~~
COMMISSIONER ROUNTREE VOTED ~f~
COMMISSIONER SHEARER VOTED LtL~
COMMISSIONER ALIDJANI VOTED~
CHAIRMAN JOHNSON (TIE BREAKER) VOTED
DECISION AND RECOMMENDATION
The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission hereby recommends
to the City Council of the City of Meridian that they approve the
annexation and zoning as stated above for the property described In
the application with the conditions set forth in the Findings of
Fact and Conclusions of Law and that the Applicant and owners be
specifically required to tile all ditches, canals and waterways as
a condition of annexation and that the Applicant meet all of the
Ordinances of the City of Meridian, specifically including the
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Page - 13
development time requirements and the required development
agreement, and the conditions of these Findings and Conclusions of
Law, and that if the conditions are not met that the property be
de-annexed.
MOTION:
APPROVED:~
DISAPPROVED:
FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
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