Planning and Zoning - Regular Meeting

At this time, I would like to call the meeting to order. The commissioners who are present at this evening's meeting are at City Hall and possibly on Zoom. We also have staff from the city attorneys and the city clerk's office, as well as the city's planning department. If you're joining us on Zoom this evening, we can see that you are here. However, you may observe the meeting, but your ability to be seen on screen and talk will be muted. During the public testimony portion of the meeting, you'll be unmuted and then be able to comment. Please note that we cannot take questions until the public testimony portion of the meeting. If you have a process question during the meeting, please email cityclerk at meridiancity.org and they will reply as quickly as possible. If you simply want to watch the meeting, we encourage you to watch the streaming on the city's YouTube channel. You can access it at meridiancity.org backslash live. With that, we will begin with roll call. Madam Clerk?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner Del Samino?

Present.

Commissioner Perot? Here. Commissioner Smith?

Here.

Chairperson Lorcher?

Here. The first item on the agenda is the adoption of the agenda. There are no changes to tonight's agenda, although Butte-Fence and Starling Ridge subdivision have both requested a continuance. So we are not taking public testimony on these applications this evening. So if you're here for Butte-Fence and Starling Ridge, we will not be taking public testimony and they will be rescheduled. Could I get a motion to adopt tonight's agenda?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and second to adopt the agenda. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. The next item on the agenda is the consent agenda, which includes to approve the meetings of the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 2nd, and Fines of Facts and Conclusions of Law for Seven Brew Meridian Office Building and High Desert Veterinary Hospital. Could I get a motion to accept the consent agenda as presented?

So moved.

Second. It's been moved and second to approve the consent agenda. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. At this time, I would briefly like to explain the public hearing process. We will open each item individually and begin with the staff report. Staff will report their findings on how the item adheres to our comprehensive plan and our unified development code. After staff has made their presentation, the applicant will come forward and to present their case. To respond to staff's comments, they will have 15 minutes to do so. After the applicant has finished, we will then open the floor to public testimony. Each person will be called only once during public testimony. The clerk will call the individual names of those who have signed up on our website in advance to testify. You may come to the microphones and chambers, or you will be unmuted on Zoom. Please state your name and address for the record, and you will have three minutes to address the commission. If you've previously sent pictures or a presentation for the meeting, it will be displayed on screen and our clerk will help you run the presentation. If you have established that you are speaking on behalf of a larger group, like an HOA, where others from that group will allow you to speak on their behalf, you will have up to 10 minutes. After all those who have signed up in advance have spoken, we will invite any others who wish to testify. If you wish to speak on a topic, you may come forward in chambers or if on Zoom, press the raise hand button. Or if you're listening on the telephone, please press star nine and wait for your name to be called. If you're listening on multiple devices such as a computer and a phone, please be sure to mute those extra devices so we don't experience feedback and we can hear you clearly. When you are finished and the Commission does not have questions for you, you will return to your seat in chambers or be muted on Zoom and no longer have the ability to speak. And please remember we will not call on you a second time. After all testimony has been heard, the applicant will be given another 10 minutes to come back and respond. When the applicant has finished responding to questions and concerns, we will close the public hearing and the commissioners will have the opportunity to discuss and hopefully make final recommendations to city council or decisions as needed. So the next two applications we're going to be opening are solely for the purpose of continuance and to establish some dates. So Butte Fence requests a continuance. Do we have a date, Madam Clerk?

Thank you, Madam Chair. We have August 6th.

Could I get a motion to continue Butte Fence, please?

So moved. Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to continue file number H2025-0060, Butte Fence, for the date of August 6th. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. The next continuance request is from Starling Ridge Subdivision. Do we have a date in mind for their continuance?

Thank you, Madam Chair. We have October 15th.

Could I get a motion to continue Starling Ridge subdivision for October 15th?

So moved. Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to continue file number H2026-0009, Starling Ridge subdivision to October 15th. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. The next item on the subdivision is file number H-2026-0032 for Elizabeth Child Care requests a conditional use permit for an in-home group daycare, and we will begin with the staff report.

Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the Commission. Next item on the agenda is the conditional use permit for Elizabeth Child Care. That can request to increase the number of children for an in-home daycare to 12 or fewer children. The site is located at 1247 North Caucus Way. And as shown on the screen, the existing zoning is R4 and the flume designation is medium density residential. The applicant is currently operating an in-home daycare for six or fewer children at this location. With this application, they are requesting to increase the number of children to 12 or fewer. They do have a two-car parking pad exists on the site in front of the two-car garage, which will provide some off-street parking and pickup drop-off area for children. The applicant states that some kids are picked up and some are dropped off in the driveway or along North Caucus Way. Opposed hours of operation are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The hours of operation should not extend beyond this time period. Any extension of these hours would require a modification to the conditional use permit. The specific use standards require all outdoor play areas to be completely enclosed by a minimum of a six foot tall non-scalable fence to secure against exit entry of small children to the abutting properties and streets. The applicant meets these standards with a six foot tall solid wood fence existing along the side and rear yards. We have received written testimony from five neighbors with concerns about traffic, safety, declining property values, the structural integrity of the fence, and the proximity of the daycare to a registered sex offender. City staff would like to note that the applicant is required to do a background check, receive applicable permits from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and Idaho STARS. So staff is recommending approval of this application, and I'll stand for any questions that you have.

Would the applicant like to come forward? If you can go to the microphone, please. And just state your name and address for the record.

My name is Elizabeth Barubira, and my address is 1247 North Carcaso Way, Meridian.

Okay. Would you like to add anything else that Nick had to say for your application for your daycare? So one of the questions that had come up of the written testimony was in regard to your pets and your fence. Have you and your family addressed the fencing area of your home so that it would be a safe place for the kids?

Yes.

So has the fence been fixed?

Yeah.

And do the dogs get out anymore or no? They don't. They don't. Okay. Madam Chair? Commissioner Smith?

Yeah, just I guess for some specifics, do you recall when the dogs last got out? How long has it been since they got out?

Huh?

Just for my understanding, do you remember what time it was or when the dogs got out last?

It was before we fixed the gate.

Okay. Was that this year, last year?

This year.

This year? Okay. Okay. Thank you.

Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, do we have anyone signed up to testify? Madam Chair, no one has signed up. Did you want anything else to add or are you good? You're good. Okay. Can I get a motion to close the public hearing?

So moved. Second.

It's been moved and second to close the public hearing for Elizabeth Child Care. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. I think it's important to note what our role in um approving or not approving elizabeth child care we are here as a commission based on our unified development code how it fits into our future land use map and based on the staff report there currently is a daycare there now. It looks like you would just like to expand the number of children that you would have. And it was also like had Nick had mentioned, it will go through a thorough background with health and welfare, with STARS, probably police and fire to make sure that the property is adequate for the children. So with that in mind, and knowing those things, that there currently is a daycare here, I'm in favor of supporting this, and that if there are any challenges to the actual operation of the daycare, that those would be taken care of by the appropriate agencies.

Madam Chair? Madam Chair?

Mr. Smith.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think, you know, whether I guess for the presence of dogs and the appropriateness of children in the location, those aren't under our purview. Our purview is the land use. And I think that this application is fine to me from a land use perspective. The only thing that I would consider since it's been recent that the dogs got out, I have two large dogs in our previous residence. We had a wood fence. And despite my best attempts, when you throw 90 pounds of dog that really wants to get out of a wooden fence, okay um it's real hard to hold them in and so i think one thing that i would be interested in um if even just giving the the neighbors a little bit more peace of mind is including a condition that the applicant maintain the fence in good repair um just so that there is a mechanism of if that fence isn't taken care of and if the dogs are able to get out consistently there's some way that we can ensure that hey if this is a problem that we the city can address it That's the only thing that I think is maybe worth including. But beyond that, I think the other concerns, while valid, will be addressed by other agencies. And it'll be considered under their purview where they have much more expertise and knowledge on the subject.

Madam Chair. Commissioner Perot. So we've heard multiple applications similar to this. And one, we went into great detail and length about when vehicles are coming and dropping off. And there was some public testimony with concerns about having 12 vehicles or one vehicle per child arriving at the house. And most likely that's not going to be the case. And it's uncommon for everyone to come drop the children off at the same time. So we actually in the past had had an applicant who kept track of the times that the parents would come and go. And it wasn't very common that there was more than two cars with families there to pick up children at a time. They just come at different times and leave at different times. So I just wanted to mention that to members of the public who had concerns about that. We've done this before. Every daycare is different, of course, but it's just not that common to have all the parents show up at the same time and all the parents leave at the same time.

Agree.

Madam Chair, I echo my fellow commissioners and your sentiments as a former case manager who has provided case management services to families, and one in particular that I remember who did also run a daycare out of her home, you know, it is doable, and she was also, her and her residents were in a very busy neighborhood, so there's nothing more else I can add.

Okay. Madam Chair, I'm sorry. Did we ask whether others in the room or online were going to testify? Did I miss that?

I did ask the city clerk if there was anyone to testify, and she said no. Okay.

Madam Chair, just for the record, if we want to clarify and make sure nobody else in the room wants to testify. Was there anybody in the room?

Yeah. You want to come up? Yes. Would you like to come up, please? Oh, I have to reopen the public hearing. Sorry about that. Commissioner Smith.

I'd like to move to reopen the public hearing.

It's been moved and seconded to reopen the public hearing for public testimony. Sorry about that. Would you like to come forward?

You need to vote.

You need to vote?

You're all confusing me.

No, you're fine. That's right. It's been moved and seconded to reopen the public hearing. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? motion carries. All right. Now, thank you. Sorry about that. Ma'am, would you like to come up to speak? Thank you for catching that. If you can state your name and address for the record, please.

Deborah McKnight, 3578 East Congressional Drive. And I did send a motion in or a note in. My concern, for the most part, is the gentleman that lives four houses down the street. The registered pedophile, he was arrested a couple years ago, spent 254 days in jail. He will be on the sex alert registry for 10 more years. I see him frequently in his front yard. And from his front yard, he can see that house. I drove past the day that he was arrested, and I know his neighbors. I know one of his neighbors has commented. These are lovely people. And I was never aware that they had even six children staying there. I wave at them every time I drive past because they are very kind and loving neighbors. But for the next 10 years, even the slightest chance that he might reoffend would absolutely crush my heart. I am a survivor of this, and that is my concern. I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you for your testimony. I know it's hard to get up in front of a bunch of people.

It is.

Thank you for letting us know, and we will take that under consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

One other question, but when I comment.

Yes.

What other agencies actually look into this? Is it Department of Corrections, or?

NEC, do you have any insight on that?

yeah madam chair uh deborah nice to meet you um so the department idaho department of health and welfare does a background check on the actual applicants so the ones that will be actually having the daycare in their home our fire department also does have an inspection for health and life safety so they do go in and inspect the home idaho stars which is a state program for daycares requires that they have a permit with the local jurisdiction. They have permitting with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and they also do conduct their own inspection as well. As far as the Department of Corrections, I do not believe that they're involved in any form with daycares, but the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is the primary agency that really does do the background checks and safety for the children, and they do do periodic stop-bys at houses unannounced.

um to make sure that you know there's no one in the home that shouldn't be in the home and that the home is safe for the children that's correct okay are the children allowed to leave the property like go for day walks or anything like that so they're in the house the whole time that they're there in the daycare center or the or the gated backyard so they can go outside that's at least And like I said, I wave at this family. They are lovely people. If that individual wasn't living four houses down the road, I would have never come today. I would have said yes. But like I said, I am a survivor of this. And I hope to God that he lives his sentence and doesn't reoffend.

I agree. Thank you very much. Is there anybody else in chambers that would like to speak? And again, I apologize for not including that at the beginning. Anybody on Zoom?

I'm sure there's one person on Zoom. They are not raising their hand.

All right. May I get a motion to close the public hearing?

Second.

It's been moved and second to close the public hearing. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Even with testimony tonight, again, our role is to make sure that the building fits our code and it would be health and welfare and the STARS accreditation program that would take care of any other possible infractions or neighbors or making sure that the daycare is to be where it should be. It currently is a daycare and being on a corner property, it is required. I do believe that the children must be in the backyard in a fenced area. So it would, there would never be anything outside. Does anybody else have any other comments before I make a motion? After considering all staff and applicant and public testimony, I moved to approve file number H2026-0032 as presented the staff report for the hearing date of July 16th, 2026 with one modification, which is to maintain the fence and make sure it's in good repair out of courtesy of the neighborhood and the children.

Second.

It's been moved and second to approve file number H2026-0032, Elizabeth Day Care. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. All right, let's see if I can do the next one correctly. Actually, the next three are all similar, but we are actually gonna open each one individually since they have their own application numbers. The next item is H2026-0040 for a tier two Taco Bell drive-through at the district in Meridian. And we will start with the staff report.

thank you madam chair members of the commission i'm here to present the next three conditional use permits as you mentioned they are all within the same development so a lot of the information that i provide to you will be repetitive in nature. And all three of these drive-thrus are also in close proximity to one another as well. So the first one we'll kick off tonight is the Taco Bell at 10 Mile. The site consists of 0.80 of an acre of land, currently zoned CG, and is located at 3272 West Grand Mogul, PB, Jorge Boone. : road or drive and you can see here on the zoning map where it's highlighted on her current comprehend current future land use map designation is commercial. PB, Jorge Boone. : And again here's the aerial the applicant or the development is currently under the subdivision or improvement phases so currently there's a some construction activity occurring on the site, as we speak. The applicant has submitted a conditional use permit for a Tier 2 drive-through, as you mentioned, with a restaurant. So, as you all know, restaurants are permitted uses in the CG zoning district. The only reason why we're here this evening is to discuss the Tier 2 drive-through, which requires a conditional use permit. I also mentioned to the commission that this application or at least a larger district application was in front of you in 2023 in which you guys approved a future land use map designation to commercial and a concept plan that governs this site. The concept plan that you acted on or the city council approved and what you kind of see this evening is a little bit different than the previous versions, but it's still consistent with their overall development plan. So the building itself is approximately 2,000 square feet. It has 26 parking spaces and then all the associated landscaping, which is on the site. You can see that the applicant has adequate stacking. It does currently, as shown, it's depicting nine vehicles The current standards require six vehicles per stacking lane, so this does exceed UDC standards and restaurants require parking spaces one per 250 square feet of gross floor area and the applicant is providing 26 parking spaces to well in excess of UDC standards. Here's the proposed landscape plan. Staff did note some deficiencies in the staff report with what was being proposed here. I think it's just probably mislabeled on the site plan, if I'm being honest with you. I think their site plan missed the landscaping in front of the 10-foot multi-use pathway. So the site plan, at least in the staff report, staff added a condition of approval that they needed to pick the 35-foot landscape buffer along 10-mile road. You can see here they're measuring kind of from the front edge of the sidewalk along 10 mile and didn't exclude this area between the multi-use pathway and the future curb that will be constructed with the subdivision improvements. So really doesn't really impact the site plan is where I'm getting at with that. Here's the site circulation plan that was tied to the proposed development. And that's why I said the site plans changed a little bit. This is the layout that was modified slightly. You can see here this is the general location of where the Taco Bell will be situated on the site. And the applicant, this is where the pathway will come in, head north. and then tie into that Taco Bell site consistent with that plan. You see that here. And you see the sidewalk where it comes up along the western edge here and ties in to the larger parking lot to the east. So technically, we have a condition. They need to comply with the pedestrian circulation plan. They are. But just wanted to point that out as we talk about the other two drive-thrus as well because that was an important component that was approved with the district project. So I think that's important for the commission to understand that. The other interesting fact about the district project is they had design standards approved with their development as part of their development agreement. So essentially all of the building elevations go through their design review committee and they submit a letter with their application. And so essentially the elevations that you see for all three applications tonight have been fully vetted through their design review committee and been approved. So we do have their letters. had a chance to look at the public record this evening there was no public testimony on this item again the site meets the parking requirements it complies with the drive-through standards and staff is recommending approval stand for any questions would the applicant like to come forward madam chair

Commissioner perot.

I'm Bill. I have a general question. I don't know if you can answer this or not. But it's my understanding, just talking about traffic and circulation. And this area generally is very complicated. It's my understanding that there's going to be a road that will connect from the Brighton development on the east to this development on the west underneath a 10 mile bridge. Is that correct?

madam chair members of the commission that is correct that would be called navigator well navigator will be extended but that will be with the future phase of the district project but that is part of that overall approval okay thank you in the future hi if you'd like to state your name and address for the record hi

My name is Julie Benintendi. I'm with BRS Architects, 10148 West Emerald Street, Boise, 837004. Thank you. Just moved. Thank you so much, members of the commission and staff, for reviewing our project. Really appreciate your time. Thank you, staff, for the feedback you gave us. it helped us work a few things out and we look forward to our project going in at the district um like they said before our cup is requesting approval for the tier 2 drive-through and i'm glad to hear that we went you know it was always a great thing to work with staff and have a successful project so i don't feel like there's much more i can add but i'd be happy to stand here for any questions

So the one issue of approval that they wanted to verify was the need to show that 35-foot landscape buffer on 10 Mile. Yes. So you already have a plan for that. It just wasn't shown on the display. Is that correct?

So the 35 feet, I was confused by that. Is it 35 feet? Because we showed the easement that's there. Sorry.

Yeah, so Madam Chair, members of the Commission, so here's their property line here. And so from that measurement, to their curb is 28 or 27 feet. But I think the applicant's working with ACHD for landscaping in the long 10-mile, and their final plot that was approved showed trees in a parkway. So this 10-foot multi-use pathway or sidewalk that's a long 10-mile is actually detached from the roadway. So there will be an opportunity, and there is an approved landscape plan that shows trees and landscaping in this area here. So I think when you add that back into the... The plan, as it should be, it should meet the 35-foot required landscape buffer. So, again, we just want to make sure the applicant verifies that with the developer before they get final approval.

Okay. Yeah, we can add that dimension in.

Right. So there's the landscape strip and then the 10-foot multi-use pathway. Yes. And then there's more landscaping up to the edge of your drive-through. Yes. So what's not displayed here is the one that's adjacent to 10 miles.

Correct. And our landscape plan does show.

Yeah, you have it. Yeah, you show it in the landscape plan. You just don't show it dimension properly on your site plan. So just wanted to note that for the record.

Yeah, it was in the staff report. So I just wanted to verify again. Commissioners, do we have any questions for the applicant? Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, do we have anybody signed up to testify? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Yes, we have George Gracia.

Hi, if you can state your name and address for the record, please.

All right, it's Jorge Gracia at 2919 West Candace Court in Meridian, Idaho, 83642. I like the plans that you guys have showed. My biggest frustration as a... community member. I mean, I've lived here for eight years. You're going to have Karcher problems on 10 mile. I mean, that's going to be ripped up. I mean, you got one lane or one light controlling all 84. I mean, I got videos of traffic stopped blocking on and off ramps. I mean, I drive North and I have to be in the right lane to, all the way to make a right into my subdivision off a cherry. So that's just a frustration as a homeowner. That's my biggest thing. I mean, the egress that they're showing, you're going to end up having to do intermittent domain, taking that out if they have to redo 10 mile at all. I mean, you got canals, you got irrigation, you got the south side that is also a major concern because you're not going to be able to have EGLE ROAD EXIT THERE AT ALL. I MEAN, IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE WITH THAT MUCH DIRT. I THINK THAT'S MY BIGGEST THING. I WAS SIGNED UP FOR ALL THREE. I JUST HOPE YOU GUYS TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. I MEAN, I'M 32, THIS IS MY FIRST MEETING, AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT ARE WE DOING?

I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN. I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, The lanes they're in now are great for current development, but ever since Shields went in, it's been a nightmare. People in the left lane going to the right, the people in the right lane coming off the freeway just shoving their way over to the right lane. So that's my biggest, as a concerned citizen, I mean, you guys are going to have a mess on your hands. I mean, it's great. I love the development. It's phenomenal, but this is a nightmare.

All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk? Thank you, Madam Chair. No one else has signed up, and no one is attending online.

Is there anybody else in chambers that would like to speak on this? Julie, did you have anything else to add? May I get a motion to close the public hearing?

So moved. Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing for Taco Bell, item number H2026-0040. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Jorge, let me just say this part of it, and the city planners can chime in. What we're approving tonight is a development that has been approved for years. So the 10-mile crossing and the district, as far as work, play, live, combination of housing, commercial, office, and residential, and the way 10 Mile is set up was approved years ago. And as far as the roads are concerned, we expect a tremendous amount of relief next spring when Highway 16 kicks in, because now you've got another north-south way to move cars. We are currently as a city working on the Linder Overpass, which has the city of Britain has contributed to that project, I believe with ACHD. And I think the only thing they have left to do is to actually build the bridge, both ramps are done. And that is also another north-south way to be able to move people across. 10 miles always gonna be busy, period. And as we continue to put new businesses in, as you said, we're here to approve up to three applications for drive-thru restaurants. Hundreds of houses are going to go into the district. But there's also east-west access through Vanguard all the way to Black Cat. And then of course, Overland also kind of relieves that as well. So to change the infrastructure of 10 Mile is not what we're deciding tonight. Tonight we're deciding whether or not Taco Bell fits the qualifications of being in a commercial district of the district that was approved years ago. So I'm sorry to say that your public testimony is definitely noted. And transportation is a huge concern for the city. Although the city is not in charge of transportation, it goes through ACHD and ITD, which we work closely with. But unfortunately, we're not the decision makers. So with that in mind, in regard to this application of Taco Bell being inside the district and as a standalone restaurant, fulfilling the need of the parking spaces and the tier two. And Julie mentioned that they're gonna take care of all the landscaping requirements as noted in the staff report, I see no problems with this use in the district at this time.

Madam Chair. Commissioner Perot. I feel your pain. I live at 10 Mile and Cherry and I drive this nightmare every day. It's unfortunate that the Highway District and ACHD did not require extended turn lanes to the right and to the left in this area. It's very, very congested all the way back into the interstate. So I understand where you're coming from. As a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, my decision has to be, one, just as the chair stated, are they meeting code? Are they staying within the original development agreement? And so when we get a development agreement, we get a concept plan. We don't know what individual businesses are going to go in there. And then modifications are made after the fact. When we did, I remember this development application very well. And I don't remember us intending for there to be as many drive throughs as have been proposed. But so at the time that the decision was made for this project, there was no way for those decision makers to know what kind of businesses were going to go in there. I think that these kind of drive-throughs are going to bring more vehicles through this area in general than a standalone restaurant would, in my experience. But at the same time, if the applicant meets the requirements, then all we can do is ask them to make some adjustments if we find that there's going to be significant issues. with congestion and there have been some restaurants and some fast food places and drive-thrus that cause a lot of congestion just because of what they are. And when we have consideration of those, we address those kind of differently. I don't know that Taco Bell is really known to be kind of that high traffic kind of location. And so all of that is taken into account when we make the decision. So just wanted to reassure you of that. Yep, I understand. But at the same time, I feel like the applicant has met whatever requirements have been requested and requirements that are in code and what the staff has recommended, so.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Delsimino.

I also share your pain. I used to live in an apartment off of 10 Mile and Pine. And even though I no longer live there, bought a home in the heart of Meridian, I still take that route to go visit my family in Nampa. So absolutely share your pain. I'll Among the other comments that have been made, I will say there is a silver lining that this is not the only Taco Bell in the four mile radius. And so we at least don't have to have the higher concern that it's the only one and everybody wants to be there. So as my fellow Commissioner Perot mentioned, you know, One of our among our responsibilities is does this make sense, are they in alignment with code and within the guidelines and, and so that is, that is our. Our our our goal is to make sure that they are within those guidelines.

i'm sure.

Michelle Smith.

yeah I just um. i uh took a look at the achd master street map uh and the the integrated five-year work plan and i also want to know and we've talked about um linda overpass yes highway 16 all these things there is a good amount of work you know another a larger priority in the near term is in you know maybe meridian locust grove or kind of the main problem corridors but i i do want to know there's also some work around the area to hopefully give some relief uh and reduce usage of 10 mile as the main corridor in that area um again north south is transit is is difficult in meridian it's the way that it's set up is you know the orientation of the town is very much easier to plan for east west uh transit the north south so that this is a difficult issue i i don't think there's anything the applicant is a you know this is a more of a city planning achd planning level um i think as far as this application uh goes i'm in support um and i think that stands for the the following applications uh not to cross kind of just getting some some larger thoughts out of the way on this application so i don't repeat myself in later ones um the only thing that does give me maybe not some not pause but uh principally i'm i'm always a little bit um if he is just as much as under parking can be an issue over parking can be an issue These projects aren't large enough to be able to do anything meaningful with those other extra parking spots. So I'm okay with it here. That's something that I generally am always a little bit concerned about if we're prioritizing too much parking for other valuable uses. But I don't think there's anything that developers could be doing in this, any other alternative uses in these instances. So I'm in support. I just wanted to kind of get that out of the way for this and for the following applications on those specific issues as well.

Yeah. The other thing I appreciate about when city planners developed us is that they always have like a secret special way. Everything's connected. So if 10 miles not working for you, there's always kind of a way to kind of weave yourself in other directions. I'm not going to tell you what those secret special ways, because then I would be giving away all my secrets, but, but yeah, You know, connectivity and cross parking access and being able to kind of maneuver in different ways as opposed to just the arterial roads is also something that city planners look at. It's just hard when you approve something in, you know, 2022, 2023, and now it's 2026 and it comes. you know, now that the market bears an opportunity to build a restaurant and everything literally is under construction in the city of Meridian, it just feels like it's a little bit more constricted than it eventually will be. So with that in mind, after considering all staff, applicant, and public testimony, I move to approve file number H-2026-0040 as presented in the staff report for the hearing date of July 16, 2026, with no modifications.

Second. Second.

It's been moved and second to approve Taco Bell. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. The next application before us is also a tier two drive-through from Alquist Development in the district. And we will start with the staff report.

Mayor Mrakas, Thank you, Madam chair members of the Commission, this is the second one in this general location, the site consists of 1.1 acres of land so and CG as well and it's located at 3318 West grand mogul drive, so this is district building number one drive through in this location and the next application will pertain to this site. I think you've already heard the history here concept plan approved back in 2023 this again slight modifications, this was one of those modifications that was approved at the staff level and it's consistent with that overall concept plan for the district. This particular site plan consists of a building that is about 5200 square feet and it has 51 parking spaces and the associated parking. you can see here the applicant has shown at least six vehicles that are able to stack on the site but the actual ordering menu is located on the west side of the building so in essence they could probably stack two to three more vehicles there so they can again accommodate more than what's required by the ordinance so the drive-through also includes the escape lane per udc standard so What they're showing here, this building here, if I'm not mistaken, will also be a multi-tenant building. So there will be another tenant in this one. That's why you probably see a larger site and more parking associated with it. We do know that the tenant is a restaurant, so that's why we're in front of you for the Tier 2 and then applying the higher parking standards to make sure that it can be adequately parked and the site does meet all the UDC standards as well. Here's the landscape plan. Again, along the south side of the site are some road improvements along West Grand Mogul Drive. Those are required to be completed prior to occupancy of this building. The applicant again is working on those improvements as we speak. Here's the site circulation plan that I discussed earlier in the previous application. Again, here's where that walkway will come in and connect into that building. You see it delineated in this location. The developer still controls the adjacent lot and you can see how wide kind of see the grayed out area where you that pedestrian walkway will come up through that wider landscape area and tie into that site with a future development application. Staff has already met with the tenant of that particular lot or potentially the owner of that lot and we know it's more likely going to be a bank on that site with a drive-thru. So another drive-thru next to this one, but as you remember, tier one drive-thrus do not come before you. They are staff level approval. Here again, here are the elevations that were approved by the district's design review committee. And we did receive a letter as well. This application does not have any Public testimony either also wanted to know that there is a condition of approval that the applicant work with staff on alternative compliance looks like they're missing a few trees on the site so again, that would be a staff level application that they would need to apply. concurrent with their ccc design review application and then we can help adjust and plant those trees elsewhere on the site to minimize the conflicts with the underground utilities again staff is recommending approval and i'll stand for any questions you may have.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Perot.

So we've had a lot of conversations recently about tier two versus tier three and how do we make that decision. And it's my understanding from our local media that there may be an in and out application down here. And I understand the applicant's desire to not go into the tenant because that isn't ultimately part of our decision. However, part of our decision is traffic management. And so i'd like to know if either one of these applications will have a restaurant use that brings heavy traffic like that. So that we can make that decision about the tier two and tier three.

madam chair members of the commission i i only know one tenant i don't know the other one i'll probably let the applicant share that information with you as they have their chance to discuss the application before you this evening so i'll let them go into that but neither one of these tenants that i'm aware of will be the tier three they are tier two

And correct me if I'm wrong, Bill, but if a high-volume, whether it's a drive-through or restaurant, applies, it would be done at the planning level on what tier it would be. Just because they want it doesn't mean they get it, correct?

Madam Chair, members of the Commission, That's correct, I mean you still have a purview to look at to make sure everything flows and circulates correctly and as we've discussed in our last meeting, If they want to increase from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3 that requires another conditional use permit before you, you then become the recommending body, and it would go on to City Council for that approval. I don't, again, whether it's this site or the next one that we talk about, they're not large enough to accommodate dual drive-through lanes and double pickup windows and all of those things. I don't ever see them being converted. They will more than likely either remain Tier 2 or downgrade to Tier 1, if I had to guess.

Okay, yeah, we're still getting used to the three tiers since it's relatively new for us for 2026. Would the applicant like to come forward, please? Good evening, if you can state your name and address for the record.

Absolutely. Good evening, Madam President, Commissioners, Ryan Cutler, Chief Development Officer for Allquist Development. My address is 1144 South Silverstone Way here in Meridian. Thanks for having us tonight. I know you're going through a lot of stuff that's a part of our developments. We appreciate you doing that. Can I just say something real quick? As I drove in, I got really excited driving across the street, past the site there across the street. We're really excited to be working with the Meridian team on helping get rid of the eyesore across the street. We're really excited about the opportunities there. So thanks for letting us be a part of the city and working with staff on that. That's not what we're here to talk about. But I got excited about that when I drove past it again and just wanted to say congrats to Julie and the Taco Bell team. I think they might be one of the first tier two drive through applications has happened. So I don't know if they get like a plaque or something. That'd be really cool, though, for them to get that. There are lots of questions that I could have been thrown out that I can answer just kind of help overall as the master developer out here on this site. Madam President, I appreciate your knowledge on the site, both transportation related and site related. That's kind of helped answer some of those questions. as you know decisions for the site were made you know years ago and we're kind of catching up to the the needs of the city at this point in time um to point out one quick item yes navigator lane uh will connect uh commissioner underneath the freeway at the timing of our phase three of the district. That is in process right now, but those things will be coming in front of you relatively soon. But as a part of that, that will be a public roadway that connects to the other public roadway on the other side of 10 Mile We'll continue to work with ACHD on the classification of that roadway to make sure that that connection happens. That's in addition to some of the connections that you refer to, getting us out to Franklin or taking Grand Mogul Road through, or Grand Mogul Lane through the site to Black Cat, which is another way that individuals not trying to give out your secret ways to do that.

You know, you're giving away all my secrets.

But those are things that the foresight has been going into and the thought process has gone into to allow for some of the congestion to not be as congested. And to your point, Highway 16, I think we're all ready for that to be done because I think there's going to be a lot of advantages for 10 mile and those north-south roads that are a little bit gummed up now. to take those other roads for opportunity. And Jorge, I appreciate your testimony. We see it as a developer. Early on in this process, we worked with ITD and ACHD utilizing the traffic impact studies that need to be done there. And then as we go through the process, we're still working with them for signal analysis at Black Cat, right turn analysis inside the development that will continue to help traffic flow. The last thing we want is a development that's gummed up from traffic because nobody then wants to go there. And that goes against what... what we're trying to do out there so i just really appreciate um again your staff uh here at the city uh and then working with achd and itd on all of the things that have been planned for years in this area uh and we're all these things will help bring this uh to a very um successful project um i don't know bill if i'm the one that moves this or if you move on to the next slide can i move it okay oops Yeah, that would be helpful. I guess I'm just re-looking at your plan. Sorry about that, Bill. very similar to the presentation that has happened previous to us. Obviously, as stated by you, Madam President, these condition use permits for Tier 1, 2, and 3 are newish to the city. We appreciate the ability to kind of walk through, and it does allow us to get a little more forward thinking on our buildings and their layout, both from a parking standpoint, from a stacking standpoint, and how that relates to the remainder of the site is something that's very valuable to us. to kind of discuss further what Bill was talking about. And Commissioner, you had a question also about maybe a larger tenant that has a lot of stacking at their drive-through. Both of these sites that we're talking about tonight is not that user. These are definitely tier two users. I can tell you that we are in deep discussions with MoBetas and with, I got to think of the other one at the moment. We've got a lot going out there as one of those areas there. And then I wanted to say needers, but it's not needers. There's another tier two user that will be in these multi-tenant buildings out there. So that's why you see an abundance of parking on these sites is because they are multi-tenant buildings. One user without a drive-thru, one user with a drive-thru. And Panera is the user I was trying to fit in. Very similar, sorry about that. Panera is the other user. So they are very, not to speak negatively, but very average queuing links on those sites. That's why they are tier two. And to Bill's point, to move them from a tier two to a tier three based on the parcel that we're selling them, it would be very challenging. It would have to go the other direction. So I appreciate Bill pointing that out. We don't need to see me on there for sure. Sure. Again, we've kind of belabored some of this stuff, and so I don't want to go into this. I appreciate staff, as they mentioned in their staff report. There's never really super ideal locations when it comes to large-scale commercial developments outside of those near already signalized intersections near a freeway that have easy access, which is what we're discussing tonight. So if you're looking for a location that is readily available for these types of things, this is the type of site that we're looking at. That's why the Future Land Use Map indicates that this is the appropriate place for commercial development to happen. as indicated in the staff report, the proposed uses of restaurant with drive-through aligns with the desired use specified within the commercial designation in the comprehensive plan. So we are in the right spot. Yes, there is an overabundance of drive-through, but since 2020 and COVID, It's kind of the life we live. The drive-thru became very popular. The pull up and park and get food became very popular. We're not going away from that. And so we're trying to accommodate them the best we can by appropriate parcel sizes, appropriate access, and continue to work with the local networks to make sure that we can do the best we can with traffic. We've already talked about the tier two stuff and why we're here for that tier two. So I will just talk about our site plan real briefly for our first one. As indicated by staff on this project here, we are meeting all of the standards from a parking standpoint. And then also from a stacking standpoint of the site, this site actually is required to meet the six-car standard. We have the ability to stack 12 cars in this, so we're above and beyond the standard. And we look at that as a positive from our side because Again, we do not want stacking or challenges that go out into the roadway that would inhibit people from freely navigating the site. And so when we look at our parcels and the people and the tenants that we're going to bring in, we tend to over stack our sites. for the reason that we're discussing tonight, to not have challenges that way. That's why you'll see a pickup window on one side and an order window on the opposite side, so we can have additional stacking in that location. And then also having the escape lane with that, so that allows for free-flowing traffic there. Really, at this point in time, I would stand for any questions that you might have about this particular application before we move on to the second one. And in general, anything about the development that you have concerns about, I'm happy to, I live and breathe this every day. So I'm happy to answer that for you.

Commissioner, commissioner Perot. So, um, as you know, when these development applications are done with their concept plans, a lot of times the traffic studies are three or four years old. So we may hear a development application in 2023 with the traffic studies from 2019. So that's many years ago. One of my big bones to pick with the transportation entities in this valley. so has there been any more recent studies done on how now that we kind of know some of the users you know you have a a bit more of a a solid idea of what's going to happen i know that there hasn't been a requirement to do this but has there been any more studies done besides what achd is doing that kind of shows the flow and how this will work i assume that the that the owners um of these companies want to make sure as you said that traffic is going to flow through there and they're in aren't deterrents. Right now, as things are currently, if you get off of 10 Mile and you will almost immediately stop while people are trying to make a right onto Vanguard because there's a very short right turn lane. I've been rear-ended there myself. And if we have this navigator street that's coming, from underneath instead of folks turning left onto Grand Mogul or Cobalt, they're going to make a right and they're going to go under the bridge. And so I'm just curious if there's been more time and thought kind of put into how all this is going to flow. The circulation plan was only specific to this one little section, which is understandable. I just want to know if there's been a bigger picture kind of assessment more recently.

Yeah. Madam President, Commissioner Perot, thank you for those questions. The short answer is yes. And I think to give the transportation agency a little bit of credit back then, even though they wouldn't really know what's happening right now, is they did put in the staff report some conditions of approval that stacked when we got to a certain point in our development. So, for example, a signal analysis, we just completed a signal analysis at Black Cat and we'll have to continue to do that as we go through and as certain phases of our project will help indicate what's the appropriate timing for additional things to happen on Black Cat. We did make that connection as a part of this development there to go out to Black Cat, and then there is an additional development in the future that will go out to Franklin, which will help relieve some of that from the backside, hopefully pull some of that off of 10 Mile. As you're aware, ACHD requires each individual user out there on the site to pay an impact fee, and that's for future impact, future development. future studies to see at what point in time it's appropriate to use those funds to improve the network within ACHD. I know we're paying a healthy amount of impact fees in that situation. I know our main user out there at Target played a very healthy impact fee already, and that is intended for the local highway district to continue to make improvements within the area where this development is. We recognize there's frustration with traffic in the area. We see it. We understand that our office is at Eagle Road and the freeway. We understand that there's challenges at that location. And what we do as we work with staff, and you saw a little portion of this from a circulation standpoint, that circulation actually is for the entire site, all the way up to where the Target is, across Grand Mogul, down to where Vanguard Village is and all those short plats. And phase three will also be a part of that circulation plan, not only from a pedestrian standpoint, but from a vehicular standpoint. And I can tell you right now, Lifetime Fitness has already had to do a right turn analysis for their site there to help traffic flow internally on the site. We're also having to do that with a couple of other buildings on our Vanguard Village. And as phase three comes in, there are other tiers and things that trigger improvements that are required to be looked at in the area. So, sorry, that was a really long way of saying, yes, we feel like we're doing the best we can with the situation we have to improve not only circulation on the site, but getting vehicles to different locations off the site and spreading them out appropriately to where they're not all just coming out onto 10 mile. And that's our responsibility as a developer. And it's prudent for us to do that, to have a successful development, because the last thing we want is nobody to want to go to 10 Mile and not go to our development. So it's in our best interest to continue to work through that with ACHD. We hope that ACHD, as the local agency there, will continue to utilize funds that we're paying as a developer appropriately to make improvements in the area to help out this situation.

All right. Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

We're going to handle each application separately. So we're just going to work on this one first, item number 33. So we'll probably have you come up for the next one at the time. Madam Clerk, do we have anybody signed up to testify?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, we have Jorge Gracia.

Jorge, did you want to speak again? OK. Again, if you can state your name and address for the record, treat each application individually.

Okay, it's Jorge Gracia, 2919 West Candace. Thank you for all the information you guys have given me. It's kind of my first rodeo here. That's fine. To say the least. My biggest thing would be, like you mentioned, In-N-Out coming in. Do you guys have like a certain tier of what you're going to allow? So do you stop... permits coming in early versus when you know a big one's coming in like if that's you are allowing that permit to come in you have to allocate say so many tier threes tier twos drive-throughs all in one area and if there's going to be a bunch of tier one drive-throughs Is that going unchecked? Like that's a big issue. I mean, that's it. I mean, as it is, I mean, a lot of those you pull in and even the ones on the right, they're really congested. I don't stop at most of them unless it's something I really want. Right. So, I mean, I hope that they watch it a little bit better. Um, cause I mean, like I said, it's great. I love development. This needs to be like, that's you guys are watching it. I'm glad you guys are doing your job, but it's what checks certain balances. Are you guys doing there? I know ADH County gave the road report for 10 mile was an F. So that one was recent. And with that one. This was all approved in 2020. Well, Shields got put in how fast? So that was on the right, and you're on the left. So you kind of got both traffic congested. I mean, it's going to be great. It's going to be a phenomenal place. It's just these permits got to just keep them in check. Right.

I think 10 Mile got an F because of all the construction in the area with Highway 16 not being done, with Linder not being done, and people are filtered into 10 Mile whether you like it or not.

Yes.

And as far as the development is concerned, on the master plan for the district, they have a certain number of pads available based on their volume. So certain areas will be designated as office space. Certain areas are designated as drive-through. And as Ryan mentioned, having those accessible near a freeway so people can pop on and pop off is important. And the last thing any business wants to do is make their potential customers upset because of traffic. So they're going to do whatever they can to make it great. But if everybody decides to go to, you know, Chick-fil-A at the same time, there's going to be certain hours of the day that there's just going to be congestion. So... HAVING DEVELOPERS WORK WITH THOSE IMPACT FEES AND ACHD WILL CONTINUE TO ALLEVIATE IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO GET A LITTLE BIT WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE CONSTRUCTION IS MOVING IN THE CITY OF MERIDIAN BUT REST ASSURE THAT THE THE CITY PLANNERS ARE VERY THOUGHTFUL OF AND WITH THE DEVELOPERS TO BE ABLE TO BRING THESE SERVICES TO MERIDIAN AND I THINK IN THE LONG RUN YOU WILL FIND THAT IT WILL WORK ITSELF OUT AND THERE'S MANY CHECKS AND BALANCES FOR THAT ALL RIGHT

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, is there anyone else in chamber, or is there anybody else in chambers that would like to testify? Anybody on Zoom?

Madam Chair, no one else is on Zoom.

Ryan, would you like to make any other additional comments in regard to this application specifically?

Yeah, just real brief comments. tier one, tier two, tier three. It's put in place for a reason with staff. I mean, staff's grilling me all day, every day. They're doing a great job of doing that. So kind of just wanted to respond to Jorge and his thought process there. Our hope is that, you know, at 10 Mile where there's more options that are going to be involved, including this application here, that maybe you'll get some of that traffic that will spread in different directions instead of going to one location, which makes it seem like it's always really crowded there. But to your point, If Chick-fil-A would stop making great chicken, people would stop going there, right? So that's just kind of how it goes. So just appreciate his comments about traffic, and we'll continue to work with staff. The other thing I want to point out, a Tier 3, and again, it's not specifically about this, but it relates to this. When there's a Tier 3 drive-thru, the requirements that are there for a Tier 3 drive-thru require a different type of pad to be utilized for that user. You could not fit a tier three drive-through on a pad like this. And so when we look at users on the site that are a potential tier three, our requirement there is to make sure that they have to purchase a big enough parcel to keep their queuing on site. And that's our responsibility as a developer. So I think that's part of the checks and balances of a one, two, and a three is we need to come back to you on those big ones to make sure that you're comfortable with what they're doing. Tier one staff does a great job of vetting those things.

All right, thank you very much. And, Jorge, when it comes to Tier 3, that not only comes through here at Planning and Zoning, but it does go through Meridian City Council. So there's an extra layer of decision-making from the city to approve a large end user. And we'll see how that looks like in the future. May I get a motion to close the public hearing?

Moved. Seconded.

It's been moved and second to close the public hearing on application H2026-0033. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Commissioner Smith.

Yeah, one thing I also want to add, you know, regarding, you know, it's always kind of weird when these applicants or the applications come in together because they're all separate. And sometimes we can, myself included with the last one, blur the line a little bit between applicants and applications. But it also is important to remember, you know, we treat each application differently. Or, you know, individually. And, you know, if there's a Tier 3 that's coming in down the line, the way that I think the Commission tends to think about it, I think Code kind of and staff thinks about it is, you know, we deal with the application in front of us. And so if a Tier 3 comes down the line in this area, after, say, these applications are potentially approved, well, that's consideration in that future application and that future development. And so if Chick-fil-A wants to come in in six months, Chick-fil-A now has to consider... There are three drive-thrus here. So I think that's also another way that, you know, as we're thinking about it, we can't necessarily reserve kind of capacity from a CUP standpoint or from a commission standpoint because there could potentially be a tier three down the line. I think the onus is on that tier three application to justify that. It's circulation, it's planning, and it's in that application. So I understand that concern. That's a very fair concern. I think, you know, if you look back at the last couple of meetings, I've communicated some concerns about the blurred lines a little bit between some tier twos and tier threes sometimes. As for this application, I think this... I think the way that it's presented, it makes sense as a tier two. I don't know that, you know, the circulation, I don't see any of the, you know, some of the issues that maybe have come up in the past with other applications. So I'm okay with this. I think they're very fair concerns and things to be mindful of as future applications come in, potentially tier threes in this area. But as for this application, I'm in support.

Do you have anything else to add?

Nothing else to add.

With that in mind, after considering all staff and applicant and public testimony, I move to approve file number H2026-0033 as presented in the staff report for the hearing date of July 16th, 2026 with no modifications.

Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to approve file number 33. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. One more time, Bill.

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Commission. Last district drive-through, but not least, I think we'll see a few more out there, is this site consists of 1.22 acres. Again, zone CG, and this one is located at 3249 West Cobalt Drive. So that's the northernmost lot that you see here on your screen. Again, Future Land Use Map designation is commercial. uh this particular site uh plan has a 8200 square foot building it will be multi-tenant as well they are proposing again another tier two drive-through same situation as the last application they show six vehicles which is the minimum required by code and they actually have capacity to stack more if you were to count the area on the south side of the building so although they're showing six they can accommodate more which is again in excess of udc standards I also mentioned the pedestrian circulation plan. So again, the applicant is required to comply with that. The one missing piece on this particular site plan is the applicant is working with staff on figuring out how to bring in that pedestrian connection from the 10 foot sidewalk from 10 mile. So we're trying to figure out how we get that down through the site and into this particular building. But they're working on those plans and That will be worked out prior to issuance of CZC or definitely before building permit is issued for the site. Here's the landscape plan, again, meets UDC standards. Staff did note that there are, again, some conflicts with underground utilities. You can see some of the planter islands are deficient from the required trees, so they will have to go through that alternative compliance application process, just like we discussed on the last application. And again, just orienting you with the pedestrian circulation, vehicular connection is this red line that runs through the site here. So this is really the spine road. that feeds to all of the drive-throughs that we're discussing tonight. I had a chance to look at the public record again and no public comments on the record for this one. Again, staff is recommending approval and I'll stand for any questions you may have.

Brian, would you like to address this application, please?

Yeah, for the record, one more time, Ryan Cutler, Chief Development Officer with Allquist 1144 South Silverstone Way here in Meridian. We're great with all the things that staff have provided here, very similar to our previous one. I don't need to belabor that at all. One thing I did forget to bring up last time as it relates to... traffic internally and on our public roadways. We did just start, we just break ground this last week on the roundabout that you see in that circulation plan that Bill was showing, which will be a big benefit to people using the site and the flow of the site. So that's something that's really exciting. That's anticipated to be completed in October. So before any of this work is completed so that's one element of transportation there uh just to point out as bill talked about on this site this is a multi-tenant user as you see the parking lot there we are uh i'm glad they let mike move up to the to the seats here they made him sit in the back for a while but they moved them up um we are working with mike he's the one that's been evaluating this project for us on that on that uh connection out to the 10 mile pathway in, there's about five or six feet of difference in height there. So we're just working on the appropriate ADA compliance there to make sure it connected, but we'll have that all completed and connected to get our CZC approval there. And then in this instance here, We could stack 11 cars on the site, so that's five more than is required there. So we are providing, again, some extra stacking there to make sure that there's no conflict with other roadways or drive aisles within the area. With that, I'd stand for any questions.

Okay, thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Oh, do you have a question for rain? Not a question. Just, just a thought, if I might, um, heard some kind of a couple of mentions tonight about comparison with busy traffic on Eagle road, um, 10 miles, not set up at state highway standards. The lanes are narrower, the sidewalks are closer and there isn't a big box store anywhere near the intersection of the freeway and Eagle road. And so I think that's what makes this really unique. And I, I, uh, I appreciate you being on top of what is going on with all the different plans that are happening with the circulation. I just hope that I just want to say I hope that the messaging that goes out from your company is, I know it's been positive. I've seen it. I just hope that there is just a lot of accommodation that will be made as the adjustments, you know, as traffic flow is changing in here. I just hope that AllQuest will just be helping members of the public as best they can.

Appreciate it. Oh, sorry. Madam President, Commissioner Perot, thank you. Appreciate that.

All right. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, do we have anyone signed up to testify?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, Jorge Gracia has signed up.

Since we're treating each one as an individual, can you just state your name and address for the record, please?

Jorge Gracia, 2919 West Candace. It looks like a really tight area. all three of those, I guess they're approved, but I mean, I'm, I'm not an expert, but it looks pretty too congested to me. I mean, you got the left side, you got the right side, you got up off of Franklin. This guy, I didn't even realize that was that tiny corner off to the left there. So I think the three of those drive-thrus, I think you should address them all together. Uh, I understand the sizes are appropriate, but that area is really tiny.

So this building that they're suggesting is a multi-tenant building, of which only one of the tenants will have a drive-through. They'll probably be, looking at this picture, I'm seeing at least two more front doors, so there'll be other businesses there as well, which is why there's extensive parking. And... You know, yes and no. I think at any time of mealtime, there may be some congestion, but I think the idea with the developer is to make sure that people stagger in and out of these businesses throughout the day and the evenings so that there's constant flow and movement. The district at 10 Mile and the concept plan was approved in 2023, and this is an approved use for this area. And our job is to make sure that it fits within that approved use. So we really don't comment on who the tenant is. Like, for example, I don't like Thai food, but it doesn't give me the right to say no to Thai food restaurants that come into the area, right? That's not my decision to make. Our decision to make, does it fit with our unified development code and the way this development was and currently it is? Yeah. Any other last comments before?

No, that's it.

Okay. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, do we have anybody else that signed up to testify?

Madam Chair, no one else has signed up and no one is attending online.

Ryan, did you have any final thoughts? You're good. May I get a motion to close the public hearing, please?

So moved.

It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing on application H2026-0039 for a Tier 2 drive-through. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Commissioner Smith.

Yeah, I think I understand the kind of concern about these properties being somewhat close together and trying to visualize the navigation. Honestly, and maybe this is more just, I guess, my personal perspective from my spot in the city, this feels a lot from a user perspective a little bit. kind of how Linder and Chinden is set up a little bit. Right. There's a good amount of restaurants and drive-throughs and it's obviously not the exact same. No corridor, no intersection in our city is exactly comparable. But that's how I'm envisioning a lot of this is there's some proximity, but the uses aren't, you know, one for one overlapping. They're not, you know, massive volume to be concerned about kind of circulation issues. But I understand the concerns. I think, you know, this is a setup that... is somewhat though reflective of other planning and other uses in our city. And so I understand the overall concerns about proximity of tier twos, et cetera, but I think given the ample parking, the other tenants in the area, kind of some of the separation, I'm not necessarily super concerned about this. Yeah, I'll leave it at that.

Yeah. And if you look at other targets within our community, specifically the one, well, the one that Eagle and Chinden, the one at Milwaukee, and even the one in Nampa, it is appropriate and customary for, if this is what I'm looking at, at the site circulation plan for a larger retailer to have smaller businesses on the outside of it. And we even see that at Boise Town Square Mall. You've got the mall in the middle, but then on the outside of it, you have lots of different options, whether they be drive-through or not drive-through. So this is pretty consistent as far as a vision and even at the orchards at Linder and Chinden with WinCo being one of the big anchors over there. So again, I think it's an appropriate, I know this seems on paper super tight, but I think once you see it built out and the landscaping is there and the way the cars will move, it won't seem as claustrophobic as it seems like on this piece of paper.

I'm not sure.

Commissioner Smith.

And I also just want to add one thing. I know it's been mentioned, Jorge, that this is your first rodeo tonight. You've testified now on more applications than most residents will in a lifetime. So I also want to encourage you. We appreciate your feedback and testimony. It's always welcome to encourage. I just want to make sure to get that across because I know it's not always the most comfortable thing to step up and make your voice heard. So appreciate that. Great job.

Any other comments for this application?

Uh, Madam Chair, I echo my fellow Commissioner Smith, and he read my mind, because as we were looking at the plans for this applicant and the design, the immediate thoughts, especially the the rendering of the model with the drive-throughs. My immediate thoughts went to, and of course, as Commissioner Smith rightly said, there's no corridor that is comparable, but the Eagle-Ustick intersection where there are multiple tenants, but then the Annie's Jamba Juice has the drive-through similar to also the Costa Vida off of Chinden and Linder. There's the multi-tenants, but then there's the Costa Vida at the end with the drive-through as well. So very, very similar in design plans, but overall, we're good to go.

All right, with that in mind, after considering all staff and applicant and public testimony, I move to approve file number H2026-0039 as presented in the staff report for the hearing date of July 16th, 2026 with no modifications.

Second.

It's been moved and second to approve file number 2026-0039. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. The next application in front of us is requests annexation of preliminary plant and a development agreement modification for Summerlin subdivision on Locust Grove near Columbia Road. And we will start with the staff report.

Good evening, commissioners. So... This site consists of 87.40 acres of land. Most of it is already zoned because it was previously approved, R8 and R15. So the applicant is proposing to annex 20.976 acres from RUT to R15. the preliminary plat to allow for development of 551 lots consistent of 506 residential lots and 45 common lots, but the minimum size of 3,040 square feet and average size lot of 4,103. And then a modification to the existing development agreement to include the additional acreage and enter into a new development agreement. So again, this is what's being requested to be annexed in because the rest of the property was already annexed in zone in 2024. So the previous plat was approved in December of 2024. And again, they're just adding the additional 20 acres to that originally approved subdivision. And they have seven phases for this. And based on what they have. So, staff doesn't have any objections to what is being proposed because the proposal meets the comprehensive plan and the UDT. There are a couple of issues and waivers that we wanted to bring to light. The two waivers were approved with the previous application, and they're asking for those waivers again. It's to keep the Rosson Canal at the southern portion of the property open. And then East Crimson Clover Drive, it exceeds the maximum block length of 1,200 feet. So they're asking... Council for that waiver. And then we just wanted to bring you like the CUNA school district. And again, it's not based on this development. From what I've seen, it is based on all the development around CUNA from the different agencies that all the development coming in. So that's what they're basing this letter on. So it's not particularly this application is just development coming in from the different agencies surrounding CUNA. Again, this is just showing the block length. As you can see, there is plenty of pedestrian connectivity through this development. We are asking the applicant to remove the portion of fence that is shown here to continue this pedestrian connection that leads over into Hadlar. So within block, lot 24, block 18, we want that to connect to the pathway within Hadlar number three subdivision, lot 25 and block four. The applicant did exceed the open space. They're required to have 15% open space and they have 21.81%, which exceeds the open space requirements. And they're only required to have 13 amenity points and they do have 43 amenity points, which exceeds the amenities. um the applicant will be required to provide an amenity from the multimodal group in order to meet the required standards so that is the condition of this application They did provide three conceptual building elevation plans. These are the same elevations that were approved with the previous application. The only thing that staff is asking that the houses that the rear end sides that are facing Locust Grove, Recreation Avenue and East via Roberto Street that are highly visible. We added a DA provision that required those elevations to incorporate articulation through changes in like modulation, pop-outs, bays, banding, porches. So all of those to break up the monotonous wall planes. Single-story homes are exempt from that requirement. We did ask commission and asking council to weigh in on whether or not the applicant should revise the plat map to reconfigure lots four through seven on block 18 on the northeast side of East Summerlin Drive so that lot nine block 18 does not have four lots backing up to its side yard. I did talk to the applicant and they don't have any issue with revising this prior to it going to city council. Oops. So again, um, Staff doesn't have any issues with what was presented. We feel that this proposed neighborhood is consistent with our comp plan and it meets the goals related to residential density. It provides an improved and well-connected transportation network and offers strong proximity and access to the parks and emergency services. We did not receive any written testimony on this. Again, we are asking for approval with the conditions outlined in our staff report. And at this time, I'll stand for any questions that you may have.

Would the applicant like to come forward?

Hey, everybody. Hi. Heath Clark, 251 East Front Street in Boise. It's the end of the night, so I think I'll skip the 10-minute presentation I had on Tier 1 and Tier 2 and Tier 3 drive-throughs, if that's OK.

Thank you.

OK. So this one, I think, is kind of a common sense approach to this, hopefully something that we can move through kind of quickly. I'm going to have a record number of slides on the low side this time, so just a couple of slides. so uh you guys are familiar with the site this is just kind of south of lake hazel east of locust grove and you can see that there are two uh projects that we've identified in green and in yellow those are the existing entitlements so hadler was approved in december of 2022 it's got a couple of final plats that have already recorded uh summerlin the current was approved in december of 2024. The property that we're talking about adding is this 20 acres that's shown in blue on this map. Back when we were getting primarily the Summerlin approval, but also a little bit during the Hadlar discussion, there were a couple of things that were brought up as a result of having this missing link. One of those was that there was a private driveway, it was called Cavalli Lane that was coming out and that was what served the 20 acres and they needed their driveway, but it was going to be very close to our access. Um, another element of it was that we were going to be having an out parcel in between these properties and, you know, and the, and the park. And then in addition to that, there was a piece of the collector road that'll serve the park that we didn't have frontage on. So we couldn't complete that collector road. So, uh, we worked very hard, excuse me. With the property owner, we were able to acquire it. That additional 20 acres is now part of the site. It removes that private driveway, so our roadway shifted up just a little bit to replace it. We no longer have an out parcel, and we've replaced that with city lots that are consistent with the existing entitlements, and that also allows us to complete that collector roadway and allow for all that connectivity up into Discovery Park. Um, we are not making changes to the remainder of the site. I just wanted to emphasize that when we had Summerlin before, one of the things we talked about was the size of the lots on the South against the Ross and canal. That's all the same, no changes there. Uh, really the, the main things that we changed were to bring in that 20 acres, make the connections, and then we added amenities. So rather than the 38 and a half that we had before, we're up to 43. Uh, largely that's because we added a couple more dog parks and converted the the large lawn areas into soccer fields. So other than filling in that blank area, we think we've seen this as just overall an improvement. It was worth it to us to go and get that property and connect all of this and make it all work together. And so with that missing link, we think that this is really an overall good thing for everyone. WE'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE STAFF REPORT. WE'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ADDITION OF THE PED CONNECTION THAT LINDA MENTIONED. WE'RE ALSO IN AGREEMENT WITH RECONFIGURING THOSE LOTS PRIOR TO CITY COUNCIL, THAT ORIENTATION. IT'S NOT REALLY A CODE THING IN OUR VIEW. THEY FRONTED ON WHAT WAS GOING TO BE A COLLECTOR BEFORE. SO WE'RE FINE WITH REORIENTING THOSE AND WE'LL HAVE THAT FOR EVERYONE BY COUNCIL. Again, happy to provide that, Ms. Ealing. You can get this to a good place and we'd look for your recommendation of approval and happy to answer any questions.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Giacomino.

Thank you so much for keeping it short and sweet. One of my important questions when it comes to developments, especially when it impacts school districts, CUNA School District previously stated on record that it cannot serve this development. All four schools in the service area are at or over capacity, and the district lacks the flexibility to reroute or redraw boundaries. District submitted no formal comments during this review cycle. Can you confirm whether there has been any direct communication with CUNA school districts since that capacity statement? And do you have any mitigation, phasing coordination, or school site dedication to offer in response to the district's stated inability to serve?

Commissioner Gelsomino, just a couple of thoughts. So Mr. Jensen is here. We're very familiar with Mr. Jensen. We've had a lot of conversations with him over the years. Great guy. So a couple of things that I would emphasize on that point. First of all, there are existing entitlements in this area. What we're doing is filling in the 20 acres that remains. At the time, there were different comments from CUNA School District than there are now. I'll let Mr. Jensen speak to what the current position of the school district is. But I would just emphasize a couple of things. The state data shows that CUNA School District's enrollment has gone down. That is consistent with eight of the ten largest school districts across the state as well. West Ada School District has seen consistent reductions in enrollment as well. And as we discussed with regard to our prior applications, the CUNA school district boundary is like basically right almost at our northern boundary of the project. There is the option of open enrolling in OS data, which again is has also seen those reduced enrollments. But I would also point out the charter and private school options. So actually the closest school to this site is GEM Prep, which is over on Lake Hazel. So there's a number of different options there. So I'll leave it to Mr. Jensen to fill in any other points. But what we've seen so far in terms of the letter that was provided is it doesn't say that there's not capacity. And again, I just want to emphasize that these are existing approvals

and that we're just filling in the blank the gap between them so yep all right thank you very much thanks madam clerk do we have anybody signed up to testify thank you madam chair i have tim jensen Good evening. If you can state your name and address for the record.

Yeah, Tim Jensen, Director of Growth and Development for CUNA School District, 711 East Porter Street out in CUNA. And I'll just jump right in on that. I thought I was going to have a short speaking, you know, tonight, but we didn't provide comments on this specific one just because we, just like he said, you know, this was almost kind of like an infill and i remember the discussion about this at the original meeting and and it you know and so my intent tonight was just you know not to add anything more than previous comments that were made because it you know i felt like those were about that made that first development that got made and um you know and it just you know it was like beating the dead horse, you know, to stand up here and do that. And so one of the things that I've worked a lot with our, since December 24, when this went through, I've worked a lot with our school board and to do a different approach with these conversations we're having with developers. Prior to me moving into this position, it was a lot of conversation about a specific per door fee that would be paid, you know, and developers know different than, you know, someone, if I came to you and said, hey, man, can you write me a check for 500 bucks? I just need it. that you're gonna say what? And so what we really have done is focus more on working with developers on helping us with some of our capital projects. For instance, we have a developer that's offered to expand our high school parking lot by 128 spots. which is much needed. And for them, they can do that at a lower cost because they have their contractors that work for them. They're going to do it at the same time they're doing their roads and their development. For us, if we contracted that out, it's a $450,000 project for the developer to do it while they're on site doing it. It's a much cheaper cost to them, but we have the same value out of it. And so we've kind of taken a different approach and I've worked with our school board on. Our intent from this process was to help us with these capital projects, but our developers can do a lot of those capital projects much cheaper than we can to contract them out. And so it's really been a blessing to be able to go work with developers on that kind of a conversation like, hey, can we build this conversation or this partnership to help us? Here's our list of we I've got a list of capital projects per school by the district, you know, all those things. And I see all these developments going on with pickleball courts. And I'm like, man, I need tennis courts. Can anybody build tennis courts anymore? And so but so anyway, it just I didn't come with the intent and I didn't intentionally send a comment just because, like I said, like Heath was saying, this was kind of that infill to a project that had already been approved. My intent coming tonight was to be here to answer questions. I didn't want, I know we created kind of a delay in the process because we didn't come to a meeting. Sorry, I'm over time. We came, we didn't come to a meeting and it created a delay and I didn't want us to be that reason for there to be a delay in this process again. And so I came tonight with the intent of answering questions. The report I submitted, it is, he said it perfectly. you know, Summerlin is just one piece of that overall number. The board had asked me to do that study in February, and so I was able to provide that. But it's that definitely is not, you know, projected students just from this project and so we are definitely in a unique position we do have the five entities that that feed us we're almost kind of like Oprah Winfrey out there you know you get a development and you get a development you get a development and um but no I just just to clarify and hopefully that does answer a little bit about your question and stuff so and I will stand for any questions do we have any questions for Tim

I think we're good. Thank you very much.

Thank you guys for your time.

Did you have anything else you'd like to add?

Madam chair, we have someone else signed up.

Hold on. Sorry. We have somebody else to public testify.

I have Mike.

Come on up.

Sorry. He's indicated he's representing an HOA. Okay.

All right. If you have permission from your collective group, you'll have 10 minutes to speak. If you can state your name and address for the record.

Mike Magritteo, 2623 South Hillis Place, Meridian, Idaho, 83642. And I'm representing the landowners just south of the property, LNG, Magritteo LLC, and Magritteo Revocable Trust. And the address down the street is from Riggardio Revocable Trust is 6575 South Locust Grove, Merney, Idaho, 83642. So we were just, we've seen the sign and for our property's sake, we were just concerned about access to utilities. Sounds like this has already been approved. So we were just making sure that there was no change in access to our utilities for our property. I spoke with the developer. It sounds like there's not a change in access or any sort of constraints on that. So don't have a problem, but I just wanted to state it for the record that if there was any changes, we'd want to be informed.

Okay, yeah, stay in contact with the developer. They'll have more information than we would.

Sounds good.

Okay, thank you. Madam Clerk, is there anybody else in Chambers?

Madam Clerk, or sorry, Madam Chair, no one else has signed up and no one else is online. Anyone else in Chambers?

Heath, you're good? Okay. Then may I have a motion to close the public hearing?

So moved. Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing on Summerlin. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Madam Chair?

Commissioner Smith.

Yeah, I remember duking it out a little bit with the applicant when this first came through, and I remember there being a lot of heartburn associated with that out parcel regarding access and candidly regarding the inevitable future infill issue. And, you know... Like our former chairman, Andy Seale, used to say, infills hard. I think it was almost a catchphrase. And to be able to address this all in one go is really great. I'm glad to hear that there's no concerns with the kind of reworking of this parcel. I still think we should probably add it as a condition just to make sure that happens, not because I doubt the applicants.

you know, follow through or anything.

But yeah, I think a lot of the concerns that were there and a lot of the hardware that was there in the last application have either been addressed or have kind of been worked into this, I guess, more cohesive vision that's a lot more, you know, better interconnectivity. So I fully am in support of this with that one modification.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Giacomino.

I just want to quickly state, you know, I am in favor of the application. I appreciate the applicant's explanation and response to my question. Of course, I actually served with Mr. Conger on the steering committee for the master plan several years ago while I was still on the Parks Commission. So I'm more than excited to see them continuing to do their uh to do their work and uh i'm uh satisfied with their answers and uh ready to move forward on this application i'm sure commissioner perot i like how you put that duke in it out i've had a few of those heavily guys um no i i do think uh i think this is going to be a great addition to that area

I don't love that much density in that location, but because we have the park there and because there's going to be some good pathways and walkability there, I'm a little more comfortable with that. I would say that I've been in communities where there's one swimming pool for even 300 houses and it was... overwhelmingly full and closed down half the time. So I don't know if that's something I know, they're expensive. I know they're hard to ensure. I just wish you all the best of luck of having one for this many homes. But I think for the most part, they've addressed everything that that staff has had concerns about. And and so I'm, I'm comfortable with voting yes on the application.

So before we pose a motion, as I'm looking at some of the details on our summary for the staff report, there is a waiver for the excess block length for East Crimson Clover Drive. that would need to be identified in the motion and also the waiver to keep the Ross and canal open. So we'll just want to make sure the commissioners were aware of those two waivers that are being considered to city council and that we're okay with those. I like the open canals. I mean, I think it just, I don't know if you can use it as an amenity or not, but it definitely just adds some more visual interest and a little bit more wildlife and oxygen to the space. So I like that part. As far as the block, excess block for the East Crimson Clover Drive, like he's mentioned, a lot of the challenges for connectivity have been addressed because of this acquisition for this part of the parcel. And if it just makes sense for the topography and the way the subdivision works, we'll let city council decide, but I can support that as well. Any other comments in regard to those two waivers?

Madam Chair. Commissioner Perot. I just want to state that I really appreciate the block length exhibit that you all put together. That was very helpful and the narrative. And I wish every applicant would do a narrative for their communities like this one. It makes our preparation a lot easier. So thank you.

And then you'll address the four houses with the one before council. So we're good with that.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Smith.

After considering all staff applicant and public testimony, I move to recommend approval to the City Council of file number H-2026-0018 as presented in the staff report for the hearing date of July 16th, 2026 with the following modifications. To grant the waivers for block face length and to keep the Rossin Canal open. and with a modification to have the applicant revise the plat map to reconfigure lots four through seven, block 18, so that block 18, so that lot nine, block 18 does not have four lots backing up to its side yard, specifically to have three or fewer lots backing up to its side yard. Seconded.

It's been moved and seconded to approve Summerlin subdivision. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. I'll take one more motion.

Madam Chair.

Commissioner Gelsomino.

I move that we adjourn for tonight's meeting. Second.

It's been moved and second to adjourn. All those in favor say aye.