This piece of Meridian wasn’t supposed to become like the rest of it. What just changed
In an atypical move, the Meridian City Council has reversed recommendations by the city’s planning staff and Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a proposal to build a single-family subdivision with 256 homes in the Ten Mile area.
The city’s own Ten Mile Interchange Specific Area plan, which includes the area north and south of Interstate 84 between Star and Linder roads, was designed to ensure that mostly apartments, town houses and commercial businesses would be built into the area of western Meridian. The 2007 plan sought to make Ten Mile a walkable area.
Meridian’s planning staff decided that the Avani Subdivision, to be located southeast of Franklin and Black Cat roads, did not fit into that vision.
The developer, DevCo Residential Group, based in Washington state, has built several subdivisions, including apartments, across the Treasure Valley.
Meridian planning staff members said in their report about the application that the density of the proposed subdivision was “inconsistent with the target density desired” in the 2007 plan. They said town houses should be included for the development to be consistent with the goal of having a mix of housing types.
The Planning and Zoning Commission agreed at its meeting on Feb. 1.
But a majority of City Council members at a meeting on Tuesday said during the council meeting on Tuesday, that the Ten Mile Interchange plan is outdated. They said there are already plenty of apartments and town houses in the area.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate that an outdated comprehensive plan dictates decisions made today when the conditions on the ground are so different from the vision we envisioned years ago,” said Council Member Doug Taylor.
Council Member Luke Cavener said he has heard from Meridian residents that there is too much multifamily development in Meridian.
“This is kind of unique in that a single-family housing complex . . . is different than what we’re seeing in that area,” Cavener said.
Council members Liz Strader and Joe Borton disagreed. They said they worried about incrementally changing the long-term planning strategies that the city put in place to promote organized development within city limits.
“When staff, who are subject-matter experts in this, who rarely make (a denial) recommendation — it gives me pause,” Borton said. “You have highlighted that question that comes up at times: Is it the right time? Is this the right project? I think what’s described is an attractive application that isn’t ready for this location at this time.”
Strader said the Ten Mile area was designed to look different than the rest of Meridian, which consists of many single-family home subdivisions. She said the Avani subdivision looks “very similar to subdivisions all across the city.”
The council voted 3-2 to approve the development. Council Member John Overton was absent.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
