HomeMy WebLinkAboutShelley King_08-31-24August 27th, 2024
Planning and Zoning Meeting for Soterra Subdivision, Comp. Plan Amendment, DA
MOD, Rezone, Pre-Plat PUD
Parcel R325300000, 205 Ustick Rd.
My name is Shelley King. I currently reside at 4513 Pine Mountain Ave. Caldwell,
Idaho (Cumberland Estates Subdivision). I am writing to oppose the request for high
density residential units to be built on what was initially approved as R-1 low density
residential units and C-1 Commercial lots along Ustick. I believe that Planning and
Zoning should stick to their original plan and not make concessions for builders.
The recent proposal directly affects our residents with increased traffic and
construction concerns. Our Subdivision (Cumberland Estates) is South, East of this
development and will affect our residents.
The current zoning of commercial lots, businesses within the designated pink area
along Ustick are needed. Having small businesses near where you live allows the
surrounding residents to have their basic needs met without having to travel to get
that done. By having these amenities close, it allows us to also reduce the carbon
footprint in the area. Currently, Caldwell does not have enough restaurants or
commercial businesses in this area. Hairdressers, barbers, nail salons, coffee and
sandwich shops are needed here. It allows us to truly build a community. We need
places to employ the number of current residents. Recently, due to the increase in
customers, our family Walmart on the corner of 10th and Ustick has had to increase
the size of their parking lot.
I am opposed to the changes due to the following reasons:
Area: I am opposed to more apartments being built in our Area. I am especially
drawn to the concern of three-story apartments. Is this necessary? The beautiful
City of Caldwell does not need three story apartment buildings. This is a small town
and needs to be designed and treated for the quaint small town feel it currently has
established. This developer is asking to change the direction of our town. These
housing units should be built along major thorough fares, not in residential
communities with planned, good neighborhoods.
The developer is only interested in profits, not our community. They will build and
leave. Leaving the City of Caldwell and its residents to manage what is left.
Traffic: Currently, we cannot, at certain times of the day, make a left turn out of our
subdivision due to traffic. Adding additional high-density housing means more
vehicles. As you are aware, it is not typically a single family that moves into these
homes, so the standard two car family isn’t a reality. It will be more like 4 cars per
residence. Many of them will be coming through our subdivision to get on to 10th
for schools to the South. We currently have construction vehicles going through our
subdivision at high rates of speed due to the activity at Soterra, Phase 1. We’ve had
to make many requests to the construction company to detour all construction
traffic to Ustick Rd, but because it is not developed (dirt Rd) they come through our
cut off Road, Yellow Creek. The road improvements should have been completed in
Phase 1.
Schools: I do believe that this parcel has been rezoned into Caldwell School Dist.
At least our subdivision has. We’ve all seen the headlines concerning budget
constraints within the Caldwell School district, with buses and additional students.
Allowing high density housing will only increase this budget concern for the
taxpayers and should be of great concern for the city.
The developer said that they reached out to Vallivue School District and had not
received a response. How many schools do respond to each of these requests? In
my opinion, it is the responsibility of our City Planning Dept. to take into account the
impact these developments have on our schools and community.
Crime and First Responders: Currently, there are not enough first responders
according to the increased population in our area and lack of funding. More Police
officers and Firemen will be needed to be able to respond to the increase in our
population. The permanent residents seen this on the last ballot to build a new fire
station. The taxpayers were asked to help fund the new station, when in fact the
developers should be funding these two entities. The crime rate in Caldwell has
seen a 60% increase from 2021 to 2022 according to City-data.com crime index.
This increase in crime directly corelates to the increase of population. By adding
additional high density, transient housing is not the answer to curb crime in our city.
It will fall on the backs of the taxpayers.
If any of you have lived in, by or near Caldwell for any number of years you know
what a bad reputation and high crime rate this town has had in the past. The past
administrations worked diligently with law enforcement and the community to make
it safer and family friendly. However, due to the many subdivisions and apartments
that have been built it is anything but quiet. I hear the sirens on 10th Ave. more
than I should, which means our fire department and police are working harder than
ever, with less.
The planning and zoning that was put into place prior to this proposal was a good
one. It allowed for single family housing and commercial use. It was the reason I
purchased my home in 2016. I knew there was a good plan already established for
the area. With this plan in place there would be single family homes built behind our
subdivision and those lots along and near Ustick would be designated for
commercial use. Which meant a thriving small area for us to live in and possibly be
able to walk to different shops sometime in the future.
Please take all the above into consideration.
Thank you,
Shelley King
4513 Pine Mountain Ave.
Caldwell, Idaho
208-866-5272