HomeMy WebLinkAboutSoran_Patty_Soterra_LetterofOppositionJune 04, 2026
Regarding: Case Number DEV26-000001, SEP26-000001, ZON26-000001
Soterra Development
Honorable Caldwell City Council Members
My name is Patty Soran and we live at:
Address 522 Keogh Lane , Caldwell Idaho
We live in Orchard Heights subdivision which is the first subdivision to the West of the proposed Soterra site.
I realize that everyone comments about the traffic and the current state of congestion we have all noticed. Ustick Road has significantly more traffic and now that the roundabout is
finally completed, it has increased even more with cars and truck traffic.
One of my major concerns relates to the traffic flow and the volume of traffic, especially along Ustick and Kimball.
I understand that Kimball is listed as a collector road and Ustick is the main corridor however with the addition of homes from phase 1 and 2 of Soterra and potential commercial buildings
from both Soterra and Ambrosia there are several logistic concerns.
According to the traffic study for just the proposed 51 single family homes from the 2nd phase of Soterra it will equate to approximately 500 trips onto Ustick.
This does not include the traffic that will also be added to the corner of Ustick and Kimball from Soterra phase 1, as well as the volume of traffic from the homes that currently border/flow
into Ustick and the proposed subdivisions that will now drop into Ustick. This includes homes from the West as well as Verbena Ranch as well as numerous others.
Cars that will be going south on Kimball will have to travel across the East/West cars traveling non stop along Ustick to either go across to the commercial zone or towards town.
This puts the traffic heading south from Kimball in a dangerous space as they must now navigate traffic from 3 directions to cross either to turn East/West or cross into the commercial
/residential areas of Soterra.
*I would like to ask that you request the developers to provide resources to either place a Stop light or make the cross streets of Kimball and Ustick a 4 way stop. This will help alleviate
accidents that will occur in this corner. I have already witnessed numerous misses from someone driving south on Kimball, get tired of waiting for cross traffic and race to turn.
A stop Light will make it easier to advance into the commercial spaces to shop.
* During the Planning and Zoning presentation the developer stated that they had reached out to several commercial entities, and they had been turned down but did not indicate why they
declined to build at this location.
I am curious as to who was spoken to and what was their concern with not moving their business into this location.
Was it because 4 acres of commercial is too small and they would consider moving into this space if the commercial was larger?
Would we be better served if the 2 proposed commercial spaces of Soterra and Ambrosia be merged into 1 larger plat to provide more options.?
Or the proposed Soterra drop the number of homes and add more commercial. It was initially slated to be 15 acres and has slowly been dropped over the years with very small spaces now
proposed.
I am also concerned with the small lot size and the volume of homes, and the lack of match up to the current homes that surround the proposed site.
The current homes to the south/East in Cumberland have lot sizes that are approximately 8000 square feet and larger and the homes are larger.
Newbery subdivision is similar in size and value to Cumberland.
Our subdivision directly to the West is made up of 31homes all on 1 to 2 acres.
I understand wanting smaller homes and lots as buffer area to the commercial space however the lot sizes do not match the current subdivisions .
I feel that the lot sizes should be increased to match more closely and the home sizes increase as well.
Thank you for your consideration
Patty and John Soran