Council approves Pine 43 mixed‑use redevelopment after lengthy public hearing; staff had cautioned on job‑land balance and fire response

Meridian — In a high‑profile land‑use decision, the Meridian City Council approved a substantial amendment to the long‑running Pine 43 master plan on Oct. 21 that authorizes a mixed‑use redevelopment south of State Avenue.

The approved application bundle included annexation, rezones, a development agreement modification, a preliminary plat, conditional use permits for multifamily and vertically integrated residential buildings, and several alternative‑compliance and height‑exception requests. The applicant (DRB Investments/DB Company) proposed, across the site, up to 904 new residential units — including 30 townhomes, roughly 270 conventional multifamily units and up to 604 vertically integrated residential units above ground‑floor commercial — and about 481,020…