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Council allows reduced buffer at Pine 43 West after adjacent owner’s consent
Summary
Meridian City Council approved a reduced 25-foot landscape buffer to 15 feet for a Pad A retail building at the Pine 43 West development after the abutting apartment owner submitted a consent letter conditioned on a six-foot privacy fence and increased plantings.
Meridian City Council on Jan. 21 approved a reduction of the Unified Development Code’s required 25-foot landscape buffer for a commercial pad at Pine 43 West after staff reported the adjacent multifamily owner consented to a reduced buffer in exchange for additional screening.
The 2.18-acre site at the southwest corner of North Webb Avenue and East Fairview Avenue is zoned CG. Planning staff said the drive-through on Pad B already meets buffer needs for the southern portion of the site, but the UDC requires a 25-foot buffer along the entire western boundary because that property abuts multifamily residential uses.
Planning staff told council that the UDC allows council to reduce the buffer width at a public hearing with notice to surrounding property owners. The applicant submitted a letter of support from the owner of the adjoining multifamily property to the west; the letter conditions its support on installation of a six-foot privacy fence and additional plantings along the western boundary to supply visual and sound buffering.
CHK Architects and the landowner described design choices intended to minimize impacts on the multifamily units, including lowering the building profile relative to nearby retail and adding five full-size linden trees and other landscape screening. The developer and the adjacent owner said they have coordinated during construction of the townhomes and that the owner had previously relied on the developer for stormwater and other services during the townhome build-out.
A nearby resident who owns one of the townhomes spoke at the hearing and asked the council to retain the larger buffer, saying the area is already tight and that residents were concerned about losing green space.
Council approved the buffer reduction after hearing staff’s explanation and testimony from the applicant and neighbors. Staff said the city is processing a code amendment that would allow buildings to encroach in buffer areas if the abutting owner consents; in the interim, the director has determined a building may encroach when council grants a reduced buffer and consent from adjacent owners is obtained.
Speakers quoted in this story include planning staff, the applicant’s architect and representatives of the adjacent property owner.
