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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClifton E Barber - 736 Hillside DrDATE TO FROM Iclo November 23, 2022 Planning and Zoning Commission, City of Rexburg Deborah Lovejoy, City Clerk, City of Rexburg Clifton E. Barber, 736 Hillside Drive , Opposition to Proposed Rezoning of 501 E. 7"' S (parcel RPR6N40E296601 and RPR6NE322402 from Low -Density (LDR1) to Medium Density Residential 1 (MDR1) This memo is written to express opposition to the proposed rezoning (from LDR1 to MDR1) of a 23.1 acre of undeveloped land owned by Eldwin LLC. The rezoning proposal appeared on the minutes for the November 17, 2022, meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, with a scheduled public hearing on December 1, 2022. My memo is organized into two sections. The first section describes a concern regarding increased traffic. The second section raises a question regarding the impact of the proposed rezoning on the nearby Lincoln Elementary School. The memo closes with an observation regarding the assumed rationale for the request for rezoning. Concern Regarding Increased Traffic In April of this year (2022), my wife and I purchased Tax Parcel RPRHRVH2B3004B (address: 736 Hillside Drive) in the Harvest Hills subdivision (zoned RR2). Our purchase was made after I carefully reviewed the current zoning map for Rexburg (see image below), as well as the most recent iteration of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Rexburg. My review of these documents was motivated by a strong desire to avoid the situation where we lived previously, as explained in the following paragraph. ITi Area of proposed rezoning j Location of our Iproperty )elferson. ID. Madison -Rexburg GIs. Bureau of Land Management, Esn. HERE. Garmin.... Barber Memo - Page 2 of 3 Prior to moving to Rexburg, we lived in Liberty Lake, Washington. An image of the City of Liberty Lake's zoning map appears below (source: https://www.libertylakewa.gov/476/Zoning-Information). City of Liberty Lake Zoning Map - 2021 Cny of Uber1V lakr QUrban Growth Area I4 — rhwrr',AV LekOMfe Maw.aw�e SAP R1 R2 11l A11 M2 W CI C2 P . ue r, ^lap wr aon! n�wa 'vr nt � bbNaO I na nap � kr nromiow In Liberty Lake, we lived in a subdivision called Legacy Ridge (see arrow), which was zoned R1; similar the LDR1 and RR1 designations in the City of Rexburg. The adjacent gray area in the map was zoned M1 and M2; similar to MDR1 in Rexburg. The apartment complexes that were constructed in M1 zone in Liberty Lake significantly increased traffic congestion for our subdivision, and I did not want to have the same situation occur with regard to the location of our Rexburg residence. That said, when we purchased our Harvest Hills lot, we were aware of traffic congestion resulting from having a university campus nearby. Nonetheless, I felt that there was a sufficient buffer of low -density residential zoning to shield us from such congestion. One of my primary concerns is that the proposed rezoning will eliminate this buffer, and produce traffic congestion similar to what we experienced in Liberty Lake. Question Regarding the Impact of Rezoning on Lincoln Elementary School Were the rezoning of the Eparcel of land located at 501 E. 7"' South to be approved, this would undoubtedly impact the enrollment of Lincoln Elementary School, located at 358 E 2"d S. Lincoln Elementary school has a current enrollment of about 380 students from kindergarten through 4"' grade (see image on next page; Source: https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/id/rexburg/schools/160192000339). Although several metrics (e.g. No Child Left Behind Tests ) indicate that Lincoln Elementary ranks better than 94% of both Idaho schools similar schools nationally, it may be presently operating near capacity. Barber Memo - Page 3 of 3 As indicated in the bar graph below, the average class size exceeds that of the district, the state, and even the nation. If the Rexburg Planning and Zoning Commission were to approve the Eldwin LLC request to rezone this property from LDR1 to MDR1, it is likely that an additional 50-100 students would be added to the student body of Lincoln Elementary. Is Lincoln Elementary able to absorb such an increase and maintain its current quality of education? I do not know the answer to this question, but recommend that it be discussed by the Planning and Zoning Commission in advance of making a decision regarding the rezoning proposal. zo 17 16 AVG FOR THIS SCHOOL AVG FOR DISTRICT AVG FOR STATE AVG FOR NATION SCHOOL• OF Kinderpartcn - Grade 1 Gi adc 2 Gradc 3 Grade 4 Total An Observation Regarding the Rationale for the Rezoning Request I was unable to find anything regarding the rationale undergirding the proposed rezoning. I am aware that higher -density development often means that developers can earn greater profits for construction on the same parcel of land. My assumption is that the parcels in question (RPR6N40E296601 and RPR6NE322402) were purchased with full awareness of the current LDR1 zoning designation. If the primary rationale for the rezoning is to increase the profitability of the investment, I share the observation that good business practice would have dictated that return on investment should have been calculated based on the current LDR1 zoning designation, and not on the hope that a rezoning would be necessary to make the investment more profitable.