MERIDIAN, Idaho — After hours of public testimony, Meridian's planning and zoning commission has denied In-N-Out's conditional use permit. The proposed site is the northwest corner of Ten Mile Road and Lost Rapids Drive, near Costco.
City staff came into the meeting recommending that the planning and zoning commission deny the application, citing traffic and lack of proper road infrastructure.
Dozens of residents submitted emails or lettersto the city with the same sentiments, and that kids playing at nearby parks could be endangered by increased traffic.
“After hearing all staff, applicant, and public testimony, I move to deny for the following reasons: hours of operation are not consistent with the overall area or the use, as well as substantial traffic concerns,” said Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission member Matthew Sandoval.
A 4 to 1 vote decided that plans for an In-N-Out proposed for this site along Ten Mile Rd were not approved.
“We were pleased with the result because our neighborhood felt heard,” said Wade Ramsey, the HOA president for Bainbridge, the residential community that surrounds the proposed site and the nearby businesses like Costco.
“Deliveries stop at 10 o’clock, everything here is closed at midnight, it’s quiet. This is a neighborhood,” said Ramsey.
Ramsey and a majority of neighbors say they like the restaurant’s concept and reputation, but the conditional use permit asking for closing as late as 1:30 in the morning and increasing traffic through already busy and narrow streets doesn’t make sense.
“It’s great when you are on their site, they have great control, great traffic navigation, [but] getting to this site is a nightmare,” said Ramsey.
At Thursday night’s meeting, many who opposed the conditional use permit spoke out.
“The surrounding arterials are not capable of handling the carload that they will generate,” said Bill, a Meridian resident.
“Them being open 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m., it’s just not feasible for the people who live in those units, because people are shift workers, people need their sleep to carry out essential jobs,” said one resident who says he is in the Air Force and said his fiance is a healthcare worker.
“I fully expect a restaurant or other commercial place to be across the road, we love the [Rocky Mountain] Chocolate Factory that’s right across the road, but just something that's more reasonable," said Ten Mile Rd resident Clayton McCormick.
While commission member Sam Rust was interested in continuing the conversation and allowing In-N-Out to come back with amended plans, a majority of the commissioners called it a night by denying the conditional use permit, citing location as the issue.
“If this were not so close to residential, I would not have many of the problems [with it],” said commission member Jared Smith.
While the planning and zoning commission denied the application, In-N-Out can still apply to appear before city council for further consideration.
