City Ok’s rezone of 6.1-acre parcel behind Ridley’s, Bi-Mart

 A City of Weiser Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing was held on the matter Aug. 19, 2024, the commission recommending the rezone to B1 for city approval.

 In a letter to city planning and zoning dated July 26, 2024, project engineer Jesse Christensen pointed out that “With the commercial to the east and a city park to the west, zoning this lot all residential would make a nice buffer between the two areas.”

 The letter also reveals that a round-table meeting was held with city staff and that all public facilities, such as sewer, water and electric are available. 

 “It is our opinion that allowing the entire lot to be residential is compatible to the area,” Christensen stated in the letter’s closing.

 The land was once an alfalfa field, according to a city findings of fact document. At one time, 15 acres of it was being considered as the site of a proposed new hospital location, but the project did not materialize.  

 Ridley’s and Bi-Mart were eventually built on the east portion of the parcel, fronting E. Sixth Street and the remainder, to the west, zoned C1, C2 and B with access through an easement along the south boundary of Ridley’s.

 Some have expressed concern over traffic congestion, especially during baseball and football games at Memorial Park, but Buller pointed to the easement south of Ridley’s he said would ease the impact to Fourth Street.

 “If you look at the southwest corner of the Ridley’s parking lot, there is actually a dip in their curbing, exactly where it would go through,” Buller told councilmembers. “I have an easement from Ridley’s on this property, stating the list of all the things you can put there, whether we were putting condos, townhouses, apartment buildings … it lists about everything you could possibly imagine that could possibly go there as ‘Ok’ to have access or to have easement across their parking lot as long as we are willing to … help them maintain it.”

 Buller said he intends to have a traffic study completed, something the city could stipulate during the subdivision process. He and his team will have to go through the subdivision process in order to build since Ridley’s and Bi-Mart used the two building permits that were attached to the parcel.

 He reiterated his intentions about the property, stating that “Our plan is to make some very nice townhouses and not cram them in there … but give it a nice landscaping area and plant trees back along Fourth Street and make it look really nice. That’s our goal, to make a very higher-end townhome project because we think that it’s an excellent location for people who want to walk to the grocery store. 

 “We aren’t looking at a 55-and-older scenario, but we think that would be our audience, maybe. We are looking at someone who could walk to the grocery store, walk to the pharmacy and would be within a block from the hospital.”

 City council members were unanimous in their approval of the rezone.

 “Frankly, I think this is a good idea for it to be residential” said councilman Larry Hogg. “It conforms to what adjacent properties are to the south. It’s a good buffer between the commercial zone and the park on the other side of the street, so I think this just makes sense.”

 Councilman Herb Haun was in agreement.

 “I think it makes sense to clean it up and have it all under one zone,” he said. “I think that was the feeling that came from the P&Z hearing, that they felt like it should be cleaned up and all under one zoning.”

 Buller said that it is his hope to start construction, possibly, next summer.