MERIDIAN, Idaho — Meridian City Council members have approved a new subdivision that could bring 71 homes to west Meridian, near Owyhee High School.
The development, to be known as Storm Crest subdivision, is connected to a neighboring project called Day Spring. Residents would need to drive through Day Spring to access Storm Crest, meaning Day Spring's first phase must be completed before Storm Crest can advance. Utilities will also be extended from Day Spring to the Storm Crest site before the new subdivision can move forward with a final plat.
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The approval adds to years of rapid growth in west Meridian, where farm fields and large homesteads have given way to subdivisions as Ada County development continues to push west.
Nancy Goulding, a Meridian neighbor who has lived in the area for 28 years, said the transformation has been significant.
"None of this was here when I moved out here 28 years ago," Goulding said.
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Goulding said many of the area's original homesteads have disappeared over the years.
"The house across the street that's abandoned, that's also original homestead. But a lot of the original homestead houses are gone," Goulding said.
She recalled a time when the area felt far more rural.
"I had friends who lived out here in one of the original homesteads on 10 Mile and we used to ride our horses up and down 10 Mile because it was just a gravelly dirt road," Goulding said.
Goulding said she is concerned about what another 71 homes could mean for a neighborhood that has already changed dramatically.
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"Impact wise, it'll get noisier, more people, a lot more traffic, and it kind of takes away that little country vibe that we used to have, we're just kind of being pushed out," Goulding said.
Traffic, she said, has been one of the most noticeable changes to daily life in the area.
"In the last 10 years. It has grown, you know, out of control. The traffic is horrible. So much for our little tiny town," Goulding said.
The Storm Crest subdivision still has several steps to clear before construction can begin.
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