A Real Entitlement. A Real Outcome.
324 people showed up to kill a drive-thru permit.
The developer had no idea. RealClear AI would have told them before they filed.
Meridian, Idaho · 2024–2025
The site that changed a city's zoning code.
2024
In-N-Out files CUP application H-2024-0058
2.22-acre site at Ten Mile Road & Chinden Boulevard. Drive-through restaurant with dual lanes.
April 17, 2025
Planning & Zoning Commission denies 4-1
324 written testimonies filed — the vast majority opposing. Traffic, noise, and residential proximity cited.
Sept 9, 2025
City Council upholds denial 5-1
De novo hearing confirms Commission findings. Application H-2024-0058 is dead.
Feb 17, 2026
Meridian amends UDC with three-tier drive-thru classification
The city rewrites its drive-through code — a direct consequence of the In-N-Out controversy.
Zoning District
C-G (General Commercial)
Meridian Unified Development Code
The Trigger Rule
UDC §11-4-3-11
Within 300ft of Costco drive-thru AND Olivia Apartments
Public Testimony
324 written testimonies
Highest volume for a single CUP in Meridian's recent history
Meanwhile...
Raising Cane's — APPROVED
2712 Eagle Rd. Same city. Same year. Dual drive-thru lanes.
“What would have happened if they knew all of this before they filed?”
The 30-Second Verdict
What RealClear AI finds at 5985 N. Ten Mile Road.
One address. Five AI agents. Every risk surfaced before a single dollar is spent.
Site Analysis
5985 N. Ten Mile Road
Meridian, Idaho 83646
Zoning
C-G (General Commercial)
Drive-Thru
Retail
Community Risk
Comparable Flag
In-N-Out at 3520 E. Fairview Ave: Approved 2023, BUT documented 40-car queue spillover into arterial traffic — this became evidence against the Ten Mile application.
Recommendation
HIGH DENIAL RISK. Do not proceed without traffic mitigation plan and community outreach strategy.
Under the Hood
Five agents. One site. Every angle covered.
Here's exactly what each agent found at 5985 N. Ten Mile Road — and how it all connected.
Zoning Reader
Reads the code your attorney charges $400/hour to summarize.
At 5985 N. Ten Mile Road, the Zoning Reader identified the C-G (General Commercial) district, extracted UDC §11-4-3-11's proximity rule — drive-throughs within 300 feet of an existing drive-through facility or residential district require a conditional use permit — and flagged both the adjacent Costco drive-thru and the Olivia Apartments as triggers. Every finding cited to the specific section.
Source Detail
“§11-4-3-11: Drive-through establishments within 300 feet of an existing drive-through facility, a residential district, or an existing residence require a conditional use permit.”
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Zone | C-G (General Commercial) |
| Permitted Uses | Retail, Restaurant, Office, Personal Service |
| Drive-Thru | CUP Required (UDC §11-4-3-11) |
| Max Height | 65 ft |
| Front Setback | 25 ft (Ten Mile Rd) |
| Side Setback | 10 ft |
| Overlay | Ten Mile Interchange Specific Area Plan |
Pathway Mapper
Maps every step from filing to final vote.
The Pathway Mapper traced the CUP pathway through Meridian's process: pre-application meeting, CUP filing, P&Z Commission hearing, and City Council de novo hearing. Estimated timeline: 16–20 weeks based on Meridian's published hearing schedule. The key insight — Council hears de novo, meaning they can reverse Commission decisions entirely.
Source Detail
“Meridian P&Z meets first and third Thursdays. Council meets second and fourth Tuesdays. A CUP filed in January has a probable Commission hearing in March and Council vote by May.”
Pre-Application Meeting
Required by UDC §11-5A-2
CUP Filing (H-2024-0058)
Day 0 — Application + fee
P&Z Commission Hearing
~8–10 weeks — Public testimony
City Council De Novo Hearing
~14–18 weeks — Final vote
Community Sentinel
Finds the 324 people who will show up to fight you.
The Community Sentinel scanned three years of Meridian planning commission minutes and identified 324 written testimonies filed for H-2024-0058 — the highest volume of public testimony for a single CUP application in the city's recent history. Top opposition themes: traffic congestion, noise from late-night hours, and headlight intrusion from the drive-thru lane into residential units at the adjacent Olivia Apartments.
Source Detail
“The Olivia Apartments at 6001 N. Ten Mile Road were completed in 2023. 324 residents filed written opposition to H-2024-0058 — the highest volume of public testimony for a single CUP application in Meridian's recent history.”
Opposition Themes
Key Stakeholder
Olivia Apartments (6001 N. Ten Mile Rd) — 324-unit complex, completed 2023. Primary source of organized opposition.
Comparable Analyst
Shows you what happened to every similar project in the jurisdiction.
The Comparable Analyst surfaced 17 fast-food drive-thru CUP applications in Meridian over the prior six years. 16 approved, 1 denied — the In-N-Out at Ten Mile. The key differentiator: Raising Cane's at 2712 N. Eagle Rd was approved (Nov 2024, dual drive-thru lanes), but the Fairview Ave In-N-Out's documented 40-car queue spillover became evidence against the Ten Mile application.
Source Detail
“16 of the last 17 drive-thru CUP applications in Meridian were approved. The one denial — In-N-Out at Ten Mile — was distinguished by site-specific factors: a 2.22-acre parcel too small for the queuing demand, adjacent to occupied residences, on an already-congested intersection.”
Report Generator
Delivers a 100-page head start. In 28 seconds.
The Report Generator synthesizes all five agents into an institutional-grade PDF feasibility report: executive summary, full zoning analysis, approval pathway, risk assessment, comparable decisions, and plain-language recommendations. Every claim cited. Every uncertainty disclosed. Ready for the desk of a CFO or general counsel.
Source Detail
“The report for 5985 N. Ten Mile Road cites 23 sections of the Meridian UDC, references 17 comparable decisions, and identifies 3 specific mitigation strategies — all generated in 28 seconds.”
Entitlement Feasibility Report
5985 N. Ten Mile Rd · Generated in 28s
Our Technology
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Proprietary Vision Models
Fine-tuned on 40 years of zoning maps, hand-drawn plats, and scanned ordinances that no general-purpose LLM has ever seen. We convert non-digital municipal records into structured, queryable data.
The Structured Zoning Database
Every zoning code we process becomes permanent, verified, queryable intelligence. 155M+ parcels. 30,000+ jurisdictions. Growing with every query.
The Flywheel
More data makes the models better. Better models produce more data. The system compounds. Every jurisdiction we add makes every other jurisdiction more accurate.
The system compounds. Every query makes the next one smarter.
The Market Is Shifting
Your competitor already knows.
The national QSR chains are already running 200+ sites through systematic AI screening simultaneously. The tenant rep brokers still calling planning departments one at a time aren't going to exist in the same form in three years.
The question isn't whether entitlement intelligence becomes standard — it's whether you're using it or competing against it.
Primary Source Documents
Every finding cited to the source. Click any document to preview it directly.
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