Nampa council approves East Canyon master‑plan community after amendments
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Summary
The Nampa City Council approved annexation, a comp‑plan map amendment, and a master‑planned community for East Canyon — a roughly 357‑acre mixed‑use development — with conditions including a development agreement, Army Corps permitting, and donated park improvements.
The Nampa City Council on Tuesday approved annexation, a comprehensive plan map amendment and a master planned‑community proposal called East Canyon, clearing the way for a mixed‑use development on roughly 357 acres southeast of the Ustick/11th Avenue area.
City and applicant officials said the proposal would reconfigure future‑land‑use designations on the site to concentrate higher density along Elm Lane and Eleventh Avenue, and provide about 28 acres of commercial land, multifamily housing areas and interconnected parks and open space.
City planners and the applicant said East Canyon was designed to align with the city’s 2026 specific area plan and the Highway 2026 corridor recommendations, and to provide a mix of housing types, pedestrian connections and a mile‑long 10‑foot multiuse path along 9 Mile Creek. The developer volunteered residential design guidelines and a development agreement that will require donated construction of a roughly 4‑acre public park including an amphitheater and a splash pad to ultimately be turned over to the city’s Parks Department.
Planning staff told council the project meets master‑plan‑community criteria in the comprehensive plan and the specific area plan but noted the requested map amendments reduce the maximum theoretical density on the parcel compared with prior designations; staff flagged that change as a factor the council should weigh in deciding whether the proposal meets the specific area plan’s intent. Staff also recommended a condition requiring Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation approvals for work adjacent to 9 Mile Creek prior to platting.
Councilmembers asked about creek flow, park maintenance and how utilities and road improvements would be phased. City staff said 9 Mile Creek has year‑round flow, that the parks department intends to accept and maintain the donated park, and that sewer and water would be extended as phases come in; off‑site sewer improvements already under way will be reimbursed by the developer. The applicant said sewer reimbursement contributions would be made and described traffic‑management measures planned for Elm Lane and internal collectors.
Council members also asked the applicant to enumerate uses prohibited in the commercial and high‑density areas; council added statutory language to the development agreement banning specific uses the council identified (for example, certain adult‑oriented uses and tobacco/vape shops were listed in council discussion). The council voted to approve the project with the recommended conditions and the development agreement language the council added.
The decision authorizes annexation and zoning consistent with the development agreement; future subdivision plats and plats for specific phases will return to city staff and the council or commission for review.
