Kuna planning commission approves 95‑lot Newberry Place preliminary plat with conditions

KUNA, Idaho — The Kuna City Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 23 approved preliminary plat and related design items for Newberry Place, an 18.6‑acre subdivision zoned R‑8 that will be divided into 95 residential lots and 22 common lots, the city planner said.

Marina Lundy, planner for Kuna Development Services, told the commission the application requests preliminary plat approval for the site near South 10 Mile Road and West Lake Hazel and that the prior plat approval (98 residential lots and 25 common lots) expired Feb. 17, 2025. Lundy said staff reviewed the proposal for compliance with Kuna City Code, Idaho statutes and the Kuna comprehensive plan and recommended approval subject to the conditions in the staff report.

Why it matters: The commission’s action clears the way for a relatively dense single‑family subdivision in an area adjacent to the Memory Ranch subdivision and near planned right‑of‑way and intersection improvements. The project includes multiple utility relocations and coordination with regional agencies, which will affect timing and construction details.

Most important facts: Applicant Elwin Butler of Matrix Engineering said the reconfigured plat reduces density compared with the project’s earlier incarnation by widening lots from 30 feet to 40 feet, changing the lot layout and keeping the same internal street configuration. Butler said the new owner is RE1 LLC (principal Gary Clark of Pocatello). He described three utility connection points (Donaway, Milton within Memory Ranch, and Butterfly Street) and said the applicant will redirect sewer flow toward Donaway per Public Works’ request.

Staff and applicant noted several interagency dependencies. Butler said the buried Harris Canal pipe along 10 Mile Road must be relocated as part of the right‑of‑way dedication, and that Boise Project Board of Control and the Bureau of Reclamation now require decorative rock instead of turf within the canal easement intersecting the project’s landscape buffer. He added the Bureau of Reclamation requires removal of trees within the canal easement.

Public comment and commission concerns: Resident Clark Munson, who lives at the corner of Donaway and Devotion Drive, called the revised plan “a better plan than what you all approved 2½ years ago” but asked that the units backing up to Memory Ranch be limited to single‑story houses and requested a community pool. Munson said he and his wife live adjacent to the proposed extension of Donaway and asked that construction traffic use Butterfly and 10 Mile rather than Donaway when possible.

Planning director Doug Hansen noted existing local connections in Memory Ranch and said some roads that appear to provide alternative access are currently private. Commissioners raised traffic and school‑capacity concerns: several members said morning traffic is likely to send a large share of trips through adjacent Memory Ranch streets until ACHD completes planned improvements at Lake Hazel and 10 Mile. Staff told the commission that intersection improvements are programmed for construction in 2029.

Conditions and outcome: The commission voted to recommend approval with the conditions listed in the staff report, which include final engineering, right‑of‑way adjustments, and permitting with affected agencies (Boise Project Board of Control, Bureau of Reclamation, Ada County Highway District and Kuna public works). The approval was a voice vote; the commission chair declared the motion carried.

What remains: Final plat approval, coordination for the Harris Canal pipe relocation and any required permits from the Bureau of Reclamation and the Boise Project Board of Control must be obtained before construction can start. Staff also noted there was no school‑district comment in the packet for this application; the commission recorded that the district had acted at annexation/zoning stages in prior years but had not submitted a project‑level comment for this hearing.

The commission moved on after approval to the next public‑hearing item on the agenda.