Commission continues decision on 79‑acre Madrone Village annexation, plat and design review amid traffic and school capacity concerns

The Kuna Planning and Zoning Commission on March 11 continued action on the Madrone Village applications — an annexation, preliminary plat and related design review for roughly 79 acres near 10 Mile Road and Kuna Road — citing outstanding transportation analysis and remaining checklist items from reviewing agencies.

Developer Tim Eck presented the plan showing R‑6 medium‑density residential and C‑1 neighborhood commercial zoning, proposing 384 single‑family lots, 42 common lots, 12 shared driveways, a school lot and a city park lot. Eck said the developer is donating a site “for the Kino Rural Fire District station lot” and a school lot that, if granted, Bloom would help place a Sage International public charter K‑8 school on donated land. Bloom representatives Terry Ryan and Keith Donahue described Bloom’s record placing charter seats statewide and said the proposed Sage International school would start with roughly 220 K‑5 students and grow to about 420 by full enrollment.

Civil consultant Stephanie Hopkins and traffic engineer Jamie Markosian (Kittelson & Associates) described coordination with City staff, Kuna Rural Fire District and the Ada County Highway District (ACHD). Hopkins said the developer will provide approximately 11.69 acres of open space (about 15% of the site) and will dedicate park and school lots and the fire station lot. Markosian said the project’s traffic impact study had been accepted by ACHD but was undergoing additional analysis requested by the district; ACHD staff has a draft staff report with recommended mitigations for certain intersections and roadway segments.

Public testimony included supporters who praised the donation of land for a school and park and speakers from Sage International and Bloom outlining school programming, transportation and extracurricular plans. Kuna School District staff and members of the public raised concerns about impacts on district facilities and extracurricular access, special‑education supports, and cumulative traffic effects — noting Falcon Ridge Charter School already generates traffic on 10 Mile/Kuna Road. Several residents described existing difficulty making turns on 10 Mile Road and expressed concern about additional congestion and school‑period peak traffic.

Kuna Rural Fire District representatives said the district remains neutral on the application; the station site donation and developer utility work will bring services to the site and assist the district in bringing Station 2 online. Commissioners and staff requested a reanalysis of traffic conditions accounting for recent lot changes and surrounding approved subdivisions; Kittelson agreed to submit revised analysis in the coming weeks. Staff recommended continuing to a date certain to allow ACHD to finalize its staff report and to let the applicant supply revised materials. The commission voted to continue the items (cases 24‑08‑AN, 24‑05‑S and 24‑23‑DR) to April 8 for further review.

In deliberations commissioners also requested additional attention to pedestrian connectivity between residential areas and the proposed commercial lots, and suggested the developer consider a small pocket park or widened pathway for neighborhood access. The developer and design team said they would evaluate additional pedestrian amenities and confirmed the larger park lot would include room for multi‑use fields and other recreational amenities. The applicant and consultants are to submit revised traffic analysis and outstanding plan corrections before the April 8 hearing.