The McCall City Council voted unanimously to approve the Dawson Trails Plan Unit Development (PUD) and preliminary subdivision application, PD-24-02/Subdivision-24-04, following a public hearing and extensive staff and applicant presentations.

The project proposes 28 residential units on a 3.67-acre parcel zoned R-8: 12 detached single-family homes and 16 townhome units configured as eight duplex buildings. The applicant offered one deed-restricted local housing unit and a prohibition on short-term rentals for the detached single-family homes. The council approved staff-recommended conditions and a development agreement, and asked staff to return findings of fact and conclusions of law consistent with the approval.

The approval followed detailed staff testimony from Meredith Todd, city sustainability planner, who told the council the project had received Planning and Zoning Commission design-review approval and proposed a mix of pedestrian pathways, a private park and a public dog park. Todd said the developer requested several PUD alleviations commonly used to enable clustered townhome-style development, including reductions to minimum lot size, certain setbacks, and allowances for garage door width relative to the street-facing wall.

Applicant representatives said the design responded to site constraints. Steve Millman, attorney for the applicant, said the team adjusted the plan after staff and neighborhood input, dropping one unit during redesign to improve driveway alignment and reduce headlight impacts. Owner Shane Mace described the site as a family connection and said the team worked “with a wonderful city of — all team, from Nathan to Meredith,” adding, “I think it's a win‑win.” Landscape architect Emily (Epikos) said the plan sought to preserve mature trees and orient units inward to reduce visual impacts to Davis and Wooley streets.

Why this matters: The parcel sits near existing neighborhoods close to downtown McCall and the project is framed by staff and proponents as infill that advances the city’s comprehensive-plan goals for compact, walkable medium-density housing while preserving open space and tree stands. The developer’s off-site commitments and the project’s pathway connections were central to the council's deliberations.

Key details and tradeoffs
- Density and layout: Townhomes (16 units) plus 12 detached homes; total proposed units (28) remain within the R-8 density allowance (the vote noted the zone could allow up to 29 units). The developer reported about 36% of the site would be planted open space—above the 20% code minimum.
- Infrastructure commitments: The applicant agreed to construct internal pathways, a segment of the East‑West pathway from Louisa to Ferb, and to fund paving of the south half of Spruce Avenue plus a portion of Dawson Avenue paving. A traffic analysis cited during the hearing concluded that at project buildout roughly 69% of traffic on Dawson Avenue and 58% of traffic on Spruce (from Dawson to Davis) would be attributable to the development; the engineering team and city staff described a negotiated cost-sharing approach for paving and water-main work.
- Wetlands and trees: Speaker testimony said actual permanent wetland impacts would be “less than a tenth of an acre”; the applicant and design team said clustering units and locating wetlands within common open space would reduce lot-by-lot impacts and help long-term management.
- Local housing and affordability: The project includes one deed‑restricted for‑sale local housing unit housed in a townhome. Council members pressed the applicant about increasing the number of deed-restricted units and asked what kinds of city partnerships (down-payment assistance, employer participation or other subsidies) could make additional deed-restricted units feasible. Owner Shane Mace said infrastructure and site costs were substantial—he cited preliminary infrastructure cost estimates “$2,000,000 plus” and suggested lot acquisition costs could be in the range of $130,000–$150,000 per lot—factors that limit how many lower-cost units a private developer can deliver without subsidy.

Public comment and neighborhood concerns
Neighbors who live on Dawson Avenue said they are longtime residents and asked that the project preserve as many mature trees as possible, mitigate increased dust and traffic and consider how snow removal and overflow parking would be handled. One resident said the nearby road segment receives dust and mud when not paved and asked for coordination between the city and developer on paving priorities.

Council deliberation and vote
Council members praised the applicant team’s responsiveness to staff and neighbors and noted the project’s alignment with the comprehensive plan’s goals for infill, walkability and open space. Councilmember Julie (last name recorded as Machesic in roll call) moved to approve the application with staff‑recommended conditions, adding language to memorialize a Louisa Avenue setback alleviation that had been omitted from an earlier draft; the motion carried unanimously on roll-call vote (Council members Machesic, Nelson, Giles (mayor), Nielsen and Thrower: yes).

Next steps and conditions
Staff will return with findings of fact, conclusions of law and a final development agreement reflecting the council’s motion and the negotiated infrastructure commitments. The council directed continued coordination between the applicant, the city engineering team and the Pan Lakes Water and Sewer District (the record shows a “will‑serve” letter for 29 units) on timing, water‑main work, drainage and paving phasing.

Speakers quoted in this report came from the council meeting transcript and are limited to those who identified themselves on the record. Quotations used in this article: “I think it's a win‑win,” Shane Mace (owner); “It has been a very collaborative, iterative process,” Emily (landscape architect).