Board tables Leon Acres variance, directs revised findings striking Boise trail easement

Dec. 4 — The Ada County Board of Commissioners voted to table final action on a preliminary plat variance and private road for the Leon Acres subdivision (application 2024-01253 SVPR) and directed staff to prepare revised findings to grant the variance while removing a condition that would reserve a 16-foot easement for a future Boise pathway.

Staff described the proposal as a two-lot subdivision on a 4.8-acre parcel in the RSW (southwest rural) zone. The applicant, Trevor Plaistead, proposed two lots of about 2.4 acres each; the RSW district requires a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres, which is why the variance was needed. The proposed private road, West Falling Star Lane, would be 30 feet wide, short of the typical 50-foot easement usually required for private roads in areas of city impact. Planning and zoning recommended approval of the reduced private-road width and the subdivision.

A particular point of contention was the city of Boise’s request that an additional 16-foot easement be platted adjacent to the New York Canal to reserve space for a future pathway as part of Boise’s pathways master plan. Trevor Plaistead told the board that, because his property is surrounded by parcels and the canal company has not permitted easements within its corridor, there is no practicable way to secure the overlapping easements that would allow a usable public pathway. "There is no way ever that my property is going to be able to grant any public asset access like they're looking for," Plaistead said, explaining his position that the requested easement would not be functional in this setting.

Staff noted the applicant had completed or advanced required on-site upgrades, including septic work and an asphalt apron, and had coordinated with the health district on septic approvals. The Ada County engineer and the Whitney Fire District offered standard technical comments related to water, driveway approvals and fire access. Planning staff recommended denial of a variance on the grounds that a prior 2023 one-time division reduced the parent parcel’s size and that the variance would amount to a special privilege; however, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval, finding the proposal compatible with surrounding development.

After discussion, a commissioner said the easement request appeared unlikely to result in useful public access given existing conditions and that striking it would be reasonable. The board voted to table the item to the Dec. 17 open business meeting so staff could prepare revised findings of fact and conclusions of law that grant the variance and remove the easement condition. The motion to table directed staff to return with the revised findings reflecting the board’s direction; the motion passed with the commissioners present voting aye.

The board’s action preserves the applicant’s ability to receive a final approval conditioned on the revised findings rather than denying the variance outright; the item will return to the board on Dec. 17 for finalization of the written findings.