The Kuna City Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 28 recommended approval of the Napa Vineyards planned unit development (PUD) and associated plats and design review, forwarding the matter to the City Council with conditions set out in staff reports.

The recommendation covers the primary PUD application and associated subdivision and design-review requests for a roughly 242‑acre project along Meridian Road between Hubbard and Columbia identified in staff materials as Napa Vineyards. The commission’s action was made after a continued public hearing and a round of public comment and applicant rebuttal.

The project team said the development will be built in multiple phases and must meet engineering and agency requirements. Stephanie Hopkins of KAM Engineering, the applicant representative, told the commission, “Public Works is 1 of the staff reports that we were waiting on at the last hearing. And, since that hearing, they have submitted comments that include a variety of conditions and requirements that would be imposed on this project.” Hopkins said the Mason Creek sewer trunk line will be extended as part of the project and that the development will pay impact fees for water, sewer, parks, police and other services.

Traffic mitigation was a central element of the hearing. Sonia Deliden, traffic engineer with Kittleson & Associates, said the applicant “is in full agreement with all of the conditions listed by ACHD and ITD related to the transportation system,” and described an extensive list of mitigation in Ada County Highway District (ACHD) and Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) staff reports, including roadway widening, turn lanes and signalization at specified triggers.

Commission discussion repeatedly returned to schools and timing. Commissioner Jim Mahan summarized the split view on the project: the development would prompt substantial infrastructure—trunk line sewer extension, road improvements and a commercial tax base—yet “our schools are currently inundated,” he said, noting the site includes a dedicated school parcel but not funding to build school facilities. Staff clarified the development agreement gives the Kuna School District a first right of refusal on the school site; Planning and Zoning Director Doug Hansen said, if the district declines, “it would have to be something to count towards qualified open space. So it could be a school or it could be a park. It could never be developed as homes.”

Commissioners and staff described milestone triggers and frontage rules that will control when particular improvements must be built. Staff said certain infrastructure must be built, tested and accepted prior to final plat signatures, and that many ACHD conditions require developer funding and construction, though some mitigation is tied to lot-count triggers (for example, items identified for the 200th and 300th lot).

Public comment included a nearby resident asking specifically about water, power and sewer capacity. Michael Anderson asked, “What research has been done to the facilities that would be needed to support this size of a development?” The applicant team answered that City and utility reviews, impact fees and plan‑level requirements govern capacity and that Idaho Power and other utilities regularly upsize facilities in response to regional growth.

After deliberation the commission voted to recommend approval of the PUD and related applications with the conditions listed in staff reports; the record shows one commissioner opposed the recommendation. The commission also recommended approval of the associated design review with conditions; that vote likewise recorded one opposed member. The recommendation package will be considered by the City Council, which will hold its own public hearing and may impose or modify conditions.

The commission’s staff reports and agency comments (ACHD, ITD and Kuna Public Works) were central to the conditions; the project remains subject to final engineering review and agency signoffs before construction can begin.

The commission also discussed future multifamily on the site, which is currently zoned R20; commissioners noted multifamily would return for later review and could trigger additional traffic study requirements.

Votes at the meeting: the commission recorded a recommendation to the City Council to approve the Napa Vineyards PUD and associated plats and design review with conditions. The recorded tallies in the meeting were majority in favor with one opposed.