The Kuna Planning and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the Indie Subdivision preliminary plat and design review to the City Council after a two-hour public hearing in which neighbors raised safety and engineering concerns.

Planner Marina Lundy told commissioners the application “requests preliminary plat and design review approval for a 23 lot single family residential subdivision with 4 common lots on 5.1 acres.” Staff recommended approval with the conditions listed in the staff report, she said.

Why it matters: Residents said the new subdivision would add vehicles to Henna and Mauve near Crimson Point Elementary, worsen existing illegal parking and put children at greater risk during school drop-off and pickup. Neighbors also pressed the developer about blasting, drainage and grading on the parcel directly behind existing homes.

Residents’ objections were specific. Amber Huber, whose property borders the site, said the developer’s previous work on nearby blocks had required blasting and described water problems in Ruby Creek: “Because of this elevation difference, our drainage issues will only intensify without proper mitigation,” she said, and recounted an instance when a developer told neighbors, “we know how to blast.”

David Crawford, the applicant’s engineer, said the plan is compliant with Kuna City code and ordinances and described measures the team expects to use if blasting is necessary, including notification and the possibility of alternatives such as rock saws. “We presented a project that is completely compliant with Kuna city code and ordinances,” Crawford said.

Staff and applicant responses: Senior planner Troy Beheunen and the applicant explained that Ada County Highway District (ACHD) sets intersection spacing and geometric standards that limit where the subdivision can place an access. Beheunen said the city requires stub streets to serve future development and that Henna and Mauve were provided specifically to create those connections; ACHD’s spacing rules made a direct connection to Bridal Road infeasible at this time.

Commission discussion focused on three technical points: whether Lot 1 meets minimum street-frontage requirements, the potential traffic impacts near Crimson Point Elementary and how drainage and blasting would be managed during construction-plan review. Commissioners noted the developer is proposing about 4.4 dwelling units per acre, below the R-6 allowance of roughly six units per acre, and that some final engineering decisions (stormwater facilities, grading and any blasting mitigation) will be resolved during construction-plan and agency reviews.

Outcome and next steps: After discussion commissioners moved to recommend approval of Case No. 25-09-S (preliminary plat) and Case No. 25-29-DR (design review) with the conditions in the staff report. The commission’s vote sends the applications to the Kuna City Council for final action; commissioners asked neighbors to bring unresolved concerns to council for consideration.

The commission’s recommendation does not authorize construction. If the council approves the preliminary plat, the developer will submit construction plans that will be reviewed by city engineering, ACHD and other agencies for drainage, grading and any required blasting mitigation. The council meeting date to consider the recommendation was not specified during the hearing.