Kuna council approves Newbury Place preliminary plat amid traffic and well concerns

The Kuna City Council voted to approve a preliminary plat for the Newbury Place subdivision, a planned 18.6-acre development that will be subdivided into 95 residential lots and 22 common lots near South 10 Mile Road and West Lake Hazel Road. The council approved the application by voice vote after staff and the applicant described site plans and conditions in the staff packet.

Marina Lundy, a planner with the city’s development services department, summarized the request and noted the project reduces a previously approved pre-plat from 98 residential lots to 95 and is subject to the recommended conditions in the staff report. The applicant’s engineer said the average lot size is about 4,133 square feet (roughly 5.1 units per acre) and that the project provides about 22.6% green space compared with a required 7.5% qualified green space.

Several residents and stakeholders spoke during the public hearing. Rebecca Torres, who said she lives at 7015 South 10 Mile, told the council her 1949 house has a very short driveway and that she was worried about new traffic: “I saw that ACHD said that there’s about to be 900 more cars per day from that subdivision,” she said, adding concerns about safety on 10 Mile, potential loss of access, privacy and whether development could affect her private well. Gail Czar noted the proposed lots are smaller than many homeowners might expect, and Tim Jensen of the Kuna School District confirmed the district’s partnership with the developer and cited a recent study estimating about 0.5 students per household for similar developments (down from older estimates around 1.2).

The applicant, represented by Elwin Butler of Matrix Engineering, told the council the developer has worked with the Boise Project Board of Control and the Bureau of Reclamation on canal setbacks and easement treatments, and said ACHD requires closure of the access nearest a neighboring home so the development will use Butterfly Lane for access. Butler also said the project will connect to city water and sewer and expects the 25-foot canal setback will be provided; he told the council the developer does not anticipate impacts to the neighbor’s well because the subdivision will use city utilities.

Council members expressed concern about cumulative traffic on 10 Mile Road, where several nearby developments have been approved, and discussed whether the city could delay action until ACHD arterial improvements were completed. City planning staff said developers will build most mid-mile road improvements, while ACHD controls arterial improvements funded through impact fees. City attorney Jake Jones cautioned that a denial of a previously annexed project could be legally challenged and that successful legal challenges have occurred elsewhere; he said a denial would have to be grounded in factual findings about public services or safety.

After deliberation the council moved to approve the preliminary plat with the conditions listed in the staff packet; no opposing votes were recorded. The project will proceed subject to the listed conditions and required agency approvals including the Bureau of Reclamation’s level-1 environmental review and coordination with ACHD on right-of-way changes and future roundabout design.