Kuna planners approve staff recommendation to reduce city area-of-impact
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Summary
The commission approved a staff-recommended comprehensive plan amendment to remove acreage from Kuna City's area of impact after staff said the parcels are primarily federal and state lands and not likely to be annexed in the near term; one neighbor sought confirmation the BLM lands would remain public.
Doug Hansen, Kuna City planning and zoning director, told the Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 9 that staff is recommending a comprehensive plan amendment (case 25-02-CPA) to reduce the city's designated area of impact, removing roughly 5,054 acres designated as public and about 477 acres designated as agricultural. "An area of impact is where growth and development are expected to occur," Hansen said, adding that areas of impact should reflect the city's near-term ability to annex and provide services.
During public comment Kimber Jenkins of 9105 West Rockstone Court, whose property sits adjacent to Bureau of Land Management holdings, asked whether the change would alter the status of nearby federal and state lands. "I just wanted to testify just in case it didn't mean what I think it means," Jenkins said, asking for reassurance that the parcels would remain BLM or agricultural and not be immediately subject to city services or annexation.
Hansen and staff answered that the parcels proposed for removal are predominantly owned by the BLM and the Idaho Department of Corrections, with a few small private owners, and that the amendment recognizes lands the city does not anticipate annexing. After brief deliberation the commission voted to approve the staff recommendation with the conditions listed in the staff report.
The record shows staff corrected a case-number typo at the hearing (the application is listed as 25-02-CPA). The transcript and staff comments do not specify an immediate next procedural step beyond the commission's approval of the recommendation.