BOISE — The Boise City Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday deferred consideration of a four‑lot preliminary plat at 12535 West Overland Road after debate over whether the developer must install a 10‑foot detached sidewalk and a multi‑use pathway along the Ridenbaugh Canal as required by a 2018 development agreement and the city's current code.

Planner Moser told the commission the Clover Overland Place subdivision application would create four buildable lots on about 6.15 acres and that the recorded development agreement calls for a public pathway along the canal, a minimum 5‑foot detached sidewalk and an 8‑foot landscape buffer. “The DA also requires the construction of screening walls, a public pathway along the Ridenbaugh Canal, and a minimum of a 5 foot wide detached sidewalk and an 8 foot wide landscape buffer along the street frontages abutting the subject property,” staff read into the record.

The applicant’s representative said the project previously had an approved plan set that expired and that modern code and utility conflicts make the 10‑foot detached sidewalk and full length canal pathway difficult. “Our interest is the storage unit,” the applicant's representative said, explaining the location of a self‑storage building on Lot 2 and that requiring a 10‑foot pathway “would wipe out a fourplex” that is anticipated on Lot 1 in a future phase. The applicant proposed language to limit the pathway extension adjacent to Lot 1 or to pursue a DA modification.

Commissioners and staff clarified the commission’s authority: the preliminary plat (subdivision) is before the commission tonight, while any change to the recorded development agreement or a deviation from the current 10‑foot sidewalk standard would require a separate DA modification, variance, and additional neighborhood review. Staff advised it would be procedurally cleaner to let the applicant submit those linked requests together so decision‑makers can consider the full package.

Several commissioners said they favor the city’s current standard for a 10‑foot detached sidewalk on busy corridors and supported maintaining connectivity of the canal pathway rather than terminating it in a dead end. “We need to be sure people can get to businesses and destinations without walking in traffic,” one commissioner said during the exchange opposing a truncated pathway.

A neighbor, Gerald Maxfield of 1920 South Mayflower Way, testified that Lot 1’s small residential parcel within the six‑acre site seemed like an awkward leftover, saying the lot “serves no purpose” as drawn and suggesting the storage use be extended. He said he was not strongly opposed to the overall project but wanted the configuration reconsidered.

After public comment, Commissioner Schaeffer moved to defer the item so the developer can pursue a development agreement modification and any necessary variance and return with a consolidated application. Commissioner Stallings seconded. The commission voted unanimously to defer and instructed staff and the applicant to pursue the additional neighborhood outreach and filings required for DA modification, variance, or rezone before the item returns to the commission and, later, to city council for final action.

Next steps: the applicant will be required to hold a neighborhood meeting, repost the site per notification rules, and file the DA modification/variance/rezone applications. The preliminary plat will return to the commission and then to the Boise City Council for final action only after those items are resolved.

Details: SUB25‑85 (Clover Overland Place) — preliminary plat for four lots on ~6.15 acres at 12535 W. Overland Road; Lot 2 includes a previously approved self‑storage conditional use; Lot 1 is reserved for future multifamily. The DA cited in staff materials dates from 2018/2019; staff and commissioners noted current code requires a 10‑foot detached sidewalk and 10‑foot landscape buffer on arterials, which is the core of the disagreement that led to the deferral.