Nampa council approves Regatta Crossing annexation and zoning with conditions after heated public hearing

The Nampa City Council approved annexation and zoning for Regatta Crossing, a 37.74‑acre mixed‑use development proposed by CBH Homes, after a lengthy public hearing and debate.

Sabrina Durche, representing the applicant, told the council the project would include 54 attached townhomes, 99 single‑family lots and 3.86 acres of commercial across five lots along Ustick Road, with a gross density of about 4.08 dwelling units per acre. She said the applicant will dedicate right‑of‑way needed for a future roundabout and arterial widening and plans a phased buildout with first occupancy expected in late 2028.

Supporters, including longtime residents and regional employers, urged the council to approve the project as workforce housing near major industrial employers. “Regatta Crossing is envisioned as a vibrant, welcoming community shaped by its natural connection to water,” Durche said during the presentation.

Opponents focused on traffic, school capacity and compatibility with adjacent uses. Multiple neighbors said Eustis (Ustick) Road is already congested and that local intersections and crossings remain safety concerns. Valley View School District submitted comments about school capacity. Several neighbors urged the council to require stronger buffers to nearby industrial parcels and to ensure any commercial zoning explicitly favored neighborhood‑serving retail rather than uses that would be out of scale.

Staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with conditions. Damien Snodgrass, associate planner, said the applicant increased the commercial acreage to meet the comprehensive plan’s residential‑mixed‑use target and added a fence along the eastern property line at the request of an adjacent landowner. Engineering required roadway and frontage improvements consistent with the traffic impact study; the study called for turn‑lane improvements on Ustick at the project entrance.

During deliberations council members asked the applicant to clarify staging, emergency access and qualified open space. The council also added development agreement language limiting some uses in the BC (business commercial) zone inside the project to require a future conditional‑use review for certain businesses and to convert a single southern lot into public open space and extend the pathway to the east to improve overall connectivity.

On a roll‑call vote the annexation and zoning package was approved (4 yes, 2 no). The council recorded: Skog — yes; Reynolds — yes; Bills — yes; Griffin — yes; Jingula — no; Rodriguez — no. The applicant agreed to the conditions and further technical review at final plat and building permit stages.

The decision allows the applicant to proceed with final platting and infrastructure planning; staff will return with required technical documents, right‑of‑way dedications and any development agreement language for formalization.