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Developer presses council on five‑year termination clause in Watermark development agreement
Summary
Developers asked the council to remove a five‑year automatic termination clause (Section 8.11) from the Watermark development agreement; staff and the city attorney explained the clause prevents indefinite, dormant entitlements and pointed to DA modification processes as the applicant’s avenue for extensions.
Representatives for the Watermark development asked the council at the July 14 meeting to remove Section 8.11 from the development agreement—a clause that would terminate the DA and revert zoning to AR if construction had not commenced within five years. The applicant said that this termination language is new and would create significant long‑term uncertainty for the property value and financing.
City staff, the city attorney and planning staff explained the rationale for a fixed performance deadline: absent a specified timeframe, Idaho law defaults to a nebulous ‘reasonable time’ standard that has produced litigation in other jurisdictions. The city attorney said a five‑year limit has been used recently to provide a bright‑line measure while allowing applicants to request a development‑agreement modification or extension through an established process if additional time is needed. Council members asked staff to document the DA modification path and agreed to leave 8.11 in place while staff will provide the applicant a confirming letter about modification options and the sequence of required steps.
Council approved a motion to leave Section 8.11 as written during the meeting, with staff to follow up with clarifying documentation on the modification process.
