What Kuna commission decided after neighbors objected to 2,000-home golf development

About 45 people watched and murmured among themselves as six Kuna residents stepped up to the podium to oppose a golf-course development of over 2,000 homes near their property over the next two decades.

“While growth is expected, it must be controlled,” said David Imhoff, a Kuna resident who lives just off Cloverdale Road near the proposed development. “Don’t add [our community] to the list of extinct species in Kuna. Being a good neighbor is everything this community stands for.”

Kuna’s Planning and Zoning Commission passed several motions Tuesday night to advance the development of the Falcon Crest subdivision, attached to the Falcon Crest Golf Course at 11102 S. Cloverdale Road. The development would cover 1,025 acres immediately north of Kuna Road and east of File Mile Road.

The development would include lots for single families, homes targeted at people ages 55 or older, and golf villages. It would include almost 19 acres for commercial use. The proposal also includes a city park.

Now, the development — represented on Tuesday by Mark Tate of M3 Companies, a housing developer in Idaho and Arizona — must move on to seek approval from the Kuna City Council.

The commission’s decision came after hours of debate following an unbroken string of residents opposed to the project. Most of them were primarily concerned with potential water supply problems they said could affect the surrounding area if the development were to draw its water by creating wells, as is laid out in the project’s development plan.

“All we hear is that the city of Kuna is going to dig two new wells. What is that going to do to the water table?” said Richard Boardman, who lives just west of Cloverdale Road. “What’s going to happen to our wells — are they going to dry up in five years? Where will the developer be at that time?”

Other themes among opponents included concerns about traffic as well as the general character of the place. Some said the gated-community-style neighborhoods wouldn’t fit in with the rural cultural of the surrounding area.

The comments, especially those about water levels, sparked a series of questions and debates among members of the commission and city staffers, in which it was suggested that a study be done to assess the water levels.

Ultimately, these concerns seemed to be satisfied by the testimony of Bob Bachman, Kuna’s planning and zoning and public works director, and by an existing contingency plan within the development plan, which states that if M3 is unable to obtain approval to drill new wells, the developer would instead arrange to be connected to the city water supply.

“All of the information we have been given through our process ... is that there should be adequate water,” Bachman said. “The permits are only approved if DEQ [the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality] says the well is viable and doesn’t affect the area... If DEQ says we’re unable to serve the next project, there is no next project.”

Bachman said the city will use test wells to determine whether the development would affect the local well water supply, though that process cannot begin until the land is annexed into the city limits. Annexation requires City Council approval.

The proposed land and golf course are owned by Terry Cook and Hansgeorge Borbonus, who also own Cloverdale Nursery at 2528 N Cloverdale Road in Kuna. A development was conceived to adjoin the golf course since before the course opened 17 years ago.

With two persons per household, the development would boost the population of the city of 19,700 by more than 20 percent. Completing the development could take 20 years, depending on market conditions.

This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 7:54 AM with the headline "What Kuna commission decided after neighbors objected to 2,000-home golf development."