Council OKs big Caldwell development. Here’s what area residents need to know

The Caldwell City Council has cleared the way for almost 1,000 new homes, despite concerns from some residents about traffic volume, other developments and the local school district’s ability to handle growth.

The council’s hearing about Silverleaf, a large and expensive mixed-use subdivision proposed south of Karcher Road near Gem State Adventist Academy, lasted more than two hours Monday evening. In the end, Boise-based M3 Companies got permission to lay the groundwork for the sprawling 220-acre development next to Idaho 55.

The plan calls for 655 single-family homes, up to 336 multifamily units and about 47 acres for commercial development, with the build-out projected over five to 10 years, according to Mark Tate, general manager for M3.

Tate described Silver Leaf as an upper-end community modeled on the company’s Summit Ridge project in Nampa, adding that it was the sum of four years of careful planning before the applications were submitted to the city.

Tate also boasted to the council that the new project in Caldwell completes M3’s “bingo card” of having active developments in every jurisdiction in the Treasure Valley.

“We don’t do entry-level communities. We do very, very nice, high-end communities,” Tate said, adding that at Summit Ridge, “the average price of a home … is more than two times the median home price in the city of Caldwell.”

The Treasure Valley is struggling with affordable housing shortages, and Caldwell is considered a more affordable place to live, according to previous Statesman reporting.

Caldwell is also short some 980 homes — about 4% of the city’s entire housing stock — according to an impact analysis and development playbook created by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Enterprise Institute published in March.

“That shortage is an invisible hand squeezing families out of homeownership, pushing rents higher, and forcing workers to commute farther from jobs and schools,” the authors wrote. “Every year we fail to close it, prices climb faster than wages, overcrowding worsens, and the dream of a starter home slips further away.”

Still, the high price of the homes at Silverleaf could be good news for the city. Earlier in the meeting, City Finance Director RaeLynn North said Caldwell has been running into challenges trying to keep property taxes low, and is experiencing a revenue deficit of at least half a million dollars. North said that partly is a result of a decreased number of building permits the city has issued in recent years.

If the development is completed, other city officials noted, the more expensive homes will bring in more property tax revenue for the growing Canyon County seat.

Caldwell also is hurting for food options, according to Council Member Diana Register, and could benefit from new commercial development at Silverleaf.

“I hear from a lot of our residents about not having grocery stores, but dining is also really important,” she said. “Either go to Nampa or come in town to what we have downtown.”

Concerns exist for big Caldwell development

Monday’s meeting brought up concerns from residents, as well as obvious effects for the city.

Community Planning Director Robin Collins pointed out that the development would prompt a need for more than $1.6 million in policing impact funds for the single-family and multifamily units alone, and said the single-family units would render $2.8 million in impact fees for traffic. These fees would be paid for by the developers, adding to the overall cost of the project.

A massive development like Silverleaf would require a significant allocation of city resources, according to Caldwell engineers. Several citizens didn’t hesitate to raise concerns about that.

Many people brought up questions about any impact on other development projects, the local school district, and how to support irrigation and plumbing for so many new homes and businesses with an already-challenged water supply.

One resident warned that traffic on Karcher Road and Montana Avenue is already “a disaster,” and questioned whether the Vallivue School District could absorb hundreds of new students.

Former City Council member and area resident Jeremy Fife tied those concerns to classroom crowding at nearby Falcon Ridge Elementary School.

“Falcon Ridge is already 36 kids per class, four grades minimum per class,” Fife said. “What happens when you push to 40?”

Addressing concerns about the city’s water supply, staff said a new municipal well serving the area must be drilled before building permits are issued. They clarified that although there is a moratorium on well drilling south of Lake Lowell, city engineers said a new well within city limits would be OK’d.

The moratorium from the Idaho Department of Water Resources seeks to address water table questions in Southwest Idaho, affecting applications to irrigate some 7,000 acres of farmland.

Planning staff noted that much of the site is designated “Community Center” under Caldwell’s comprehensive plan, which calls for eight to 15 housing units per acre within a quarter-mile of Idaho 55, and also anticipates significant commercial uses.

The city limited the amount of office space and medical use in the development because Register said Caldwell was “hurting for commerce.” The 13 lots that make up the 47-acre commercial portion of the plan were capped at 40% of the building space for offices and medical, with the majority reserved for retail and restaurants.

Sidewalks and paths were another flash point, with Council Member Chris Allgood pressing the developer to help fill gaps along Montana Avenue so students can safely walk between Gem State Adventist Academy and nearby public schools.

City staff said all street frontages in Silver Leaf would get curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and the project is expected to tie into a new grade‑separated underpass and regional trail along Karcher Road that eventually will link neighborhoods south of the highway to schools and commercial areas to the north.

The multifamily complex proposed on the north portion of the site still would require a future special-use permit, requiring the developers to reappear before council at a later date.

Construction could begin after the city signs off on annexation, plats and a new water well for the area, but the developer told council members homes are unlikely to be occupied until after ITD finishes its Karcher Road work, with full build‑out expected to take five to 10 years.

The Idaho Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, a religious organization that has been in the Treasure Valley for more than a century, owns the land. It plans to use sale proceeds to endow and upgrade Gem State Adventist Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist high school, and help relocate Caldwell Adventist Elementary School to the campus.

Conference President David Prest told council members that the project would help ensure the schools’ impact “for the next 100 years” by shifting classes to a more central location to support the new development.