Avimor is back on the Eagle City Council agenda. Homeowners try to block decision
A group of Eagle homeowners have asked the Eagle City Council to reconsider its decision to annex a 8,761-home planned community in the Eagle Foothills, alleging that council members acted illegally and published an inaccurate fact-finding report.
SOS Eagle, a group of Eagle homeowners who have opposed the annexation of the Avimor planned community for years, say the city needs to walk back its approval to add Avimor, which spans over 27 square miles, into the city.
In March, the Eagle City Council voted 3-1 to annex Avimor into its city limits, despite public testimony that was mostly against the proposal. Avimor will add nearly the population of Kuna to Eagle at full build-out. It also plans to build 860,000 square feet, or nearly 20 acres, of commercial and retail buildings and bring 25 miles of hiking trails into the city.
The group, through its hired lawyer Terri Pickens Manweiler of Pickens Law in Boise, said Avimor doesn’t touch city of Eagle property other than Idaho 55, which doesn’t count as adjacent property under Idaho state law. The group also said Avimor was not in the city’s official comprehensive plan or area of impact, where a city anticipates growing and extending services. If a property is not within a city’s area of impact, the city must have consent from all landowners in the area, something SOS Eagle said the city did not have.
In a written request from Pickens Manweiler to the council, she said Avimor could not be considered a Category A annexation under state law because the law requires that property annexed must be part of the natural and organized growth of a city. SOS Eagle argued that the council “inappropriately” found that Avimor’s application supported the natural growing pattern of Eagle.
Category A annexations, which is the category Eagle used for Avimor, are also required to be adjacent to city limits. Idaho state law says that small strips of land, railways and highways, cannot be the only connection between the city and the land to be annexed. A highway is the only strip of land that connects Avimor to Eagle.
Cities can annex such properties as a Category A annexation only if all landowners beyond the area of impact have consented. Pickens Manweiler argued that the city did not have that consent.
“Because Avimor is not connected to city of Eagle by any means other than Highway 55, and not contiguous property, the annexation is in direct conflict with Idaho code,” Pickens said in her letter.
The Eagle City Council is scheduled to decide whether to reconsider the development June 8.
If council members decide to reconsider Avimor’s application, they would have to find an avenue other than a Category A annexation, Pickens said. The council could also deny the motion for reconsideration. If the council doesn’t issue a decision after 30 days, the reconsideration request is moot and SOS Eagle would have to petition for judicial review.
This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 1:24 PM.
