BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Supreme Court ruled partially in favor of the North West Neighborhood Association (NWNA) in a years-long back-and-fourth with the City of Boise over the future of a 38-acre plot of land in Northwest Boise.
The city annexed the land in 2016, according to NWNA President Richard Llewellyn. CBH Homes applied to develop the land in 2018 but was turned down by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission; they echoed infrastructure concerns - including the lack of a fire station - voiced by NWNA.
The developers appealed Planning and Zoning's decision to the Boise City Council and offered a modified development plan; council unanimously supported the 226-home development plan.
"Well, city council has that ability," Llewellyn's said. "You got to deal with a fire situation, the traffic, the comprehensive plan."
State law requires governing agencies to provide a written 'reason explanation' regarding the approval or denial of land-use applications. The statement must be detailed enough to explain the facts in dispute.
The Supreme Court opinion details the city council failed to meet that standard.
"The City Council's reason for decision fails to address the fire service issue in any way and is in violation of the requirements," the opinion said. "We therefore reverse the decision of the district court in part and remand this matter with instructions to invalidate Boise City Council's actions."
Invalidation of the city council's action renders the development applications void, according to Llewellyn.
"We'll, it's not zoned for this [construction] now," Llewellyn said. "We were described as thrifty farmers when I was a kid out here. We've taken on the biggest city, biggest developer, and the real estate law firm that wrote the book, literally, on law real estate here in Idaho, and we've won."
The opinion explicitly states the city council's violation is not grounds for reversal; this action is not going to stop the development project because these errors "did not prejudice NWNA's substantial rights."
Until the city council properly files a reason statement to fulfill the development application process in accordance with state law, the construction process should pause in place, according to Llewellyn.
"That will help the whole process," Llewellyn said. "And if [the reason statement] still grossly problematic, then we keep fighting."
The City of Boise did not respond for comment at the time of publication.
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