New annexation in Kuna points to larger growth

The recent annexation of the 37-acre Mellin Property by the Kuna City Council continues to raise excitement about growth in the area.

Kuna Planning and Zoning Director Steve Hasson said there are a few reasons Kuna is growing so much. Kuna is working on installing a new sewage treatment plant and new wells which will accommodate up to 100,000 people.
And the city’s development of a better roadway in the south part of the city has moved from the back burner to the front burner, making that area more interesting to developers. Ada County has been encouraging growth by pushing developers to set their projects in existing cities rather than in county land, and as the rate of growth in the area speeds up, people are realizing that Kuna is not so far away.
 “The bigger picture is that if you look at the Treasure Valley, you look at Canyon County and you look at Ada County, we started our existence in about 1864, and now today, according to COMPASS, right now between Canyon County and Ada County we have about 505,000 people,” Hasson said. “It’s taken us since about 1864 to come up with that number. We’ve been working, plugging away to get half a million and it took almost 150 years. Now we’re expecting another half million in the next 20 years.”
To put that in perspective, Hasson said that’s about seven more cities like Nampa popping up over the next 20 years.
“When you look at Ada County and the developable land within it, it doesn’t take a radar to see that Kuna is on the radar by virtue of having land, sewer and water, being closed in, having transportation, and with the county encouraging people to come into cities now and with national and international developers looking this way, it’s all I can do to keep up.”
Hasson said Kuna was the fastest growing city in Ada County last year with a healthy growth rate of 4 percent.
 “You would think by watching CNN and FOX News that the sky is falling and the plug was pulled and collapse is imminent, and I assure you if you come to Kuna you’ll find anything but,” he said. “So if in bad times or turbulent times or times of uncertainty we’re having a 4 percent growth rate, that’s good. That says that when we let things warm up a bit, let consumers get more comfortable, we’re gonna rock and roll from this time forward.”
But as properties like Mellin’s start to develop, this creates a huge challenge for Kuna planners. Right now they’re working on updating several land-use planning documents that will allow them to plan for the next 20 years of growth. Hasson said they’re looking at transportation, quality of life, how neighborhoods interact, the sense of community, maintenance, commercial business districts, schools and sewer. They’re looking ahead to when the jurisdictions in the area are going to butt up against each other and working with the nearby cities to try to prevent a turf war in the near future.
 “The question is, how do you preserve the quality of life for those who came out here for farming and agriculture, how do you preserve their way of life and on the other hand how do you become a full-service municipality?” Hasson said. “That’s a two-step, it’s hard to do.”
The Mellin Property includes 30 acres of commercial and 6.5 acres of residential. It is located west of Linder Road and north of Boise Street. Ralph Mellin, the owner of the property, has negotiatied plans for a 4-acre area for construction of a 15,000-square-foot Boys and Girls Club.
The Boys and Girls Club is a place for kids ages 6 to 18 to go after school to participate in programs and activities. It is funded primarily by donations and grants. The city is currently making minor modifications to clarify wording describing who is in charge of what at the proposed development in an agreement with The Land Group, Inc. The current annexation plans allow for up to 322,000 square feet of office, retail and residential space.
Van Elg, a senior partner with The Land Group, Inc., said Mellin asked his firm to design the development based on their previous design of the Eagle River project in Eagle, and their conceptual plan resembles that development: beautiful landscaping, density of trees and shrubs, landscaped islands in the right-of-way and a walking-friendly environment.
Kuna’s Hasson said the planning department has talked about annexation with agents representing 7,000 acres of land since the beginning of this year alone. That’s approximately equivalent to the current size of Kuna.