City Council Regular Meeting

CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM PUBLIC NOTICE: THIS MEETING IS BEING RECORDED AND PLACED IN AN ONLINE FORMAT, PERSONS MAY EITHER VIEW OR LISTEN TO VIDEO/AUDIO OF THIS MEETING UNTIL SUCH TIME THE RECORDING IS DESTROYED UNDER THE CITY’S RETENTION POLICY. 1. CALL TO ORDER – Welcome/Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Chadwick called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. INVOCATION - Council Member Wheelock provided the invocation. 3. ROLL CALL ELECTED OFFICIALS: Mayor Trevor Chadwick, Council President David Hershey and Council Members Kevan Wheelock, Jennifer Salmonsen and Kevin Nielsen. STAFF: City Attorney Chris Yorgason (remote); City Clerk Shelly Tilton; City Planning Administrator Shawn Nickel; Assistant City Planner and Sports & Recreation Director Ryan Field; City Engineer Ryan Morgan; Public Information Officer Dana Partridge, Victor Islas Deputy Chief/Fire Marshall, Star Police Chief Zach Hessing and Deputy Clerk Kelly Martin. 4. INFORMATION A. Star Road Information Mayor Chadwick provided information regarding road projects. America 250 Proclamation Mayor Chadwick read a Proclamation supporting the America 250 Commemoration. He discussed a time capsule the city will be putting together for the 250-year celebration next year. 5. CONSENT AGENDA (ACTION ITEM) *All matters listed within the Consent Agenda have been distributed to each member of the Star City Council for reading and study, they are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion of the Consent Agenda or placed on the Regular Agenda by request. A. Approval of Claims B. Approval of Minutes: June 17, 2025 C. Approval of Minutes: June 24, 2025 Budget Workshop D. Star River Crossing Rezone & Development Agreement Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law E. Jeremy & Sabrina Newberry Annexation & Zoning and Development Agreement Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law F. Clear Skies Therapy Center Conditional Use Permit Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law  Council Member Salmonsen made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of 5A Approval of Claims, 5B Approval of Minutes for June 17th, 2025, 5C Approval of Minutes for June 24th, 2025 Page 1 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM Budget Workshop, 5D Star River Crossing Rezone & Development Agreement Finding of Fact/Conclusions of Law, 5E Jeremy & Sabrina Newberry Annexation & Zoning and Development Agreement Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law and 5F Clear Skies Therapy Center Conditional Use Permit Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law. Council Member Wheelock seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Hershey – aye; Wheelock – aye; Salmonsen – aye; Nielsen – aye. The motion carried. 6. PUBLIC HEARING A. Milestone Ranch South Subdivision Annexation & Zoning, Development Agreement and Preliminary Plat (AZ-25-01)(DA-25-03)(PP-25-01) The applicant is requesting approval of an Annexation & Zoning Rezone (R-4-DA), a Development Agreement and a Preliminary Plat for a proposed residential subdivision consisting of 34 residential lots and 3 common lots. The property is located on the northwest corner of W. Broken Arrow Street and N. Milestone Way in Star, Ada County, Idaho, and consists of 10.01 acres with a proposed density of 3.4 dwelling units per acre. Mayor Chadwick opened the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. Council Members have had no ex-parte communication. City Planner Shawn Nickel presented the application. The property being annexed is 10.01 acres with a request of 34 residential lots and 3 common lots. The zoning designation request is a change from Rural-Urban Transition to R-4. All application requirements have been met. The application has been reviewed for compliance with the Unified Development Code and city Comprehensive Plan. There was one late exhibit, a letter from a neighbor; there are no items for special consideration. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Shawn reviewed a site map and preliminary plat. Kyle Prewett with Toll Brothers discussed the application reviewing the location, future land use map and zoning map stating that neighboring properties are zoned R-3 and R-5. He discussed setback requirements stating they are meeting all setbacks. The site amenity will be a fire pit gathering area located in the northeast portion of the development. Landscape and fencing were discussed. Kyle provided the project timeline, proposed floor plans the pathway along Broken Arrow and grading that will match the grading of the neighboring subdivision. The three grain silos currently on site could be donated to the city if the city would want them. Elevation of the floor plan with the bonus room will be confirmed, the bedroom does not have a rear-facing window so there will be no view into existing homes that are behind them. Pathways would be open to the public as it is not a gated community. Fencing will match what is in Milepost Subdivision. Kyle said he received the neighborhood letter that was handed out just before the hearing, it will take some time to review it to provide a response. Gary Arsten spoke against the application. He provided and read a letter prepared by residents of Regency/Milestone Ranch. Many homeowners had thought the property was owned by someone that wouldn’t sell or develop the property, he said they wouldn’t have purchased their property had they known homes would be built on this property. He discussed walkways/greenbelts that separate their homes within their subdivision and are requesting for the same in this development to provide distance between the two. Page 2 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM Bob White spoke against the application, discussing grading and the wide greenbelts and walkways they have in the neighboring subdivision. He doesn’t believe the applicant is able to grade the property to match the elevation of existing homes. They would like the development altered to narrow the walkway in the middle to allow for a walkway between the two developments. Consistency between the developments was discussed. Lori Billand had signed up to speak neutrally on the application, she read a letter she had provided the mayor and council members that stated she is disappointed and feels as though she is living in a fishbowl, with no privacy, due to the grading of her property and way her home was built by Toll Brothers. She had specifically requested boulders or a higher fence to remedy the grade variance between hers and neighboring lots but was declined. She had issues with her fence which was fixed but it didn’t resolve the concerns. She discussed concerns regarding setbacks and fencing. On street parking was discussed, Lori said some of her neighbors don’t have parking on the street in front of their house and she feels that each house should have space for on street parking in front of it. Mayor Chadwick explained that anyone can park in front of houses on public streets and discussed street widths. She would like guidelines to be changed so that all homes have at least one street parking space. She supports the walkway changes that have been requested and explained that she feels elevations should be set so that she isn’t able to see as much as she can into her neighbor’s windows, or them see into hers. Mayor Chadwick said Toll Brothers have agreed to drop the elevation which will be built into the development agreement and will be verified by the city engineer. Kyle Prewett discussed the grading plan. He discussed pathway connection stating that some homes can’t be moved due to waterlines and potential creation of flag lots that could result. Mayor Chadwick asked if the pathway could be provided if side yard setbacks were granted or if backyard setbacks were reduced for some of the lots. Council Member Wheelock is against the setback reduction but is willing to compromise to get the pathway. Council Member Nielsen isn’t in favor of losing side yard setbacks, he would recommend reducing lots instead. Council Member Hershey feels a couple of lots will need to be reduced to provide the assurances that are needed. Council Member Wheelock prefers the larger side yards for fire safety as well as aesthetics. Tabling the application or approving it with conditions was discussed. Anna Herney with Toll Brothers said they will check with ACHD, she doesn’t feel moving the street 20 feet will be a problem. Martin Taylor with Toll Brothers discussed setbacks and lot reduction. He feels they have enough options to move forward with the application and make the necessary changes. City Engineer Ryan Morgan discussed elevation and said that these homes may sit lower. Mayor Chadwick said the requirement would need to be that they are level. Mayor Chadwick closed the hearing at 8:24 p.m. Conditions to be included with approval included grading to match the existing homes/lot grades, requiring a 20 foot landscape buffer with pathway along the northern edge of the property returning back so that the northern pathway looks like the southern pathway, fencing and border walls as needed to ensure privacy between the homes with no side windows that line up with each other on adjacent homes, the city will grant a waiver of rear setbacks from 15’ to 10’ for the homes built on the Page 3 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM northern portion to allow for the 25’ landscape buffer, the interior pathway to be 5’ wide to match other interior pathways and fencing matches the existing subdivision. On street parking within the development was discussed.  Council Member Nielsen moved to approve this application, having reviewed the application he finds it is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code; the conditions talked about improve the application and represent a lot of the feedback and requests that have been heard from the community tonight. Assistant Planner Ryan Field asked for more specifics to enforce the no side windows across from each other to allow for enforcement; he does the design reviews but won’t have a way to know how they will line up if the home next to it hasn’t yet been sold. Council Member Nielsen said this is something that would become part of the development agreement and if the developer develops contrary to the agreement, they will have to change it, it may not be noticed by staff until after fact and then would have to be fixed by the developer. Council Member Hershey seconded the motion. Council Member Wheelock said that windows near each other are what blinds are for, and he feels that is city overreach. Council Member Nielsen said there are different types of homes with differing layouts and flexibility on where to place them, dealing with significant elevation differences and privacy issues this has been heard enough times in various developments and he feels it is a condition to put in the development agreement; he can see where some people might consider it city overreach, he isn’t trying to put an unfair burden on the developer but feels it is a planning issue with options as to where to place a window. ROLL CALL VOTE: Hershey – aye; Wheelock – aye; Salmonsen – aye; Nielsen – aye. The motion carried. 7. ACTION ITEMS: A. America 250 Proclamation This item was moved to the beginning of the meeting. B. 2025-2026 Appropriation Publication Mayor Chadwick discussed the budget publication with a proposed budget of $26,559,539.00 and property tax levy amount of $2,202,714.00. Approval would be for publication of the proposed budget to allow for the public hearing to be held.  Council Member Hershey moved to approve with the numbers stated. Council Member Salmonsen seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Hershey – aye; Wheelock – aye; Salmonsen – aye; Nielsen – aye. The motion carried. C. Executive Session – Idaho Code 74-206(c) to acquire an interest in real property not owned by a public agency  Council Member Nielsen moved according to Idaho Code 74-206(c) to acquire an interest in real property not owned by a public agency we enter executive session. Council Salmonsen seconded the Page 4 of 5  CITY OF STAR, IDAHO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall - 10769 W State Street, Star, Idaho Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Hershey – aye; Wheelock – aye; Salmonsen – aye; Nielsen – aye. The motion carried and the council entered executive session at 8:30 p.m. Regular session reconvened 8:49 p.m. D. Actions After Executive Session  Council Member Hershey moved to authorize the mayor to negotiate real property as discussed. Council Salmonsen seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Hershey – aye; Wheelock – aye; Salmonsen – aye; Nielsen – aye. The motion carried. 8. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Chadwick adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m. ___/s/___________________________ ATTEST: ___/s/_________________________ Mayor Trevor A. Chadwick Shelly Tilton, City Clerk Page 5 of 5