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kimley-horn.com 1100 W. Idaho Street, Suite 210, Boise, ID 83702 208-207-8477
November 6, 2023
Planning & Zoning City of Caldwell 621 Cleveland Boulevard Caldwell, ID 83605
RE: Domes Church - 821 N 16th Ave Request
To whom it may concern:
Please accept our application for the Domes Church Apartments located at 821 N 16th Ave. This project
proposes multifamily affordable housing, and we request review and approval of a Comprehensive Plan
Amendment, Rezone with Development Agreement, and Special Use Permit. A right of way vacation
application is included in this submittal package to be reviewed concurrently.
The subject property is located directly adjacent I-84 to the north and sits in between 14th Ave and 16th
Ave (Parcel No. R0265300000 and R0265700000). The subject property consists of 6.1 acres including
the 16th Ave right of way vacations. The existing parcels are currently occupied by Caldwell First
Assembly Church and a cell tower. Notus Canal wraps the entire south side of the project. The Caldwell
23 project is located to the southeast of the project, this multi-family development consists of 504 units
along with additional office space, retail and/or light industrial. Hope Plaza Apartments is also located
to the southwest of the project and consists of rent restricted/affordable muti-family units. The site is
approximately 1.2 miles (25-minute walk or 5-minute drive) from Indian Creek Plaza and approximately
0.7 miles (15-minute walk or 3-minute drive) from 10th Ave which has restaurants, coffee shops,
theaters, shopping, and other amenities. Directly northwest to the site is a pedestrian bridge that
crosses I-84 onto Indiana Ave which connects to various neighborhoods on the north side of the
freeway.
The Future Land Use Map designates this site as ‘Traditional Neighborhood’ which allows up to 20
units per gross acre and is meant to be utilized for more traditional neighborhood districts. This area
adjacent the highway has not been a traditional neighborhood for some time if at all as it includes
several transitioning industrial/agricultural supporting uses. We are requesting a Comprehensive Plan
Amendment to designate the site as ‘High Density Residential’ which allows up to 25 units per gross
acre. This is a suitable designation for the subject parcels as it’s setback from all other uses by the
canal and highway. This will also be consistent with the Caldwell 23 project which is designated as
‘Commercial & Service’ and will further support the proposed commercial uses within their
development.
The parcels are currently zoned as ‘T-N – Traditional Neighborhood’, and we are requesting a rezone
to ‘R-3 – High Density Residential’ with a Development Agreement. This will also be consistent with the
Caldwell 23 project which was zoned ‘C-3 – Service Commercial’ and allowed multi-family prior to
recent code changes removing multi-family uses from the Commercial zones. Lastly, a Special Use
Permit is requested to develop affordable multi-family housing.
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kimley-horn.com 1100 W. Idaho Street, Suite 210, Boise, ID 83702 208-207-8477
A Right of Way Vacation application for right of way running along the south property line and through
the project is included for concurrent review. Vacating this right of way will ensure the parcels are
developed in a holistic approach and reduce the City’s maintenance burden for right-of-way which does
not provide area connectivity. Included in the submittal are proposed new easements for the utilities
located in the right of way, with easement legal descriptions included as well.
As mentioned above, Domes Church - 821 N 16th Ave is proposed as an affordable multi-family
housing development consisting of 152 units with a proposed density of 25 dwelling units per acre. The
project is comprised of three four-story buildings, two of which include 64 units and the other includes
24 units. There will be 228 parking spaces or 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling in concurrence with
Section 10-02-05-3 of the Zoning Regulations.
The project is proposed with 100% affordable units at 60% Area Median Income. The three-bedroom
units will be marketed as family style units. The buildings will also meet the IHFA Green Building
Standards and include high efficiency lighting, ventilation, irrigation, and water saving measures.
Conceptual floor plans, elevations and renderings are included from a similar project by the same
development group within Boise City.
Vehicular site access is proposed from 16th Ave on the south side of the site. An internal service drive
and sidewalks provide connectivity internal to the site. A 30’ wide landscape buffer is provided along
the north side of the site along I-84. The cell tower on site will have a 100’ radius buffer from the
residential units, with open space, parking, and trash enclosures within the buffer.
Project amenities include a club house with picnic area, dog park (large and small breed) and 26,664
square feet of open space (10%). Alternative Compliance is requested as the "property does not
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kimley-horn.com 1100 W. Idaho Street, Suite 210, Boise, ID 83702 208-207-8477
possess a surface or well irrigation water right and/or does not have access to surface or well water."
(10-07-12(4)). Code requires that grass be used as the primary / dominant landscape material. As noted
below, to avoid the overuse of City potable water, a Dry Landscaping / Xeriscape approach is applied
in the following areas, with the following explanations (note: turfgrass areas are concentrated in primary
qualified open space areas for residents' recreation use):
1. In the required 30' landscape buffer adjacent to I-84, the landscape ordinance requires a
minimum application of 70% turfgrass within the buffer. This landscape plan proposed to use
an application of a native grass seed mix in lieu of turfgrass. This seed mix will use no
permanent irrigation water, avoids an abrupt contrast between the native grass applied in the
I-84 right-of-way, and does not encourage resident use of the I-84 buffer for recreation
purposes.
2. Per Section 10-07-09, when Dry Landscaping is used, the parking lot islands are exempt from
vegetation requirements. Boulders are placed in landscape islands as required.
3. Common landscape areas on site: Many of these landscape areas are narrow, awkwardly
shaped, and adjacent to existing canal vegetation (south property line). Several of these areas
lie within extensive irrigation and utility easements, which are excluded from Qualified Open
Space uses that could otherwise warrant the use of turfgrass (10-07-05(4)). The use of native
seed mix application here provides a green transition to adjacent landscape without the need
of permanent irrigation and maintenance and a non-recreation buffer.
The proposal is consistent with the Goals, Objective, and Strategies of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan
for the City of Caldwell, specifically:
• Land Use Goal 2-2 encourage the restoration and redevelopment of underutilized and
neglected properties through infill development.
• Land Use Goal 3 encourages creating communities that are more livable, affordable,
connectable and sustainable.
• Land Use Policy 3-2 calls for maximizing the use of land by encouraging high-density
residential development in areas that have adequate services to act as a buffer between less
dense residential and commercial uses and support public transit.
• Housing Goal 1 calls for supporting adequate housing for a range of income levels and
residential needs.
Agency requirements will be fully met and submitted for your review and comment as the project
continues. Initial meetings indicate that agencies are in alignment and agreement for the proposed
project; however, as additional needs arise, they will be mitigated and incorporated in the project
design. The engineering, architectural, and construction practices will be implemented with the
professional standard of care.
We look forward to bringing this quality residential neighborhood to Caldwell. We greatly appreciate
your time and review of our application submittal. In accordance with the submittal checklists, we are
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kimley-horn.com 1100 W. Idaho Street, Suite 210, Boise, ID 83702 208-207-8477
submitting electronically with all required information. Please contact me at (208) 207-8477 or
Nicolette.Womack@kimley-horn.com should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Nicolette Womack, AICP
Planner