Findings - CC - 2025 - VAC-2024-04 - Application for a vacation to the plat of Eagle Ranch Sub No. 2BEFORE THE EAGLE CITY COUNCIL
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION
FOR A VACATION TO THE PLAT OF
EAGLE RANCH SUBDIVISION NO. 2
FOR ROBERT DESHAZO
DECISION:
CASE NUMBER VAC-2024-04
The above vacation application came before the Eagle City Council for their action on April 8, 2025, at
which time public testimony was taken and the public hearing was closed. The Eagle City Council having
heard and taken oral and written testimony, and having duly considered the matter, includes the following
facts and conclusions in support of the final decision;
FACTS:
A. PROJECT SUMMARY:
Robert DeShazo, represented by Stephanie Hopkins with KM Engineering LLP, is requesting a
vacation of a plat note applicable to Lot 2, Block 3 of the Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 2 final plat.
The applicant requests the word PLAYGROUND be vacated to allow for the development of a future
single-family residential dwelling on the property. The 0.98-acre lot is located on the south side of E.
Ranch Drive, approximately 1,000-feet east of Eagle Road.
B. APPLICATION SUBMITTAL:
The application for this item was received by the City of Eagle on December 10, 2024.
C. HISTORY OF RELEVANT PREVIOUS ACTIONS:
On April 10, 1972, the Eagle City Council approved the final plat for Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 2.
On August 26, 1975, the final plat for Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 2 was recorded at the Ada
County Recorder's Office.
On March 10, 1987, the applicant brought the request before the Eagle City Council to further
develop the common area parcel into additional residential parcels. The Council at the time stated the
issue should be taken to a public hearing.
On April 25, 1989, the City Council heard a request from the applicant to vacate the playground note
from the plat and to subdivide the parcel into four (4) lots. The Council denied the application with
concerns regarding whether the homeowners in the subdivision had legal interest in the property and
it was determined the issue should be resolved legally before coming back before the City.
On June 18, 1990, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of Eagle Ranch No. 5,
a subdivision of the Eagle Ranch No 2 playground lot.
On July 10, 1990, the City Council approved Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 5, a re -subdivision of the
Eagle Ranch No. 2 playground lot, with a condition that an indemnification agreement be established
to absolve the City of any liability due to the legal question of whether the homeowners had a legal
interest in the property.
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On May 12, 1992, a lawsuit was filed with the plaintiffs being the current applicant and the
defendants being the Eagle Ranch Property Owners Association. The intent of the lawsuit was to
remove a restriction on the title for the subject parcel regarding it being developed as a playground.
On July 29, 1992, a district court issued a judgement and decree (Case No. 95686) stating that the
court divested the Eagle Ranch Property Owners Association, Inc. of all interest in the property and
vested the title in favor of Robert and Elizabeth DeShazo.
On February 28, 1997, staff provided written correspondence to Robert DeShazo outlining the history
and status of the subject property.
On March 17, 2023, the property owner submitted a vacation application to remove the note
"playground" from the plat of Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 2.
On February 27, 2024, the City Council voted 4-0 to deny the vacation application.
THE CITY COUNCIL RECEIVED AND REVIEWED THE FOLLOWING STAFF ANALYSIS
PROVIDED WITHIN THE STAFF REPORT AND ADOPTS THE STAFF REPORT AS PART
OF THE CITY COUNCIL'S DECISION:
A. IDAHO CODE PROVISIONS WHICH ARE OF SPECIAL CONCERN REGARDING THIS
PROPOSAL:
Idaho Code Section 50-1306(A): VACATION OF PLATS — PROCEDURE.
(1) Any person, persons, firm, association, corporation or other legally recognized form of
business desiring to vacate a plat or any part thereof must petition the city council if it is
located within the boundaries of a city, or the county commissioners if it is located within
the unincorporated area of the county. Such petition shall set forth particular circumstances
of the requests to vacate; contain a legal description of the platted area or property to be
vacated; the names of the persons affected thereby and said petition shall be filed with the
city clerk.
(3) When the procedures set forth herein have been fulfilled, the city council may grant the
request to vacate with such restrictions as they deem necessary in the public interest.
B. EAGLE CITY CODE PROVISIONS WHICH ARE OF SPECIAL CONCERN REGARDING THIS
PROPOSAL:
9-6-2: VACATIONS AND DEDICATIONS:
A. Application For Vacation Or Dedication: Any property owner desiring to vacate an existing
subdivision, public right of way or easement shall complete and file an application with the
administrator. These provisions shall not apply to the widening of any street which is shown in
the comprehensive plan, or the dedication of streets, rights of way or easements to be shown on a
recorded subdivision.
B. Administrative Action:
1. Action By Administrator: Upon receipt of the completed application, the administrator shall
affix the date of application acceptance thereon, shall place the application on the agenda for
consideration at the next regular meeting of the commission which is held not less than
fifteen (15) days after the date of acceptance.
2. Recommendation By Commission: The commission shall review the request and all agency
responses and within thirty (30) days of the meeting at which the issue was on the agenda,
shall make a recommendation to the city council for either approval, conditional approval or
denial.
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3. Action By Council:
a. Vacations: When considering an application for vacation procedures, the city council shall
establish a date for a public hearing and give such public notice as required by law. The
city council may approve, deny or modify the application. Whenever public rights of way
or lands are vacated, the city council shall provide adjacent property owners with a
quitclaim deed for the vacated rights of way in such proportions as are prescribed by law.
b. Dedications: When considering an application for dedication procedures, the city council
may approve, deny or modify the application. When a dedication is approved, the
required street improvements shall be constructed or a bond furnished assuring the
construction prior to acceptance of the dedication. To complete the acceptance of any
dedication of land, the owner shall furnish to the city council a deed describing and
conveying such lands to be recorded with the county recorder.
c. Decision: The council shall review the request and all agency responses and commission
recommendation, and within thirty (30) days of the meeting at which the issue was on the
agenda either approve, conditionally approve or deny the request.
C. DISCUSSION:
• The applicant was previously the owner of Eagle Water Company. During his tenure a service
building for the Eagle Water Company was constructed on the property. The Ada County
Assessor's Office website notes that the property was divided into two parcels on December 17,
2008, assumably to separate the portion of the property that the water service building was on
from the remaining undeveloped portion of the property, however, a preliminary plat application
was never submitted to the city for approval. The city does not recognize the division as a legal
separation of the property and the building is now under the ownership of Veolia Water (formerly
Eagle Water Company). If this vacation application is approved, a building permit should not be
issued prior to approval of a preliminary plat and final plat and recordation of the final plat that
divides the undeveloped portion of the property from portion encompassing the existing Veolia
Water building.
PUBLIC MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION:
A public meeting on the application was held before the Planning and Zoning Commission on February
18, 2025. No testimony was provided as this item was not a public hearing.
COMMISSION DELIBERATION:
The Commission made a motion based upon the information provided by staff. A summary of the
deliberation can be found at the following link (Granicus time: 00:13:45):
https://eagle-id.granicus.com/plaverkli p/203 5 ?view _id= I &redirect=true
COMMISSION DECISION:
The Commission voted 4-0 (Guerber recused) to recommend approval of VAC-2024-04 for a vacation to
the final plat of Eagle Ranch Subdivision No. 2 to vacate the word PLAYGROUND, with the site specific
conditions of approval as provided within the staff report, dated January 16, 2025.
PUBLIC HEARING OF THE COUNCIL (Public Hearing AudioNideo Record [Granicus time
2:05:47] https://eagle-id.granicus.com/player/cltp/2059?view jd=1&redirect=true)
A. A public hearing on the application was held before the Eagle City Council on April 8, 2025, at which
time testimony was taken and the public hearing was closed. The Council made their decision at that
time.
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B. Oral testimony in favor of the application was presented to the City Council by no one (not including
the applicant/representative).
C. Oral testimony in opposition to the application was presented to the City Council by eight (8)
individuals (one of which was given speaking time by ten (10) individuals) who were opposed to the
proposed vacation and indicated the following concerns:
• The subject property has been used as a common area by the residents of Eagle Ranch
Subdivision for over 40 years.
• The subject property was shown as a common recreation area within original marketing materials
for the development.
• The subject property has been assessed by Ada County as a common lot and no taxes have been
paid in association with this lot for nine (9) years.
• The subject property has not been maintained since 2017, when Veolia Water took over the
operation of the facilities located on a portion of the lot. Weeds, concrete piles, and no -
trespassing signs have made the lot unpleasant to look at.
• The subject property was never transferred to a homeowners association because the developer
never established an association and refused to transfer ownership when the homeowners created
one.
• Eagle Ranch Subdivision does not currently meet the city's requirement for total area of open
space within subdivisions, even with the subject property included.
• Residents have established a non-profit organization named Eagle Ranch Neighborhood
Association to maintain the lot as a playground if ownership was transferred to them.
COUNCIL DECISION:
The Council voted 4 to 0 to deny VAC-2024-04 for a vacation to the final plat for Eagle Ranch
Subdivision No. 2:
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Council reviewed the particular facts and circumstances of the proposed vacation (VAC-2024-
04) in terms of Eagle City Code Section 9-6-2, "Vacations and Dedications" and has concluded that
the word PLAYGROUND shall not be vacated from Lot 2, Block 3 of the Eagle Ranch Subdivision
No. 2 final plat to allow for the development of a future single-family residential dwelling on the
property because:
Consistent with the testimony received, we find that the original intent for Lot 2, Block 3, of Eagle
Ranch Subdivision No. 2, was to be a common lot within the development because the recorded plat
includes a note designating Lot 2, Block, 3, as a playground and the development was originally
advertised to have a recreation area at this location. Neither the purchase of the lot by the applicant,
nor the lack of a homeowners association within this development has changed the original intent
regarding the use of the lot. The 1992 judgement and decree (Case No. 95686, entered July 29, 1992,
Ada County, Fourth Judicial District) determined that the ownership of the lot lies with the applicant,
however the case did not address the matter of use on the property, and the zoning authority lies with
the City. The plat note designating it as a playground shall not be vacated, therefore residential
development of the lot is not permitted.
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DATED this 12th day of August, 2025.
CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF EAGLE
Ada County, Idaho
Brad Pike, Mayor
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Tra . Osborn agle City Clerk
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