Public Hearings, No Public Input
Two public hearings were held before the start of the regular scheduled city council meeting on May 12. The first public hearing was on Ordinance #4-2025 – Amend Subdivision Regulations Regarding Development Agreements. For this hearing there was no input. The second public hearing was on the Cambridge Comprehensive Plan Proposed Updates on Chapter 3- Housing, Chapter 4 – economic Development, Chapter 5 – Land Use. There was no public input.
The regular meeting of the Cambridge City Council started out by approving the agenda, minutes of the regular meeting of April 14, 2025, and the payments of bills.
The HECO Engineering status report was given by Robert Almanza. In this report he noted that Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had released the draft for the Intended Use Plan with rankings on May 5th, which were open for public comment through May 16th. Cambridge ranked 11 out of 47 on the wastewater projects and 37 out of 56 on the water projects. Robert stated that there is not a lot of funding available at this time. The applications do show that the city is being proactive and are applying for funding. The city will continue to look for other funding options.
The city has been looking into the Idaho Gem Grant as discussed in the last meeting. Sandra McKee talked to Jerry Miller from the Idaho Department of Commerce and he said that this project looked like a very favorable one to apply for and he encouraged the city to apply for it. It requires a resolution by the city council. The Gem grant requires a 20 percent match, which Blake’s Sinclair has agreed to provide. The next round of applications needs to be in by the second week of June. It was stated that some engineering is required and the city is trying to work with JB Engineering, to get it as minimized as possible. The engineering will be allowed to be a part of the grant funds. The maximum the city would apply for would be $50,000; they don’t have an exact number yet. They have had conflicting information on whether the city will need a cost estimate. It will be under the new bidding requirements and so it doesn’t have to go to formal bidding or semi-formal bidding. After a roll call vote, the city approved going ahead with the resolution.
The museum would like to wait on the Museum Committee Bylaws, because the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) were wanting to review them before they were submitted for final approval. Sandra McKee said that she believes that the Historic Preservation Commission Bylaws are ready. It was voted to approve the Historic Preservation Commission Bylaws.
The Cambridge Comprehensive Plan Proposed Updates on Chapter 3 – Housing, Chapter 4 – Economic Development, Chapter 5 – Land Use were discussed and it was decided to table this topic until next month.
The Ordinance No. 4-2025 Development Agreement was discussed. Procedures were followed and then a roll call vote was taken and it was passed unanimously.
Cory Morgan discussed the splitting of platted lots in opposite direction of the original plat. He said the attorney is working to update language to make it more specific. Utilities are the biggest problem because of the way they cross the properties. They are hoping to have a draft available by the next meeting.
Cory Morgan talked about the minimum lot size for commercial zones, where residential is allowed. He said the city is talking with the attorney about adding language to clarify. The council discussed the matter. This topic is currently in a holding pattern.
Cory Morgan said that he had talked with the attorney about the setbacks for the overlay zone. The attorney had some ideas on setbacks. The council discussed options. It was noted the overlay zone has commercial and residential within it. Overlay zones have to have a name. The council chose the name, Central Rush Creek Overlay Zone, a vote was taken and it passed unanimously.
