Cambridge Updates Impact Area
The City of Cambridge recently updated their Area of Impact map with the approval of the Washington County Commissioners.
What is an Area of Impact? According to state code (Section 67-6526) it is where growth is expected to occur outside of current city boundaries. The ‘when’ is not well defined other than at some point in the near future. It is not a set plan and timetable for city expansion. These Impact Areas are approved under the authority of the county, while the city in question develops it with input from local citizens.
So, why now? The requirement for having an Area of Impact is not new but the legislature clarified the language in the code in 2024 and set some new requirements, namely that they be reviewed every 5 years. The legislature also stated that these areas need to be limited to what the city could annex within the next five years.
Parcels and acreage outside of city limits can and do get annexed into local cities from time to time. The state lays out a process and requirements for this in Idaho Code Section 50-222. In general, the requirements for parcels to be annexed from the county into a local city are: the parcel(s) in question need to be contiguous (touching) to current city limits, landowners are notified, legal notices are published, plans are written, public hearings are held and most importantly, landowners representing sixty percent (60%) of the parcels and at least fifty percent (50%) of the area proposed for annexation give voluntary consent.
According to Cambridge City Clerk, Sandra McKee, the city of Cambridge has not annexed any acreage or parcels since 2007 when 22 parcels were annexed into the city.
If you own property outside of city limits, but within the current or proposed impact area you can read up on Idaho Code at https://legislature.idaho.gov/. The relevant code sections are section 67-6526 and section 50-222.
The Washington County Commissioners held a public hearing for this updated Area of Impact map on October 20. The City of Cambridge approved it in their meeting on November 10.
