FAQ : General
M3's objective is to work closely with neighbors and the Eagle community, listen well and keep the community informed about the process and progress of the master-planned community of M3 Eagle.
M3 assembled eleven different parcels from eight separate property owners to make up the 6,005 acres of lands it now owns. If the property comprising M3 Eagle was developed under its prior multiple ownership, the benefits derived from master planning the property as M3 Eagle would not have been realized. These benefits include:
- Comprehensive land planning by one master developer that provides a complementary mix of land uses, amenities, and services along with ample open space and public accessibility;
- Planning for orderly, organized and predictable growth over a long period of time;
- Planning for a regional road network;
- Planning for regional water and sewer service;
- Open space planning that is inextricably tied together and works in concert with the community and the planned Eagle Regional Park;
- Ability to plan a community with an overall and consistent vision and theme as opposed to individual subdivisions that are unrelated to each other;
- Ability to phase the project over time, starting along the Highway 16 corridor, then moving east to west to allow for development of major arterial streets and infrastructure in a logical fashion;
- Annexation to the City of Eagle that spans approximately eight miles west to east and five miles north to south which allows the city to work with annexing a large area versus several smaller ownerships and the risk of creating county islands;
- An enforceable development agreement that includes adoption of design guidelines, covenants conditions and restrictions, and the planned unit development ordinance – as opposed to the adoption of multiple sets of complex documents – that will ensure a consistently high quality of development;
- The ability of the city to control a large area of future development so it can plan accordingly for public services in the area;
- Coordinated planning for schools, parks and regional recreational opportunities;
- A long-term master plan and a blueprint for future growth in the foothills area;
- Effective planning of open space and wildlife mitigation.
In addition, the development of M3 Eagle provides the revenue base to offset the cost of regional and project related infrastructure, parks, trails and open space improvements.
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M3 believes growth should occur within municipalities when: 1) the development of the project has significant impacts on the community infrastructure and the residents and business owners within the community; 2) the project has a fiscal impact on city services; 3) the city services would benefit from the development of the project within the municipality; and, 4) the city would benefit from managing and controlling, through its ordinances, the entitlements it granted to the project.
Through annexation of M3 Eagle into Eagle, the city will control the development and design of the community through the M3 Eagle Planned Unit Development Ordinance and the Pre-Annexation and Development Agreement. These agreements contain strict rules, regulations and standards, and represent contractual obligations on the part of the developer and the city.
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The design of the M3 Eagle community was based upon the review of the land use mix found within the
Eagle Comprehensive Plan and adapting that mix to the M3 Eagle master plan and land forms. M3 Eagle is planned for a residential density between 0.5 and 1.19 dwelling units per gross acre (3,003-7,153 units), as compared to 1.26 dwelling units per gross acre for the Eagle Comprehensive Plan, and 1.58 dwelling units per gross acre minimum for the Soaring 2025 Western Area Plan Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan adopted by the city last year. The actual residential density of the project will be contingent on the city's approval of a wildlife habitat mitigation plan for the Southern and Southwest Planning Areas, and bonus provisions for community and neighborhood centers, community open space and funding for maintenance of open space. The Eagle City Council's approval of the M3 Eagle Pre-Annexation and Development Agreement provides the residents of Eagle an assurance of the maximum amount of residential development that will occur throughout the build-out of the project.
M3 Eagle is also planned for 245 acres of commercial and mixed use areas which represent 4% of the total property area, 4% less than that contained in the overall Eagle Comprehensive Plan. The project will provide a minimum of 20% open space, with a goal of preserving 40%. In addition, M3 will provide another 800 acres as regional open space for the Eagle Regional Park, and 80 acres for the Willow Creek Road Regional Open Space Corridor, for the benefit of the entire foothills area. Collectively, these areas account for 2,402 acres of open space, or 40% of the M3 Eagle Master Plan.
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Wildlife mitigation is a community value for M3 and responsible stewardship has been a priority in every development that M3 has undertaken. M3 is preparing a wildlife and habitat mitigation study for the M3 Eagle community and will provide mitigation in accordance with city requirements.
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M3 Eagle will be master planned with the philosophy that its density and neighborhoods should work with, not against, native land forms. M3 Eagle – through enforceable design guidelines and agreements with the City of Eagle and community homeowners associations – will establish hillside development standards and viewshed protection measures.
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M3 has proposed a
conceptual roadway circulation plan that addresses regional and localized traffic movements. M3 will develop transportation solutions and funding mechanisms to meet future regional roadway improvement needs to the existing and planned roadway network by proactively working hand-in-hand with the City of Eagle, Ada County Highway District (ACHD), Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS), and adjacent property owners.
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M3 is in the midst of a regional hydrogeology study which is examining the physical availability of the water in the Eagle area. The goals of the M3 study are: 1) to identify a long-term source of water to accommodate the development of M3 Eagle; and 2) to determine the impact on the underlying aquifer, taking into account existing wells. M3 has submitted a water rights application to the Idaho Department of Water Resources, but no development will occur within M3 Eagle without the proper approvals from IDWR.
M3 Eagle will contain centralized water and sewer systems for the community. M3 Eagle's wastewater treatment system will produce effluent that will be used to meet a majority of its common area irrigation needs and reduce the demands on groundwater.
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Based upon Joint School District #2 standards, M3 Eagle will create a student population which will require four elementary schools (including one K-8 school), one middle school and one high school. M3 Eagle will work with the school district to identify each school site and donate the sites to the district to meet the demand for schools as M3 Eagle is developed.
Based upon development standards, the community will generate the need for two fire stations and one police station. M3 Eagle will work with the Eagle Fire District, Star Fire District and the city to determine the location for the stations and will donate the land for these facilities as well as contribute funds ($1 million for each site) for their construction.
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M3 Eagle plans to not only sustain, but enrich the vibrant equestrian culture of Eagle and the surrounding community.
M3 Eagle's Conceptual Development Plan includes more than 2,500 acres of land, or approximately 40% of the property, in its Southern and Southwestern Planning Areas planned for equestrian lifestyle neighborhoods. M3 is a leader in the development of equestrian lifestyle communities that feature full-service equestrian centers, riding trails, hiking trails and expansive open space.
In addition, M3 will work with the city to connect its community trails and open space system to the planned Eagle Regional Park. This will provide residents of M3 Eagle and the public the opportunity to enjoy miles of equestrian and pedestrian trails.
The M3 Eagle master plan incorporates the development of a regional equestrian facility which would accomplish the following: hold major equestrian events, provide an equestrian facility to facilitate a curriculum for a college equestrian program, be a significant economic impact to the city, and provide recreational opportunities to the residents of M3 Eagle and the Treasure Valley.
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A couple of years ago, M3 initiated discussions with BLM to exchange a portion of some 11,000 acres of land that M3 owned in Boise County for 815 acres of BLM land in the Eagle Foothills on the east side of Hwy. 16. This BLM parcel is isolated from other BLM lands and has been significantly degraded through years of grazing and vehicle use. Given it’s location along Hwy. 16 and contiguity with M3 Eagle, it could serve as an entry to the community and the location for a potential employment center. In return, BLM would acquire lands in Boise County for open space next to parcels it already owned there that would serve to consolidate scattered BLM holdings into contiguous blocks of land and enhance the wildlife and recreational opportunities within Wildlife Management Area 39, which is a primary wintering range for elk and deer.
During county and city comprehensive plan meetings for the Eagle Foothills, M3 heard from residents, neighbors, and others that open space in the foothills was more valuable to them than open space in Boise County and asked us instead to consider exchanging lands within M3 Eagle for the BLM 815 acres. These lands would be added to the proposed Eagle Regional Park along the southern border of M3 Eagle to create a large contiguous block of open space that would be the start of a foothills open space network. M3 submitted a formal application in February for the exchange of 800 acres of M3 Eagle land in the southeastern and eastern portions of the property for the BLM 815 acres and has begun the environmental and other studies that are needed to help process the application.
The application requests that BLM designate the 800 acres of M3 land for permanent public open space. If the exchange does not occur for any reason within a specified time frame, M3 has committed in its development agreement with the city to donate the lands to the city for the regional park. In either case, the intent is to provide permanent regional open space for the foothills. The 800 acres will connect two separate existing parcels of BLM lands, totaling 1,915 acres, together to form a 2,715-acre regional park for trails and other recreational enjoyment, buffering of neighboring properties, and wildlife habitat and movement and serve as the cornerstone for a future regional open space system.
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No, M3 Eagle is the planning name assigned to the project at this time. The owner of the property is M3 Eagle L.L.C., hence the planning name. M3 has tasked its consultants to create a name for the community that evokes its design, character and location. M3 will unveil the name of the community when the planning and entitlements for the community are finalized.
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