Murgoitio Park

Murgoitio Park is one of the last remaining open spaces in the southwest region. Since 1993, it has been specifically set aside by the city as a future regional park. Currently, the site is 163 acres of peaceful farmland nestled just below the New York Canal, flanked to the east by Cole Road and to the west by Maple Grove. A ribbon of green amid asphalt and concrete, this parcel is truly one of the last gems of southwest Boise.

For over 25 years, the future Murgoitio Park has been written into the city’s plans as a regional “jewel,” a public space on the scale of Ann Morrison or Julia Davis Park—our city’s existing riverside gems. Planning documents have referenced Murgoitio Park as the primary means of “relieving demand, conflicts, and overuse of Julia Davis, Ann Morrison, and Municipal parks.” These downtown riverside parks are beautiful, but they are often crowded, and they are a 20 to 30-minute drive away for a good part of the population. The city has needed Murgoitio Park for decades.

In a time of drastic development in all areas and at every outskirt of this beautiful city, we must seek to preserve—as best we can—the integrity and the identity of the city—the City of Trees. We need to preserve Murgoitio Park for the sake of our city, for the sake of our future, and, not least, for the sake of the variety of wildlife in and around the area. We cannot pave all land. Even great metropolitan cities recognize that you must offer more to citizens than a place to sleep, a place to drive, and a place to park the car.

The southwest region is exploding with growth. Multiple mega-sites are in planning stages and under construction in the Lake Hazel area. These complexes are slated to include at least 2,000 houses each. There is no lack of building in the area, nor is there any lack of land on which to build. There is no reason to isolate and destroy the Murgoitio Park for the houses it would add to the massive wave of development that is crashing over southwest Boise.

The City’s Plan

The city wants to wash their hands of the Murgoitio Park plan completely. They are seeking to approve a land-swap which will allow Harris Ranch Limited Partnership and Barber Valley Development to build houses on nearly all 163 acres of the Murgotio site. In exchange, the city will receive a parcel of undevelopable land in the eastern foothills of Harris Ranch, which has been marked to not be developed on the Harris Ranch Specific Plan.

When we consider all the plans and promises the city has made about our regional “Jewel” park over the years, this is a deal that cannot help but seem underhanded. It smacks of greed and pocket-lining if the Harris Ranch Limited Partnership and Barber Valley Development acquire this incredibly valuable southwest property.

Meanwhile, the South west area of the city’s Area of Impact gets more traffic. More housing development. More congestion.

The Murgoitio Park Master Plan has been in place since 1997, but the city has used the park impact fees collected in this area since 1995 on parks in other parts of the city. According to city records, $6.2 million of the southwest impact fees went to building Esther Simplot Park, a recently constructed donation addition to Boise’s Ribbon of Jewels Park System. The city has used Murgoitio’s impact fees to build yet another park downtown and to also make improvements at Ann Morrison Park.

Our community has felt safe in our expectations of Murguitio Park because of city resolutions—still in place—which restrict development on the site. Communities have grown based on these resolutions, on the promise of a park. These city resolutions have made builders, buyers and sellers alike feel secure that even failing the eventual construction of a park, the land itself would be preserved as open space. The Murgoitio Park site was to remain open space until a park was constructed.

They don’t build regional parks anymore, we’re told—but the city keeps adding to the complex of green space downtown. It’s time to balance the load for the citizens of Boise. It’s time to better distribute larger viable green spaces that contribute to healthy communities and quality of life. It’s time for Murgoitio Park.

Bottom Line

The proposed land-swap writes off everyone in Southwest Boise, and beyond—it writes off everyone in the city who would have used Murgoitio Park. The only one who benefits from a housing development on the site is the Harris Ranch Limited Partnership and Barber Valley Development. Everyone else loses.