The McCall Area of Impact is the area was established in the late 1970’s through a series of ordinances: 

• Ordinance 361 (1977) defined the Boundary of the McCall Impact Area. 
• Ordinance 390 (1979) defined the purpose of the Impact Area and adopted the mutually agreed upon Comprehensive Plan
• Ordinance 392 established the Area of Impact, by applying the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance (391). 

Since that time, numerous updated ordinances have been adopted by the City and County when new codes and Comprehensive Plans were developed. 

The McCall Area of Impact extends around Payette Lake, west to Club Hill Boulevard, and south of Elo Road (see map). The Impact Area boundaries did not change in 2018 when the City and County adopted the McCall Area Comprehensive Plan. Within the Comprehensive Plan, there is a Future Land Use Plan (FLUP) map that identifies areas for the boundary to expand and contract. This is the basis for any changing any Impact Area boundaries or zoning. 

• The original commission (formed in 1980) was the “McCall Area of City Impact Joint Planning and Zoning Commission” with 3 members from McCall and 2 members from the AOI. Members were appointed by the City Council with one AOI appointment recommended by the County Commissioners.   
• In 2002, this commission was replaced with a city planning and zoning commission with five members in the ratio of AOI to city population and the appointments were made by the City Council. 
• In 2006, the membership was changed to 7 members with 4 members appointed by the City Council and 3 members appointed by the County Commissioners. All PZ members shall be residents of the city or the area of city impact for a period of at least two (2) years prior to appointment.

The duties of the commission include:

• Recommend the granting or denial of variances, conditional use permits, subdivisions, planned unit developments, amendments to the zoning map, vacation of streets, and other decisions authorized by McCall Area ordinances (City and County), which recommendations shall only be made in the form of findings of fact and conclusions of law, pursuant to Idaho Code section 67-6535, and only through the procedures (including hearings) outlined in the McCall Area codes. Recommendations are made to the City Council or the Board of County Commissioners (city council for the city limits and county commissioners for the Impact Area) who make the final decision.  
• Recommend amendments to the McCall Area Comprehensive Plan and the codes and develop regulations consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Recommendations are made to the City Council or the Board of County Commissioners (city council for the city limits and county commissioners for the Impact Area) who make the final decision.   
• Provide feedback and recommendations on other long range planning efforts. 
• Provide decisions for Design Review and Scenic Route applications. Appeals are heard by the respective governing boards (city council for the city limits and county commissioners for the Impact Area.)

The McCall Area Comprehensive Plan (adopted by the City and County in 2018) is the primary planning policy document for the City and Area of Impact. It is a coordinated plan with a 20-year planning horizon that guides future development across the City and Area of Impact. The City staff administers the Area of Impact in partnership with Valley County. 

The Comprehensive Plan is the community’s vision. The Comprehensive Plan’s policies guide decisions related to new development, redevelopment, programs, projects, budgets, and services. The policies, and initiatives shall require approval the City Council and County Commissioners as the governing bodies for their respective jurisdictions. 

The planning area encompasses the City of McCall limits and the Area of Impact. Idaho State Statute requires that cities and counties establish areas of city impact to provide a way for cities to grow in a manner that is cost-effective for its residents, to anticipate future infrastructure needs, and to encourage urban development within cities. The plan allows for consistency in development that protects property rights and provides for certainly and fairness for property owners. The boundary protects the watershed of Payette Lake, one of the region’s precious resources and source of domestic water supply. Finally, the boundary provides a delineation between city and rural development patterns, important for the city identity. 

The City adopts development codes for the city limits and the County Commissioners adopt codes for the McCall Impact Area, and are subject to land use and development review by the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission and then final decision to the respective governing boards (see attached flow chart). The coordinated City and County Comprehensive Plan, planning & zoning and development codes, and a joint Commission ensure consistency across the jurisdictions and address trade areas, geographical factors, and annexation considerations.  

How does the City administer the McCall Impacts Area?

City staff manages the current planning (development review), long range planning, and building permit process for Valley County. This includes the following tasks (illustrative only):

• Meets with property owners, builders and developers
• Reviews applications and develops staff report and decision documents for the McCall Area P&Z Commission, City Council and County Commissioners
• Staffs the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission
• Coordinates joint meetings with the County before any major policies are developed
• Prepares code amendments and ordinances as necessary
• Invites and engages the County Commissioners to participate in long range planning meetings, workshops, outreach, etc. 
• Implemented software for permitting process 

• Application fees cover staff time to administer land use and building permits
• The City does not collect taxes from the McCall Impact Area
• The City does not get compensated for voluntary code enforcement efforts, citizen compliant or other non-permit related issues.
• Long range planning has been funded by the City of McCall  

There are numerous reasons why the public, staff and elected officials get confused about how the Impact Area works. The following reasons have been identified as possible reasons:

1. The City and County have adopted the same Comprehensive Plans and ordinances. It is not uncommon to hear people refer to them as ‘city plans and codes’ even though they are also County plans and codes.
2. The City codifies the Planning and Zoning and Subdivision and Development codes on a third-party website. Since the City and County codes have been the same, it has not been hosted separately by the County. Staff reports and decision documents reference City code numbers as references. 
3. Residents from the McCall Impact Area go the McCall City Hall or the City of McCall website for building permits and land use related applications. However, since the Impact area has existed for 45 years most people know this procedure. Some people in the Impact Area think they either live in the city or come to City Council with their complaints. 
4. City staff help them through the development process.
5. The McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission is a joint commission and serves the City and Impact Area    

Appeals of Administrative decisions go the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission. If the person does not like that decision, then it goes to the County Commissioners.  All appeals for the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission in the Impact Area go to the County Commissioners.   

In the City limits, a code enforcement officer from the McCall Police Department responds and, in some cases, actively addresses code violations from the McCall City Code. In the Impact Area, the City and County have established a process for handling citizen complaints and code enforcement with the Valley County for the McCall Impact Area. If complaints are planning and zoning or subdivision and development related then the McCall City staff receive complaints, and investigates if there is a code violation. If a violation has occurred, City staff sends a code enforcement letter and copies the Prosecuting Attorney. The letter identifies the violation, provides a timeline for addressing the violation and mentions that failure to comply may result in further enforcement action. Staff generally gets voluntary compliance from these letters so it does not move on VC. The City of McCall is not compensated by the County for the code enforcement efforts. If the violation is not addressed, then it moves to VC Attorney for further action. There are typically 4-6 of these cases per year. This process has been reviewed numerous times in the past 10 years. City staff is always open to ideas and meetings to improve the process.