City planning staff told a joint workshop that the city is developing a local historic preservation code and an initial local landmark list to work alongside the proposed form‑based code for downtown Nampa.

Why it matters: staff said federal historic designation and local designation serve different purposes. Morgan, a staff member, explained that federal designations are primarily for properties to use Section 106 tax credit programs and that many locally important buildings no longer qualify federally because of alterations; the City’s local designation would enable review and protection aimed at preserving community character even where federal eligibility does not exist.

What staff described
- Review scope: Arts and Historic Preservation Commission has created an ad hoc committee to develop an initial local landmark list and corresponding review processes; the code and landmark list will proceed to legal review and the public hearing process required for local code adoption.
- Eligibility and criteria: staff noted that age alone (50 years) is not a sufficient qualification for designation; properties must meet established criteria (associations with historic events, persons, architecture, or contribution to the character of the area). Staff cited the Hasbrooke House survey done in 2019 as an example of a property that does not qualify for federal designation because of alterations but that the community would likely want protected locally.
- Relationship to form‑based code: staff said the CH district in the draft form‑based code will incorporate required architectural elements and materials so new construction is compatible with protected local landmarks. “We’re taking and bringing them together to a point where we say, these are the styles, these are the materials,” a staff member said.

Process and next steps
Staff said the ad hoc commission committee has begun meetings, will assemble an initial landmark list, then run the list through the code’s legal review and public hearings after the code is finalized. Staff did not provide a final adoption date but asked council and planning commissioners to return edits on the draft form‑based code; staff said the landmark list will follow those code steps once drafts are complete.

What was not decided
No formal local designations were adopted at the workshop; the process remains in draft with additional legal review and public hearings to follow.

Ending note
Staff invited commissioners, council members and residents to provide comments on the draft code and to work with the Arts and Historic Preservation Commission’s ad hoc committee as the local landmark list is developed.