A letter written to Nampa’s City Council, asking them to support a Conditional Use Permit for an affordable housing development. The Council denied the request for Copper Depot. Read the coverage of the 5-1 vote in our local newspaper.

May 27, 2021

Honorable Council Members,

My name is Meggan Manlove. I live at 11116 W. Mission Pointe Dr., Nampa. I am writing today in favor of the Conditional use Permit for Copper Depot.

I served for several years on the Mayor’s Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and I currently sit on the city’s Building and Site Design Standards Committee. I attended several open meetings for the Nampa Comprehensive Plan. The Plan supports Copper Depot because it promotes infill development and workforce housing. 

I know you are in a tough spot. I am one of the citizens who followed the entire legislative session, including the passing of HB 389 in just three days! On city staffer Matt Jamison’s recommendation, I listened to the recording of your special council meeting May 14. I know what is at stake. A development like Copper Depot does not pay for itself in the way that other projects might. 

I could try to pitch that stable housing for employees keeps money flowing through the local businesses they frequent. The residents will pay other local taxes that help our city. I could remind you that there was real fear about the neighborhood changing and home values decreasing when New Hope was built in the 1990s. Neither of those things happened. Trinity New Hope housing looks great today, and it helps real people.

Other people can make those arguments more persuasively. So here is my real pitch. At many community events, I hear leaders talking about our Christian values in Nampa. We are a city full of faith communities. Jesus taught in ways that often confused his followers, but he was crystal clear about the two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbor. And in the parable that describes who exactly the neighbor is, the neighbor turns out to be the stranger, someone we have not even met. Jesus also had no qualms that institutions were supposed to be part of neighbor love and neighbor justice. It was not just the business of the synagogues. The state (Rome, Idaho, Nampa) had a responsibility. This stance did not go well for Jesus, you may remember. And yet, he is the guy many of us profess to follow.

I am hopeful that many other people will bring to the public hearing statistics and real stories that put a human face on workforce housing. My plea is one grounded in my own faith—let’s practice some neighbor love, not just with our words but with real actions and resources.

Pastor Meggan Manlove