A composting site in South Meridian, Idaho, is moving out as a plan to put hundreds of new homes on its land draws closer. The issue of smell has grown since the site was started on rural farmland in 2016, but now that it is surrounded by suburbs, it has drawn odor complaints.
Once the company is fully relocated, the land has been requested to be used for housing. If approved, the proposal would transform about 200 acres near Locust Grove and Lake Hazel roads into a 721-home subdivision.
Here's what to know
Early plans filed with Meridian would redevelop property around Timber Creek Recycling, according to the Idaho Statesman. The composting operation is being shut down and relocated to Nampa, Idaho, by June 30, 2027.
Plans for the project, known as Murgoitio Estates, call for 721 single-family houses at a density of 3.5 homes per acre.
According to Becky McKay, owner of Engineering Solutions, the Meridian consulting firm representing the family, the subdivision is expected to feature varied home and lot sizes to "accommodate different buyers and lifestyles," as the Statesman relayed.
Since being annexed into Meridian in 2016, the land has been designated for future residential use.
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While the plans remain in the early stages and could change, McKay said the layout includes small neighborhoods branching off a future collector road, along with multiuse pathways along the Rawson Canal and "a really extensive pedestrian network."
More background
Neighbors have raised concerns about smells linked to material handled at the site, including waste-activated sludge, which the Statesman reported is an industrial byproduct of cheese production.
Troy Allen, who lives on an alfalfa farm about a mile southwest of Timber Creek, said in an interview with the Statesman: "The smell is not agricultural. It's just really rancid, and when you smell it … you don't want to be outside."
Neighbors say the odor has at times made it difficult to use their yards depending on wind and weather conditions.
What's being done?
Timber Creek and the city of Meridian agreed in late 2024 that Timber Creek would leave the site by June 30, 2027.
Mike Murgoitio, president of Timber Creek Recycling, told the Statesman the move remains on track.
About 50% of the material from the South Meridian operation has been transferred to a growing facility in Nampa, Murgoitio told the Statesman. The Meridian site will stop taking new waste on Jan. 1, 2027, but will keep processing material already there until all operations end in June.
The housing proposal must still move through Meridian's review process, and McKay said a formal application is expected after meetings on the preliminary plans. Public comment would be part of that process as well.
The application may also seek to shift some or all of the property from R-4 to R-8, which is a slightly higher-density designation that intends to allow more variety in lot sizes.
Murgoitio described the shift as both a family milestone and a community handoff and said, "It's time for us to roll out and the city of Meridian's plan to roll in."
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