NAMPA — As a child, Charlie Kido often went by the property of Sheila Clark, who owned a 140-acre farm adjacent to Lake Lowell and Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge. Kido dreamed of settling in the area and working on the land.
Clark, who visited regularly with Charlie’s father, Scott Kido, would often ask what new projects Charlie was thinking up, said Scott Kido. About two years ago, opportunity knocked: Sheila Clark had died, and after the Clark’s plans to partner with the county to create an agricultural education facility stalled, they asked Charlie Kido if he wanted to buy the farm. Kido accepted, and plans for the property, now named Deer Flat Ranch, blossomed.
The ranch, located at 1003 W. Locust Lane, showcases gently sloping farm fields which mostly face south and west toward the lake and the refuge. The Kingfisher walking trail, part of the refuge, runs alongside the property line, Kido said. Kido has plans to create a mixed-use development where visitors can enjoy agricultural bounty in all seasons, as well as a “window” into the refuge.
“Out here, it seems like everything is large-tract, single family,” Kido said. “There’s not a lot of community incorporation — work, live play. So that’s what we’re trying to build out here.”
The 40 acres on the edge of the property is going to be subdivided to create 63 properties, while the inner 100 acres, including those closest to the refuge boundary, will be kept in agriculture, with event and commercial spaces running through the center. In addition to a newly completed event center, a house on the property will be replaced with a commercial building containing a winery, restaurant, and coffee shop, Kido said. Kido also plans to build a contemporary two-story chapel.
Though the property is located a short drive from downtown Nampa, it is unincorporated land. Kido is hoping to submit annexation and subdivision plans to the city within the month.
Workers drive along roads beside bean and onion fields at Deer Flat Ranch in Nampa on Tuesday.
In the late morning heat on Tuesday, honey bees and bumble bees buzzed upon one-and-a-half acres of lavender near the farmhouse. Kido plans to plant a total of 20 acres of lavender and make the oil into goods, but the public can visit and pick their own in an annual summer lavender festival. The first festival under Kido’s leadership is scheduled for this Saturday, July 10. The festival is an homage to the Clark family, which started hosting a weekend summer lavender festival back in the early 2000s. That festival drew nearly 10,000 visitors annually, but the last one was around 2014, Kido said.
Plans for the property also include a 20-acre Japanese botanical garden, including a five-acre pond centering on one of the lower parts of the property where the water table is relatively high, Kido said. The garden will feature cherry blossom trees, and a cherry blossom festival will be the ranch’s featured spring event, Kido said.
In addition to the aesthetic draw, the garden will have special significance for Kido, who is fourth-generation Japanese American.
“My dad’s side were all Japanese farmers in the area,” Kido said, “so the gardens are paying tribute and memorializing Japanese farm families in the area.”
During World War II, after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, Japanese American families across the U.S. were forced to live in internment and work camps, including Nyssa Farm labor work camp in eastern Oregon and Minidoka in Jerome, Idaho. Kido’s grandfather was from Gresham, near Portland, Oregon, and worked at the Nyssa camp, Kido said. After the war, many Japanese Americans who worked at those camps chose to settle locally, including in Nampa, but now, many have died or are not farming any more.
For fall festivities, about 17 acres of the property will be dedicated to U-pick fall crops, such as pumpkins, as well as a corn maze. And in winter, Kido plans to offer a winter light show in the Japanese garden.
Lake Lowell can be seen in the distance at Deer Flat Ranch on Tuesday.
In addition, Kido plans to plant 24 acres with various kinds of wine grapes, and plans to bring in someone to cultivate and develop wine for the winery, he said.
Part of the property’s transformation will include using subsurface drip irrigation to provide water to plants and crops rather than the surface-level, gravity irrigation with siphon tubes, which is currently being used to irrigate the bean and barley fields where the lavender, wine grapes, and Japanese garden will be. Buried six to eight inches deep, the drip system will water plants directly at their root zone, Kido said, minimizing evaporation and preventing water and top soil runoff into the lake.
Kido has received broad support from the city for his endeavors.
“I am thankful for the Kido family’s vision to bring back the lavender festival which will add enjoyment to our entire community and its visitors,” Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling said in an emailed statement.
The Nampa Chamber of Commerce will perform a ribbon cutting at Saturday’s lavender festival.
Charlie Kido poses for a portrait outside the event center at Deer Flat Ranch on Tuesday.
“On behalf of the Nampa Chamber, we’re honored and excited to join the family for their kickoff celebration this Saturday, with a formal ribbon cutting as they launch the new journey for the event space,” said Mitch Minnette, president and CEO of the chamber.
Kido values input from community members and organizations on the plans for the site, describing the process of developing plans for the property as a kind of “crowdsourcing.”
“The more people we get out here, the more ideas we hear, the more we can pull from and draw inspiration from,” he said, adding that they are approaching planning for the site in the long term. He is also working with neighbors and is planning additional discussions to address their hopes and concerns, such as increased traffic from visitors.
“We’re really trying to figure out, ‘how can we make this work for everyone?’” Kido said, adding that his ultimate goal is to create something “really special for Nampa.” Kido himself also hopes to live alongside the property eventually.
“When you’re building something for your backyard, for your kids, it’s totally different,” Kido said.
Erin Banks Rusby covers Caldwell and Canyon County. She reports on local government, agriculture, the environment, and more. She can be reached at erusby@idahopress.com
