Greenleaf has historically been a farming community, and continues to be so, due to the area’s rich, fertile soil.  Incorporated in 1973, it’s a close-knit community governed by a mayor and city council.

City Clerk Lee Belt gave us the skinny on the city and why you’d want to move there.  Caldwell lies 4 miles to the east on Hwy. 19.  It connects to I-84 that runs through Caldwell, a major east/west truck route.  The City of Wilder is to the west 4 miles and connects to US-95, a major north/south truck route.  Go five more miles and you hit the Snake River, the border between Idaho and Oregon.

Located on a bluff overlooking the Boise river plain, the city is nestled inside a very large valley with the Central Idaho Mountains to the north and the Owyhee Mountains to the south.  To the east of Greenleaf are the Bogus Basin ski resort, foothills of the Sawtooth Mountains, and desert.  The area is hilly, and farming was the foundation for this town in a region where up to 1/4^th of the nation’s seed comes from Greenleaf.

Belt says, “On a clear day, a very clear day, if you look to the north, you can see the tops of the Seven Devil Mountains above Hell’s Canyon.  It’s the deepest valley in the continental U.S.”

According to Belt, Greenleaf is most known for the Greenleaf Friend’s Church, Greenleaf Friend’s Academy and the local policy regarding the right to bear arms.  Learning is extremely important to the citizens of Greenleaf.  Families move to the area just so their kids can attend the academy that serves from pre-school through 12^th grade.  Belt was one of those kids whose family moved to the area for the learning benefits the academy provides.

In 2006, the city proposed and passed a civil defense ordinance recommending that Greenleaf heads of household that are legally able to do so have firearms and know how to use them.  The recommendation came on the heels of the approved county’s emergency operations plan.  Belt says that the city annually hosts a hunter’s education class and a concealed carry permit class in order to educate citizens about the safe use of firearms.

When asked what there is to do in the area, Belt replied, “There is lots to do within a 2-hour drive.  There’s a ski area above Boise, and national forests where camping, hunting and fishing abound.  We’re kind of a crossroads with the Boise-Nampa metropolitan area and the true small, rural farming communities.”

Greenleaf is preparing for their annual Greenleaf Friend’s Academy auction for the school.  Founded by Quakers, Belt says, “The school is one of the oldest private Christian high schools west of the Mississippi.  The community grew up mainly around the Greenleaf Friend’s Church and the academy.”  The church was founded in 1906 and the school opened its doors in 1908.

The city recently cashed in on stimulus dollars to help build a city-wide sewer system.  Previously, septic tanks were the standard.  Other than the obvious advantages, the system will enable homes to be built on much smaller lots, so that developers may be more likely to buy and build in the area.  Due to the use of septic tanks, lots currently have to be around one-half acre.  Awaiting approvals from the state, the city is hoping to put the project to bid soon, start construction by January 2010 and complete it by late 2011.

Greenleaf has partnered with several other smaller cities in the Western Alliance for Economic Development in Southwestern Idaho to help bring business into rural areas.  For more information about the organization, visit their website at www.waed.biz.

Local property taxes are the lowest in Canyon County.  When asked about the local real estate, Belt stated that it is primarily made up of single family dwellings.  There are, however, condos, townhomes and apartments available in area towns.  There is a notable neighborhood in the town called the Greenleaf Air Ranch.  It has a landing strip enabling residents to land and drive their planes into a hanger next to their homes.  The residential air park is the only one inside city limits in the State of Idaho.  For more information on the Greenleaf Air Ranch, visit their website at www.greenleafairranch.com.

When asked why you’d want to move there, Belt said, “It’s a nice, quiet community.  It’s small town America!  The only thing we don’t have access to here is the ocean.”

Does Greenleaf sound like a place you would like to call home? Check out what’s available by clicking Greenleaf, ID Homes for Sale.