Horses or cars?

Coyote Bluff subdivision developers have balked at a proposal by the city of Hailey that they allow access across the subdivision to an adjacent development.

The contentious issue of road interconnectivity was the focus of a Hailey Planning and Zoning meeting last Tuesday night.

The commissioners heard public comment on a debate that is continuing among developers of the Silver Sage subdivision, developers of the Coyote Bluff subdivision and the Hailey P&Z.

Both subdivisions have been approved, but construction is not yet underway at either. Both are outside the Hailey city limits but within the town’s area of impact.

Tuesday’s meeting was called to hear public comment on a proposal by city planner Carl Hjelm that a road be built to allow future Silver Sage residents to cross Coyote Bluff to reach State Highway 75.

Silver Sage subdivision is located north of Northridge and east of Coyote Bluff. The development does not have property that abuts Highway 75. The existing plan for egress from Silver Sage connects to West Meadows Road and from there to Buttercup Road and finally Highway 75.

Hjelm proposed the more direct route through Coyote Bluff, which does abut Highway 75.

John Gaeddert represented the Kirk Group, the financial backers of Silver Sage, at the meeting. Silver Sage will be a 13-acre development containing 15 lots.

"This will be a very private subdivision," said Gaeddert, contending that it will generate little traffic.

Unfortunately, not private enough for Coyote Bluff managing partner Rod Kegley. The path that Hjelm proposed runs through an easement that Kegley set aside for future use by the city of Hailey, if and when annexation by the city takes place.

Kegley is concerned that a connector road through the easement would bring traffic from Indian Creek Ranch and Buttercup Road, besides the traffic that would be coming from Silver Sage.

"Nobody wants traffic to drive by their house, but I don’t think cul-de-sacs are the solution either," Hjelm countered.

Hjelm compared the desire of developers in the Wood River Valley to what has happened in parts of California, where developers all want their own private access, he said. He pointed out that in California, there are numerous areas where connecting to a nearby neighborhood can only be achieved by getting on a freeway and traveling to the next exit. Housing developments sprout off a freeway and then like the branches of a tree spread out until the roads dead-end, he said.

"Is that a good thing?" asked Hjelm. "That type of design consumes lots of space and it is all for the use of roads. Everyone wants to live at the end of the tree branches."

One of the things the city is considering is the interconnection of roads.

"There are times when it is appropriate and times when it is not," said Hjelm. "I personally believe it is appropriate."

Kegley disagreed.

"You destroy the neighborhood when you allow traffic through it that doesn’t belong there," he said.

Kegley said he would have developed his subdivision differently if he had known that the easement was going to be considered for anything other than use by the city of Hailey when Coyote Bluff was eventually annexed.

Barry Luboviski, owner of the lot in Coyote Bluff adjacent to the easement in question, was present at the meeting and spoke out against the use of the easement as a connector for Silver Sage.

"Coyote Bluff is designed as an equestrian subdivision," he said. "Non-motorized use of the easement was the intention. If you make it into a through-street, we’ll have to give it up to the car."