Texaco left on tenterhooks

After over an hour of deliberation, the Hailey City Council tabled an appeal by Rene Bine, leaving the developer of a proposed Texaco gas station, convenience store and Taco Bell restaurant suspended again in red tape.

The red tape consists of design review guidelines that are intended to preserve the historic quality and pedestrian-friendly atmosphere of downtown Hailey.

The design proposed for the 701 North Main Street site includes a modern, 4,000-square-foot convenience store and Taco Bell restaurant, and a 3,800 square-foot canopy over five gas pumps. The illuminated canopy would sit between the store and small landscaped parcel bordering Main Street.

It was the third time Bine stood before a Hailey government body and defended his proposal.

The Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission denied the application Feb. 2, after continuing a hearing from Dec. 15. The commission ultimately decided that the application fell short of the city’s design-review guidelines, posed a potential safety hazard to the public and did not conform to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Despite praising Bine then for visual changes he made to the original design—such as the use of stucco and river rock materials, additional landscaping, a pedestrian approach, and outdoor seating—the commission found the design lacked human scale.

The position of the canopy along North Main Street and its potentially obtrusive lighting were of particular concern.

At Monday night’s City Council meeting, city attorney Susan Baker informed council members that the hearing would proceed as a de novo review. Council members, therefore, were to review all the facts anew, and not necessarily give weight to the past findings of the commission, Baker explained.

But once in deliberation, most council members acceded to the commission’s findings.

"I encourage you to do something better with your property, but I understand the concerns of the P&Z," Councilwoman Susan McBryant said.

Councilwoman Martha Burke, the most outspoken of the council members against the proposal, said the modernTexaco is "not the right direction for the city of Hailey."

That direction, she said, is towards historic preservation and pedestrian safety.

"You’re welcome to be here, but we have guidelines," Burke said. "I don’t think this is at all what the citizens of Hailey want to see visually."

"It might work in Boise, but we’re not Boise," Councilwoman Jennifer Hazard Davis said.

Hailey Mayor Brad Siemer said the council was in a quandary as it tried to reconcile a vehicular use with a pedestrian-friendly Main Street.

"We’re trying to give deference to the pedestrian in a vehicular world," Siemer said. "We want to give continuity and continuation to historic downtown Hailey."

The city of Hailey, Siemer said, has been consistent with this deference to pedestrians.

Bine’s attorney, Ed Lawson, argued that the city’s design-review guidelines do not apply to every site, such as a gas station and convenience store.

"You simply cannot have a functioning gas station that isn’t oriented to the automobile," Lawson said.

A letter distributed to council members from P&Z Commissioner Jan Edelstein disputed Lawson’s claim.

"The project is much more than just a gas station," the letter from Edelstein reads. "It is also a grocery store and a restaurant. These elements of the project should be located on a parcel to conform with our design standards, particularly with respect to safety for pedestrians and architectural design."

Bine said that in a six-month period the only pedestrians that entered the convenience store and gas station currently operating on the site were employees from the neighboring Sutton and Sons Auto Center.

Jim Sutton, owner of the dealership, was the only member of the public to voice support of the proposed Texaco. In a letter to the council, Sutton said the convenience store and gas station would be compatible with the neighborhood.

Other members of the public were not so supportive.

"I don’t think this represents what we want to see on Hailey’s Main Street," said Scott Boettger.

"The canopy and building are visually unappealing," said Pat Cooley. "Don’t let King’s be the standard that we measure everything against."

As aesthetics weigh into the council’s decision, the problem of subjectivity arises.

Lawson questioned the legal soundness of a decision based on aesthetics.

Baker disagreed. "In design review, there’s always a need for some discretion."