For the week of March 24, 1999  thru March 30, 1999  

Agreement could pave the way to Woodside parks


By HANS IBOLD
Express Staff Writer

Residents in Hailey’s Woodside subdivision could see the development of park space—including an 8-acre parcel—thanks to an agreement between the city of Hailey and developer Chuck Grubb of Sprenger, Grubb and Associates.

Applause erupted in the meeting room Monday night after the Hailey City Council authorized Mayor Brad Siemer to enter into the development agreement with Grubb.

A Woodside park committee, which includes Steve and Becki Keefer, Pat Cooley, Craig Levitan and Kristy Turco, has been working for more than a year to patch together the development agreement.

As part of the agreement, Grubb would sell a three-acre parcel to the city at half of market value and would then donate several other parcels in Woodside for park development.

One of the donations to the city is 44 acres of steep hillside, known as the "hillside triangles," on the eastern boundary of Woodside. The base of one of those centrally located, hillside triangles is flat enough to be developed into park space.

That hillside land, together with another parcel Grubb would donate, would comprise the eight-acre park. Landscaping, pavilions, ball fields and a skate park could be included as recreational amenities there, according to Keefer.

Another goal of the Woodside park committee is to spread recreational amenities throughout Woodside and to open up neighborhoods to the Woodside Trail, Keefer said.

The donations are contingent upon the city’s approval of a replat that Grubb desires.

That replat would allow Grubb to redraw lot lines on a 44-acre parcel in central Woodside near the tennis club. The new lot lines would decrease the size of the lots but permit only single-family housing units. The area is currently zoned for multi-family housing. The change would lower overall density from 10 units per acre to three to four units per acre.

The city of Hailey is not, however, bound by the agreement to approve the replat.

"I think this is a great project," Councilman Scott Basolo said. "The city needs at every opportunity to expand its park system."

Councilwoman Martha Burke added that the agreement will help in "achieving our long-term park and recreational goals."

Although not a part of the development agreement, funding for development of the park space was briefly mentioned by Keefer. Special interest groups and possibly a local improvement district have been considered as future funding options, she said.

Referring to a book on World War II she had been reading, Councilwoman Jennifer Hazard Davis said, waving the agreement in the air, "This is kind of like a little peace agreement."

 

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