Open-space standards unveiled

With a $6.5-million bond election two weeks away, the Save the Open Spaces steering committee unveiled standards for determining which pieces of land it will recommend to the Blaine County Commissioners for purchase of open-space easements.

The Board of Commissioners will review the standards in a public hearing Monday at 4 p.m. at the old Blaine County Courthouse.

The SOS committee has spent about $8,000 to promote the bond issue. The money came from private donors.

The committee said 40 percent of the $6.5 million will be spent for easements north of Glendale Road, and 40 percent will be spent south of it. The remaining 20 percent will be placed in a discretionary fund.

Different sets of criteria will be used to rank properties north and south of the line.

Lands north of Glendale Road will be ranked by each committee member using a 500-point system. Each of the following characteristics may be worth up to 100 points: scenic qualities, wildlife habitat and water resources, recreational possibilities and the threat of development. In addition, committee members may award 100 points at their discretion.

Properties south of Glendale Road will be ranked the same way, with an additional 400 points possible for good agricultural land, for a total of 900 points. Those lands will be ranked by soil quality, growing season and elevation, and proximity to farmland or other property restricted as open space.

Scores of both north- and south-county lands would increase if they can attract matching state or federal grants.

The proposed 10-year bond, would result in a property tax increase of approximately $12 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Including interest, the total cost of the bond over 10 years would be $8.25 million.

SOS spokesperson Dick Springs said the bond revenue will be spent over three or four years.

He said the easement purchase process likely would include voluntary applications by land owners once a year, evaluation by the committee (including a professional appraisal), a public hearing and a recommendation by the committee to the Blaine County Commissioners. The commissioners would make the final decision on any purchase.

Springs said there were no guarantees the process would occur as outlined. However, he said the committee and the commissioners want to keep the process open to the public, fair and democratic.

"It comes down to a certain amount of public trust at this time," Springs said. "This is the first time a county in Idaho has done this--a lot of people will be watching us.