Breaking ranks

Hailey Councilman Scott Basolo did the valley a favor last week.

Even though it may have earned him the everlasting enmity of Hailey Mayor Brad Seimer, he broke ranks with his fellow city officials on what should become of 152 acres of open land between Hailey and Bellevue.

Hailey’s mayor and council have been moving forward on a plan that would annex the property and zone it light industrial.

Basolo appeared before the Bellevue City Council last week to encourage the city’s opposition to zoning all of the property light industrial. He said he opposed Hailey’s plan and objected to its utter disregard for its neighbor to the south. He encouraged Bellevue to pursue a master plan for the very large and visible parcel—against the wishes of Hailey and the developer.

Basolo’s appearance in Bellevue took courage. It would have been easier for him to go along to get along, raise a few tepid objections and get outvoted. Instead, he tried to rally opposition.

And rally it did. The Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission last week was in no mood to let Hailey run rampant. It rejected the Hailey city attorney’s argument that the county should allow the city to do as it wishes with the land and voted to bring everyone to the negotiating table..