Grappling with growth in the Wood River Valley
By KEVIN WISER
Express Staff Writer
County commissioners, left to right, Leonard Harlig, Mary Ann Mix and Dennis
Wright, face an often daunting challenge of how to balance growth with the countys
lifestyle. (Express photo by Willy Cook)
As we head into the next century, growth and its impact on quality of life
confronts the Wood River Valley.
Growth is the sun around which other issues orbit. It can drive Blaine
Countys political agenda and shape the valleys economy.
Growth is an in-your-face issue on Highway 75 during a morning commute.
Growth can shape the learning process in a crowded classroom.
Growth can manifest itself in a new office building or art gallery when
your view of the mountains is blocked.
Growth is underscored in the construction of each new home and
subdivision.
Common wisdom says growth is inevitable. How the community deals with it
is another matter. Critical growth decisions can orchestrate the valleys lifestyle
well into the next millennium.
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Blaine County Commissioners Leonard Harlig and Dennis Wright talked with
the Idaho Mountain Express about the future of growth in the Wood River Valley.
Commissioner Harlig, who served for eight years on the Blaine County
Planning and Zoning Commission, is beginning his seventh year as a county commissioner.
"Ive lived here 26 years and have seen the population grow from
about 5,200 to close to 20,000, and from a sprinkling of second and vacation homes to
several thousand vacation homes," Harlig said. "So theres been a lot of
change here. Most of it has been growth related.
"So I would have to agree that growth has been an issue for the last
20 years and will continue to be an issue for the future."
In terms of a county build-out study conducted in the Wood River Valley in
1998, Harlig said that if all the land was developed under existing zoning, the Wood River
Valley would have the potential for a population of 80,000.
"I dont believe that every piece of land thats eligible
for development will be built out to its maximum," Harlig said. He pointed out that
development will first be limited by available water, sewage treatment capacity and
highway size.
"So something less than 80,000," he said. "But that number
is a decision for the community to make and they have to figure out how they want to get
to whatever number they decide is appropriate.
"The community at some point may have to ask itself how much is
enough and what theyre willing to do to stretch out the period of time that growth
can take place. Do we get to our build-out in five years or do we get there in 50
years?"
Commissioner Wright was mayor of Bellevue for five years and is beginning
his third year as a county commissioner.
"I think that most of the people here, if it was in their power,
would probably like to keep the valley approximately the way it is todaytoday being
that which they most recently experienced," Wright said. "Now we all know
thats impossible."
"One of the things that people tend to forget is that every time we
pass a bond issue or whatever to make something supposedly better in this area,
youre going to actually exasperate the growth effect because the nicer you make this
place youre going to have more visitors reach the decision that theyre going
to move here.
"Sometimes I think that were all going to choke on the goodness
of this place if we dont stop trying to make it better," Wright said.
"Im of the opinion that its pretty damn good now. And if
you want to know the truth, I would prefer keeping this area a little more secret. I
dont believe in getting on the highest mountain and yelling to the world, Hey,
come here."
Wright said the application of the term growth is somewhat generic in
Blaine County and has different effects in different areas.
"In other words, you can say that growth is good or growth is
bad," he said.
"You can talk about growth but in order to understand it you have to
get a little specific and connect it to the problems were experiencing, like a
crowded highway, crowded schools, sprawl such as that being contemplated by the city of
Hailey on its south border, the pressure to expand and change the character of the south
valley and turn it into more of a residential area instead of the absolute agricultural
area that it is today."
Wright said the commute from Bellevue to Ketchum, more than any other
issue, allows everyone to experience what real growth is all about.
"If youre part of that or if youve experienced the
highway commute," Wright said, "then you know theres some permanent
happenings related to growth in this valley. Traffic is a good indictor of that."
The Idaho Transportation Departments proposal to expand Highway 75
is based on traffic forecasts and projected growth.
"I think at some point the highway is going to be expanded between
principal cities," Harlig said, "so that the population that is here and the
visitors that come can get between those areas safely."
As for the future of growth in the Wood River Valley Wright pointed to the
annexation of the Eccles property between Hailey and Bellevue currently being considered
by the city of Hailey.
"The situation between Hailey and Bellevue, the center part of the
valley, will affect growth in the entire county," Wright said. "If Hailey
annexes the Eccles property it could accelerate sprawl.
"If the valley chooses to grow in that manner I think that sprawl and
that connection between Hailey and Bellevue of solid buildup will bring the same effect
that other resort communities in the West have experienced. A lot of those communities
have literally lost their identity."
As for dealing with growth, Wright said he believes it can be directed so
that some of the harm experienced by communities that already face a similar situation can
be avoided in the Wood River Valley.
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Ongoing land use planning in the McHanville area and the potential for
commercial growth along Highway 75 have many residents in the Wood River Valley concerned
about the future in that stretch south of Ketchum.
"The county does have through its comprehensive plan and ordinances a
rather rigorous limitation on the ability to develop commercial businesses outside of the
city cores," Harlig said. "Commercial business belongs in the cities."
McHanville is an anomaly, Harlig said, because it existed long before
zoning laws were established in Blaine County and before there was a comp plan, which led
to a number of mixed uses in the area.
"The county is on record as saying that it doesnt want to see
McHanville become a commercial zone that would compete with downtown businesses in either
Hailey or Ketchum," Harlig said. "So I dont think theres a lot of
difference between what the county and Ketchum believe is appropriate there."
However, Harlig said there is going to be a difference between what some
McHanville property owners would like to see in the area and what theyre actually
going to get.
He suggested that zoning in McHanville include existing uses and others
appropriate for the hospital and residences, but that sprawl be limited.
As for quality of life and its connection to growth, Harlig said that
quality attracts and holds people in a certain community, and the challenge is to maintain
that in the Wood River Valley.
"I dont want anyone to say that I want to pull up the draw
bridge and close the door on growth, because I realize that we need to continue to grow to
a certain extent," he said.
"On the other hand, if were careless about how that growth
comes in and where it goes, it wont take long for whats been really a paradise
for all of us to first turn into an ordinary place and then into a disaster."
According to Wright, people concerned about growth need to walk the walk
and turn words into action. And decision makers, he said, need to "understand how
their actions
fit into the big picture."
The big problem with growth, Harlig added, is that it is almost always
irreversible.
"Once you get to a certain point you can never return to the paradise
you were before," he said.