For the week of January 21 - 27, 2004

Strahorn Meadows subdivision application continued

Four former mayors attend meeting

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By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

One legacy of railroad pamphleteer Robert Strahorn, who wrote public relations copy after the Civil War to promote railroad immigration to the West, is a proposed subdivision called Strahorn Meadows in Bellevue.

The subdivision plan is designated for property just inside city limits on the east side of Bellevue between Slaughterhouse and Muldoon Canyon roads. Galena Engineering engineer Mike Choat and developer Jeff Pfaeffle presented the plan to the Bellevue Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday, Jan. 15. The commission asked that further studies be made.

Responding to questions about future plans for adjacent property up the canyon from the subdivision, Pfaeffle described pods of development meandering up the spine of the valley with open spaces dictated by avalanche zones.

Some Bellevue residents thought the plan assumed that associated county property to the east would be annexed and that annexation was not a given.

County Commissioner Dennis Wright, a former Bellevue Mayor, read a letter addressed to the P&Z Commission requesting it to look at the application with a critical eye in regard to potential impacts the development may have to the east of the city.

"I can’t imagine a more stupid idea for the city of Bellevue," he said.

The subdivision plat showed 23 triangle shaped lots, each approximately 13,000 square feet with three streets adjacent to Slaughterhouse Road.

"The plat as presented is a poor plat," said Monte Brothwell, also a former Bellevue mayor. Brothwell was interested in seeing an infrastructure map, especially at a time when the city’s sewer system is reaching capacity and water resources are down.

Commissioner Drew Chittenden found it ironic that four former mayors showed up for the review of the application. Former mayors Wayne Douthit and Steve Fairbrother were also present.

The commission asked to see an aerial photograph of the property to better see the proximity of the canyon walls. They also asked to see traffic and flood studies for the subdivision as proposed.

"It is one of the most bizarre plats I have ever seen," said Diane Shay. Shay is a former Bellevue Planning and Zoning Administrator who now works as a planner for the city of Hailey. Shay has offered her services to Bellevue until the city finds someone to replace Steve Almquist, who had triple by-pass surgery over the Christmas holiday. "I don’t anticipate that plat again in that shape."

In other business, the commission rejected a waiver request by OK Investments to allow a two-car garage to reach outside the setbacks of the property.

The owner said that planning for the placement of a home on the property brought down from Ketchum was done according to faulty property measurements.

The commission was understanding of the applicant’s difficulty, but did not feel the applicant was suffering undo hardship, which is required for the commission to grant a waiver under the city’s zoning ordinance. The commission was reluctant to set a precedent even if the garage is only slightly over its setback, P&Z Commission chairwoman Laira Thomas said.

 

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