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Wednesday — January 28, 2004

News

Cutter’s Ranch annexation hearing continued

Public opposition focuses on
traffic impact, water issues


"I’d rather have septic tanks out there than 135 houses."

WYNN BIRD, Myrtle Street resident


By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

The Hailey City Council heard substantial opposition to an annexation application by John Campbell and Steve Brown of Old Cutters, L.L.C., a partnership interested in developing a 142-acre property in Blaine County known as Old Cutters.

Addressing overflowing chambers Monday at the Old Blaine County Courthouse, the council delayed a final decision on the annexation request by continuing the application to its meeting Feb. 9. The continuance was passed to give council members time to review requested information that was supplied shortly before the meeting.

"The goal is to pay our way," Campbell said. "If you express a concern, we address it."

Councilmen Rick Davis and Don Keirn forwarded the motion to continue expressly because the council had requested the information Nov. 24 at the first public hearing on the application.

The request included traffic, wildlife and water pressure studies, an environmental analysis, a history of water rights, details about fire protection, and a review of fiscal impacts the development could have on the city.

Councilwoman Carol Brown said she did not want to continue the application. She indicated that the project as proposed and public comments raised enough red flags to enable her to make a decision.

But, Davis said the council had an obligation to review the material supplied by the applicant.

"We asked for the information. Not to take it into consideration is an injustice," he said.

Brown agreed to continue the hearing as the council was not of one mind on the issue.

Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant asked the council to consider not continuing the hearing because, in her opinion, annexation did not supply sufficient public benefit.

"In my mind, it does not bring something really valuable to the city," she said.

Some of the public opposition included a slideshow by Hailey resident Teresa McGoffin that contained a portrayal of possible problems with traffic flow in and out of the subdivision.

A traffic study produced on behalf of the applicant predicted an increase of 233 vehicle trips per hour in and out of the proposed subdivision during peak travel times. The study asserts that the best possible traffic flow would involve an eastern extension of McKercher Boulevard.

Councilwoman Martha Burke pointed out that the extension was not a forgone conclusion.

She also said it was possible the property could be properly developed under county regulations with input from the city as a neighbor. Burke hoped any development would include an integration of properties including smaller, less expensive homes and larger horse properties that fit with the historic use of the land. She also cited a report by Idaho Fish and Game that listed a number of negative impacts development could have on wildlife.

The letter submitted by the department recommended 10 points, including no development on the eastern side of the lateral irrigation canal that runs through the property.

"I will take them all as gospel," Burke said.

The applicants suggested a number of alternatives for mitigating water impacts from the development, including granting surface water rights to the city of Hailey.

Blaine County resident Jim Phillips, who has helped maintain the canal for 20 years, recommended that the city seriously look at costs associated with infrastructure. He also recommended that the city look closely at how annexation would impact water rights.

Public opposition came from several directions, including Hailey and Blaine County residents living in proximity to Myrtle, North Fifth, South Hiawatha streets and Mother Lode Loop, all streets that lead from Buttercup Road east toward the property at the base of the foothills.

"I’d rather have septic tanks out there than 135 houses," said Wynn Bird, a Myrtle Street resident and a clerk for the Blaine County Assessor’s Office. Increased traffic through her neighborhood and old Hailey was Bird’s and other neighbors’ biggest concern.

Mayor McBryant reiterated her administration’s goal of promoting density closer to the city core. She said that the housing inventory created by annexation of Old Cutters would not be as necessary for the city, since another subdivision in Northridge is coming on line sometime in the spring and many open lots exist in Woodside.

 

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