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.