Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Home will mar mountains

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Conflicting individual interests have worked diligently for years to successfully preserve the crown jewel of public lands, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

The secret? A sense of community and a spirit of good will compromise to perpetuate the character and ambience of this grand 756,000-acre natural treasure.

That spirit now faces a test.

The new owner of a tract of about 200 acres or more plans an 8,500-square-foot home within sight of State Highway 75, 40 miles north of Ketchum near the Fourth of July Road junction.

That’s far grander than other homes in the SNRA, and far more visible.

The property carries a conservation easement purchased by the federal government. But unless the Forest Service is prepared to condemn and acquire the property to block construction (a last-resort measure customarily avoided), the businessman-owner may be legally free to continue.

The SNRA has declined to place strict limits on home sizes. As Bob Hayes, executive director of the SNRA’s watchdog, the Sawtooth Society, points out, a 2,000-square-foot home beside State Highway 75 could be an eyesore whereas a 5,000-square-foot structure tucked away in remote woods might never be noticed.

So, Forest Service officials must dissuade the owner of the planned mega-home near the highway with the obvious argument that if he wants the SNRA to retain the eye-appealing character that lured him there in the first place, he must scale back his plans.

Otherwise, the SNRA’s future is more 8,500-square-foot eyesores.

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