Carey reschedules housing hearing
Infrastructures questions raised concerning 62-unit PUD
By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer
Former director of the Ketchum-Blaine County Housing Authority Dick Duncan is in negotiations with the Carey Water and Sewer District and the City of Carey to get approval for a project to be called the Lakes at Waterford, a private business venture Duncan says will provide some of the most affordable housing in the county. Photo by David N. Seelig
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After a two-hour review of Blaine County developer Dick Duncan?s PUD application Tuesday, the Carey City Council moved to have acting city planner John Gaeddert set another meeting date for further city council review of remaining questions about the Lakes at Waterford project.
The site for the proposed project is located east of the Carey School with access from Lakeview Road. Other access routes would be built from city streets in a future project.
Gaeddert asked for time to review new traffic study results and asked that more detail be gathered about whether a well being drilled for the project will serve the needs of the Carey Water and Sewer District, especially in terms of fire flows.
Gaeddert listed 21 points he wanted the council to consider when thinking about whether the city has the infra-structure in place to serve the proposed 62-lot subdivision.
?In my mind there is a lot of confusion on fire protection,? he said.
The lake designed for the project was referred to as both an amenity and an ?attractive nuisance? at the public meeting.
The proposed lake is designed to hold some 3 million gallons of water to serve double duty as a landscaping irriga-tion resource and a backup for fire flow protection accessed by four fire hydrants.
Some critics of the plan are concerned that the lake would be a safety risk for children, especially since it is so close to the Carey School, said Blaine County Schools Superintendent Jim Lewis, who attended the meeting.
Despite his concerns about safety, Lewis said he is also pushing for affordable employee housing in the county so the school district will be more successful in keeping qualified teachers.
If a project like the Lakes at Waterford goes forward, he said he would like to see the city council ensure that the development provide adequate infrastructure during initial construction. Lewis? interest is in avoiding the scenario the school district is facing as it attempts to build a new elementary school in the Woodside subdivision in Hailey, where the school district is now being asked to help provide sidewalks in their plan.
Lewis? stance is that cities should require developers to provide sidewalks, especially if a school is constructed nearby.
Project consultant Chuck Brockway of Brockway Engineering and attorney James Laski reviewed the project?s water plan for the council, explaining that the design for the pond with natural flow and storage water rights would maintain the necessary capacity for irrigation and fire flows in the subdivision.
However, the plan requires annexation to the Carey Water and Sewer District, something that must be hammered out before the city invests more time considering approval of the housing project, said Carey Mayor Rick Baird.
Laski said the group supporting Duncan?s project had been negotiating with the water and sewer district and had secured a basic agreement when the project was being considered during planning and zoning review. However, there was apparent confusion about what those terms were at the public meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17.
Craig Patterson with the water and sewer district countered Laski?s statements and said an agreement was not clear.
?That exchange documents our concern,? Baird said. ?There has to be an agreement or all the work we do goes down the tubes.?
Baird said the project would also benefit from a more thorough impact statement explaining how the project would mitigate impacts to city infrastructure and services.
Further city council review will be scheduled after Gaeddert reviews updated information on the project.
