Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Hillside property gets final plat approval

Pedestrian hillside access to be maintained


By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

A Hailey hillside property known as Block M has been given the go-ahead for development.

Located in Woodside on the southeast corner of the Winterhaven Drive and Woodside Boulevard intersection, a ramp onto the bench has been a favorite access point for hikers into the canyon beyond and will be developed as a private street.

Monday's decision by the council clears the way for the developer, Sprenger Grubb and Associates, to develop eight lots ranging in size from 9,700 square feet to just over 2 acres. Three of the lots are platted as multi-family lots. They will be accessed directly from Winterhaven Drive.

The other five lots on the bench are available for single-family dwellings with a maximum building height of 30. They will be accessed from the private street, which is included in negotiations with the city as an exception to city width and slope requirements, being narrower and steeper.

To negotiate the private street in the parcel that predates city zoning when hillside development was not allowed, the developer reduced the density of the proposed development.

Although the developer could have developed some 40 residential properties, Scott Allen, representing Sprenger, Grubb and Associates, said negotiations with the city brought the multi-family dwellings to the valley floor and dropped the height of buildings on the five hillside lots. In addition, the developer agreed to dedicate a second adjacent lot, Parcel O, to the city for a future park or fire station.

Addressing a question about whether the public access to public land would be permitted through the private street, Allen joked that the public would not be allowed. But, he then relented, explaining that the trailhead would be connected to the "Toe of the Hill" trail and hikers would be welcome. No public parking will be allowed on the street, however.

"The developer and the city worked out a good situation," Allen said. He added that soil reports and compaction requests from the city engineer would also be submitted before any construction begins.




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