Third in series of three
Growth is a big word in the Wood River Valley, with regional impacts flowing both directions along state Highway 75, Blaine County's main artery, to and from U.S. Interstate 84, north of Twin Falls.
In Jerome and Lincoln counties, the two southern neighbors sharing the truck route, the economic, social and environmental impacts of growth are certainly linked to Blaine County by more than the highway.
The Jerome Butte, planted with numerous radio and television towers just north of the Flying J truck stop at the intersection with the federal highway system, is on the backbone of the global fiber-optic superhighway at the south end of the Highway 75 corridor.
The connection is a critical selling point and a key to progressive ideas in Jerome County, where planning for growth is on the front burner, said Jerome City Administrator Travis Rothweiler.
Rothweiler and Jerome County Planning and Zoning Administrator Art Brown have spent much of the last five years preparing for city annexations in the triangle formed by the county's interstate off ramps near downtown Jerome, the Highway 25 intersection with Highway 75 and the Flying J exit off I-84.
Changes involve promise of more than $7 million in federal and state grant money to improve water and sewer infrastructure and add redundancy to the fiber-optic network with links to the College of Southern Idaho. A new hospital and a technology park are planned opposite the Flying J.
The grants came from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Environmental Protection Agency and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Annexations could add 17 square miles to the city.
"We have a new water supply for what we believe will be the next 50 years," said Rothweiler, the city's 33-year-old administrator originally from Montana. "The city has quality water rights with quality priority dates."
Expanding sewer in the triangle will help to protect groundwater in the region situated directly over the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer.
"The EPA saw we were being visionary," Rothweiler said, crediting the community's success with the force of vision coming from his mayor and City Council. "If we can capture the council's vision for Jerome, we will be the gem of the Gem State."
Rothweiler said it took four years to get the $2.7 million EDA grant.
In Shoshone, just south of the Blaine County border, the picture is not so bright, but initial steps are being taken.
Lincoln County recently declared a 100-day moratorium on all subdivision and non-commercial rezoning applications and conditional-use permits required when more than one house is planned on less than 40 acres.
A volunteer committee is reviewing the county's comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances because current rules permit development that is unsustainable in a county relying on septic systems to manage wastewater, said Shoshone County Planning and Zoning Administrator Wendell Johnson.
"Shoshone is struggling with getting their sewer up to speed," said Johnson, also the former county assessor, adding that Dietrich and Richfield, also in Lincoln County, are working to manage growth.
While Richfield is reluctant to embrace outlying county subdivisions when some 60 acres in the city are still undeveloped, Dietrich took the plunge with construction of a new school gymnasium, but the rest of the school is under-funded, Johnson said.
"All three towns are making attempts to accommodate growth."
"We're looking to get our sewer lagoon up to grade so we could handle expansion," said Shoshone Mayor Dick Andreasen. "We hope to have the sewer accomplished within a year. If it becomes a major job we'll have to wait for a grant from the government."
Andreasen said projects proposed by Blaine County developers, including a 55-acre annexation application and a proposed subdivision for 50 homes, have been hung up until the city can get a handle on the matter.
Andreasen said that most residential development is happening in the county.
For example, Ketchum developer Lauri Maher currently has infrastructure going in for a 33-lot subdivision called Syringa Plains southeast of Shoshone near Dietrich. Maher said she pursued the project in Lincoln County precisely because of the high cost of land in Blaine County.
"There are still affordable options near Shoshone and it is a reasonable drive," she said.
Andreasen said the city of Shoshone is now a bedroom community to Blaine County and Twin Falls. City Clerk Mary Kay Bennett said the community is split on making way for growth.
"I've done my own surveys over the years," Bennett said. "It's usually 50 (percent) for and 50 against."
Bennett is part of an economic development group sponsored by the Idaho Department of Commerce that is looking into economic opportunities for Gooding, Lincoln and Jerome counties. She said having Rocky Mountain Hardware's new manufacturing plant in the community has been beneficial as an economic driver and local employment opportunity.
"We need things that work with our population," Bennett said, adding that so far not many people are on the reverse commute. "Sometimes it's hard for us to find somebody (to hire for projects) because they've all gone north. So, we call Twin."
Andreasen said that because the price of a three-bedroom home is about half the cost of a home in Bellevue, many people believe that "the action is going to start to take place."
To better understand what that action can look like, one only needs to take another look at Jerome, with its superior infrastructure plan. When the city's urban renewal area was created in 1999 it was valued at $6 million. Last year the assessment was $78 million.
"When you take a look at that level of growth, about 3,000 percent, it's amazing," Rothweiler said, stressing the importance of proactive growth both for the environment and community. "We try to attract quality corporate citizens that understand our way of life and are willing to adapt to our lifestyles and appreciate the environments in which we live."
In addition to absorbing the current housing crunch in Blaine County, the interplay with Lincoln and Jerome county neighbors is also made evident by regional issues, like a proposed coal-fired power plant in Jerome County. Lincoln County is the leading contender for a proposed regional airport near the Shoshone Ice Caves to replace Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.
Rothweiler said he sees a defiant synergy between Blaine County and the Magic Valley. Jerome has major benefits, with its asphalt and fiber-optic connections to the world, and Blaine County has tremendous recreational opportunities, a huge selling point to potential employers seeking rural headquarters.
"Blaine County has some of the world's best fly fishing and recreational opportunities. They are unrivalled in the Pacific Northwest. I almost had to stake a claim at Silver Creek," he said, explaining the strategy for protecting natural treasures or future generations. "There are two ways you can deal with growth. Short of stopping it, the best thing you can do is plan for it. Growth does not have to control a city. Collectively, if we work together we're able to create sound communities. If you don't have a solid (comprehensive) plan you are always following (growth). Water and sewer become more costly and interrupts lives of people involved without planning."
Ketchum developer Lauri Maher describes plans for a 33-lot Lincoln County subdivision near Dietrich, just east of Shoshone, in Lincoln County. Photo by Willy Cook
