After receiving a boost at the Sun Valley Sustainability Conference in late September that their concepts are sound, Cove Springs developers are still awaiting a ruling on whether the group's planned unit development proposal is exempt from Blaine County's interim moratorium set to expire in July 2007.
The county is currently working through the question of whether the group completed enough of the application process to be reviewed before the end of the moratorium. In any case, the group of investors that make up Cove Springs Development Inc. anticipates that its 336 unit PUD application will be reviewed based on county standards in place at the time the basic application was submitted.
The 4,600-acre parcel located east of Gannett Road has been used historically as a ranch. Two ranch parcels will remain in production, raising hay, alfalfa and other crops in addition to sheep and cattle grazing.
"We want to preserve the working farm," said Jan Edelstein, vice president of Cove Springs. She added that the group is hoping to attract residents who have an appreciation for the rural character of Idaho and can integrate with the agricultural and ecological amenities of the property.
Cove Ranch is surrounded by mountains on three sides, some 11,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management grazing land. Cove Springs and Dry Creeks flow seasonally through the property and part of the groups goal is to do riparian restoration work, which will add to the protection of 2,600 acres of protected wildlife habitat on the parcel.
BLM managers have informed the group that the most important Sage Grouse leks and elk and mule deer habitat are found on the northern part of the property. BLM hopes to direct recreation, including equestrian activity to the southern part of the property.
The group of developers wants the PUD to be a benchmark for conservation-minded development in Blaine County, said Anna Mathieu, who is director of marketing and research for the project.
"All the principals in our company value the quality of life here in the Wood River Valley," said Cynthia Miley, one of the owners of the ranch who lives in Hailey with her husband and co-owner John Miley. "We have a commitment to creating a community that will help preserve the way of life that attracted us."
Three types of clustered housing are planned for the property, including five acres of community housing that would be interspersed throughout the development according to Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority specifications. The number of community housing units would be in addition to the 336 planned lots, Edelstein said.
Already in place for the group is Idaho Department of Environmental Quality approval of a membrane bioreactor sewage treatment system to be housed in a 40 by 60 foot building on the property. Having recently passed a sewer bond, the city of Bellevue is also considering the technology, which is gaining popularity throughout the country.
The treatment plant is supposed to produce water that is cleaner than water that comes from irrigation canals. Cove Springs would build the reactor and a community building according to "green" building standards found in the LEED certification process. A 14-acre public park and walking, bicycle and equestrian trails that connect to public lands are also planned. Land is to be donated for a fire station and a public school that would be large enough to serve more than 450 children.
Lots are to be sold and developed by the buyers, but the group plans to have covenants in place that will guide homeowners to build according to sustainable building practices and landscape with native and drought tolerant plants. Homes are to be metered and homeowners will pay according to their specific use. Plans for the project also include a circulation and transportation plan that would be coordinated with a regional bus plan and have limited impact on the flow of traffic on Gannett Road.
Although the group has had several offers from developers showing interest in building a golf course on the property, they are sticking to their vision of a sustainable and ecologically sensitive development, said John Miley.
"We are proud of what we're building and what we are not building," Edelstein said.
Anna Mathieu, director of marketing and research for Cove Springs Development Inc., orients visitors to the lay of the land for a 336-acre residential project on Gannett Road currently awaiting county judgement on whether or not the group's application is exempt from the county's development moratorium. Photo by David N. Seelig
