The Blaine County Board of Commissioners tonight will unveil a preferred growth scenario to guide development in the Wood River Valley over the next 20 years. The meeting is open to the public and begins at 6 p.m. in the Distance Learning Center at Wood River High School, in Hailey.
The "Preferred Scenario" that will be outlined is a culmination of one year of planning meetings hosted by the commission and Denver-based consultants Clarion Associates, the county's consultant for moratorium planning. Hundreds of citizens have weighed in on the planning process since commissioners instituted a development moratorium in January 2005.
After numerous meetings, including outreach roadshows called "Blaine County 2025: How and Where will we Grow?", virtual town meetings, Web surveys and public forums, the comments have been assessed.
"The results are in: The citizens of Blaine County have strong values about preserving their quality of life," wrote County Commission Chairwoman Sarah Michael in a news release.
"Building on public input and direction from the Planning Commission and the county commissioners over the past few months, we've now prepared a draft "Preferred Scenario" for the county," said Ben Herman from Clarion. "We're looking forward to finding out from the community (tonight) if we're on the right track with this preferred direction for the county."
The preferred direction is based on four key principles: limiting growth in the unincorporated county to ensure efficient provision of county services; conserving land and resources in rural and remote areas of the county; conserving agricultural land and reduce development patterns that will interfere with agricultural operations; and increasing protection of environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, streams, wildlife habitat and hillsides.
Clarion has recently released a compilation of results from a campaign to find out what the public thinks Blaine County should look like in the year 2025. Full-time residents (97 percent of respondents are full-time residents) think that future growth belongs in and around cities, and that growth in remote areas, agricultural areas, and canyons should be limited. Protecting the county's sensitive lands, including scenic areas, wetlands, streams and wildlife habitat, was the public's highest priority. Other key interests include affordable housing near jobs and pedestrian-friendly communities with bike paths and public transit.
Of four potential growth scenarios proposed by the consultant, the majority of respondents indicated a preference for the "Town Development" scenario. Known to survey participants as Scenario C, this alternative has the least impact on agriculture lands and wildlife habitat, requires the least area of land to accommodate projected growth, and provides more housing choices and shorter distances to services for most residents.
"Achieving this vision for the future of Blaine County will not happen by itself. It will require new strategies to conserve agricultural areas and protect natural resources," Michael said. "Our constituents have sent a clear message about their vision for the future of Blaine County, and we are listening."
Of particular interest at the meeting will be the reaction of the county's five cities, each of which have been doing their own growth planning for their unique municipality. For example, the city of Hailey completed its own outreach campaign more than a year ago as it worked to complete its most recent comprehensive plan, which embraces many of the same growth principles.
The remaining question is whether the numerous nuts and bolts of regulation yet to be coordinated between the county and cities will mesh to achieve what have become regional goals.
Growth Scenario
County commissioners host a meeting on growth management implementation strategies tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. in the Wood River High School Distance Learning Center, in Hailey.
The preferred growth scenario is based on four key principles:
· Limit growth in the unincorporated county to ensure efficient provision of county services.
· Conserve land and resources in rural and remote areas of the county.
· Conserve agricultural land and reduce development patterns that will interfere with agricultural operations.
· Increase protection of environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, streams, wildlife habitat and hillsides.
