Future development along the banks of the Big Wood River should undergo intense scrutiny on a case-by-case basis rather than being subjected to a blanket zoning ordinance, according to several property owners, former county planners and attorneys.
The primary concern is that the proposed ordinance—one of seven attached to the county's 2025 plan—will apply to existing, platted lots that have yet to be developed.
"I have concerns about changing the wetlands and riparian setbacks as it pertains to existing lots," said Deborah Vignes, a former county planner.
Barry Luboviski, a Ketchum attorney, was also among those who objected.
"It doesn't have anything to do with protecting the stream. It has to do with protecting numbers," he said.
The objections were directed to members of the Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission, which is reviewing the final three ordinances attached to the county's 2025 planning process. The objections were voiced at a P&Z meeting last Thursday at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.
The 2025 plan, launched more than 18 months ago, includes seven zoning ordinances designed to limit future growth in the county's rural, riparian, and wildlife-rich areas. The ordinances were drafted by Clarion Associates, a national land-use consultant hired by the county.
As proposed, the ordinance would require building setbacks of 200 feet from Class 1 and 2 streams, which include the Big Wood River, Warm Springs Creek and the East Fork of the Big Wood River.
Rebecca Follo and her husband, Tom Bentley, bought a four-acre lot adjacent to the Big Wood River north of Ketchum two years ago and they were aware that the setback was 75 feet, which remains the current regulation.
"We still bought the property and thought those restrictions would be just fine," Follo said. "Now, with these new regulations, our house would be right on Highway 75. We didn't buy on the river because we wanted to be on the road."
Follo added that houses on both sides of their lot were built about 75 feet from the river, making the new setbacks seem particularly arbitrary.
Plus, a provision in the ordinance that gives leeway to owners of platted lots doesn't apply to owners of lots greater than two acres in size. Under that provision, setbacks can be reduced to 50 feet if larger setbacks would make it impossible to build on the property.
And it doesn't benefit owners of very tiny, platted lots, like Roger Crist, who owns property in the Board Ranch subdivision in Warm Springs canyon west of Ketchum. He claimed the new setbacks would preclude building on a series of small lots he owns, even if they could be reduced to 50 feet.
"These ordinance provisions should be the subject of a subdivision ordinance, not a zoning ordinance," Crist said.
Lumping the restrictions into a zoning ordinance would "compromise existing rights" and virtually eliminate the value of certain lots in which "people have invested very large sums," Crist said.
Luboviski also suggested that the setbacks should be written into the subdivision ordinance and that building applications should be reviewed individually.
"This procedure would be very unwieldy and unworkable," he said. "Let people do their studies and (have the county) look at them at the cost of the developer."
Meanwhile, Katie Breckenridge, who owns a ranch near Picabo with Rob Struthers, expressed serious concern about certain regulations in the wildlife overlay district.
That ordinance proposes to enforce significant setbacks of a quarter-mile from wildlife migration corridors and winter range. It would also alter longstanding fencing practices, allowing a maximum of three strands, only two of which can be barbed.
"If you do this, you are creating a liability issue that is horrific," Breckenridge said.
Breckenridge said she and Struthers have always protected wildlife on their property and have a good, longstanding relationship with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which hopes to have all wildlife habitat in the county mapped by January.
She said the fencing they've used for years has succeeded at keeping wildlife out of certain areas on their property while not causing harm to the animals.
"This will not keep wild animals in or out, and we have fenced miles and miles of (our property)," she said.
Ben Sinnamon, executive director of Citizens for Smart Growth, urged the P&Z to "be conservative with our natural resources."
"The opportunity to develop will always be around, but once wildlife habitat is gone it's hard to get back," he said.
The P&Z will resume its review July 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Old County Courthouse. The commission will start the meeting with the review of an unrelated application, which is expected to last about a half-hour.
