Would a new 338-unit planned unit development be appropriate on sprawling ranchland five miles south of Bellevue?
That's what the Blaine County Planning and Zoning commission will consider when it begins its review of a proposal by Cove Springs Development Inc., Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.
The developers of Cove Springs—Steve Beevers, Cynthia and John Miley, Jan Edelstein and Anna Mathieu—contend their project will "embrace the community values and heritage of the West" by preserving open space, ranch and agricultural land and wildlife habitat.
The Cove Springs planned unit development would consume just 600 acres of the 4,630-acre Cove Ranch, which the partnership purchased about four years ago.
The western border of the enormous ranch, which is more than twice the size of Hailey, abuts Gannett Road, and the eastern edge of the ranch is flanked by Bureau of Land Management acreage.
Farming operations would continue on more than 1,000 acres of the ranch, and about 2,600 acres would be permanently preserved as wildlife habitat. Two ranch parcels—152 acres and 3,843 acres—would be included in the project, as would an undetermined amount of community housing. Upwards of 3,100 acres are eligible for development, but all told nearly 90 percent of the ranch would remain undisturbed.
The Cove Springs application was filed in December 2004, a month before the county enacted a moratorium on subdivisions. Therefore, the project is exempt from the county's new 2025 land-use ordinances, which slashed development potential in the county's rural and environmentally sensitive areas.
Superior water rights—dating to 1882—would supply the development's water demands. A central water system would include water meters providing economic incentives for conservation. A modern centralized bioreactor sewage treatment system has already been approved by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
The core of the development would be set back about a mile east of Gannett Road in a series of small valleys surrounded by sage-doused hillsides. Much of it would be difficult to see from the road.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has expressed concern that the development's position, tucked against the base of the ranch's hillsides, would threaten sage grouse, pygmy rabbit, deer and elk habitat.
"Given the multitude of wildlife impacts that will be negatively impacted by the current proposal, we recommend evaluating alternatives to shift development to agricultural lands paralleling Gannett Road," Fish and Game Magic Valley Region Supervisor David Parrish wrote in a memo to the P&Z.
But Beevers said the latest iteration of the proposal—the fourth so far—pulled the brunt of the development farther out of the vast valleys and set it lower on hillsides. He said the partnership wants to follow the rules and will work with Fish and Game.
Furthermore, the development is allowed to encroach on hillsides up to 25 percent in slope. But Beevers said the partnership has decided to cap development at 15 percent.
John Miley added that he wants the development to blend into the natural environment.
"We intend to live here," Miley said. "We want to preserve the beauty."
Vegetation would be preserved and, where possible, streams restored. Perimeter fencing would not be allowed to foster the free movement of wildlife, Miley added.
Edelstein also argued that the development will benefit the overall south county community.
Cove Springs developers and residents would pay taxes to cover the cost of services—contributing more than $2.2 million annually in local tax revenues. By 2023, the development will add more than $400 million to the county tax base, the partnership contends.
Plus, Cove Springs would include a fire station for Wood River Fire and Rescue, an elementary school for the entire Bellevue Triangle area, and a vast array of public facilities. A 14-acre park, soccer and baseball fields, basketball court, hiking and equestrian trails providing new access to BLM land would all be open to the general public.
Beevers said Cove Springs is located along the "growing south valley transportation corridor" between Carey and the Wood River Valley and will be a natural link in the public transit chain.
The development has corralled more than a dozen consultants. The brunt of the development would be built in three phases spanning 10 years, the developers said.
Express photo by Willy Cook
Developers Steve Beevers, left, and John Miley discuss their plans to develop Cove Ranch, an expansive 4,630-acre property south of Bellevue. Photo by Willy Cook
