Friday, December 29, 2006

2006: Hailey grew, and so did its budget

Townsite, tourist dollars and trees among top issues


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

Express file photo Altogether, flooding-related work from the months of May and June cost the city of Hailey a total of $41,937. The record-setting flood event, which was largely contained in the Della View neighborhood in western Hailey, was among the top issues the city faced in 2006. This home on War Eagle Drive was among the hardest hit from the flooding.

Hailey residents may well remember 2006 as the year the trees came down on Main Street, the year they agreed the city should benefit from tourist dollars and the year they rejected a proposed $2.3 million bond to fund the construction of a large Woodside fire station.

Here is summary of Hailey's top 10 issues in 2006:

- Local Option Tax: One of the most significant events was the May 23 voter approval of a Hailey local option tax. Voters approved the LOT by a 597-268 vote margin.

Beginning July 1, businesses in Hailey collected additional taxes on sales receipts from rental vehicles, hotel and motel rooms, by-the-drink liquor sales and restaurant food. Prior to the May vote, city officials estimated the tax would raise $326,250 annually. Funds from the LOT will be used to fund various needs in the city.

Hailey has taken in $146,311 since July and appears headed toward meeting early estimates.

- Preparing for Prop 2: Ahead of the statewide Nov. 7 vote on the property rights initiative known as Proposition 2, elected officials in Hailey prioritized land-use issues over all other issues at the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council levels. Any land-use laws approved before the Nov. 7 vote would have been exempt from the new law, which Idahoans ultimately denied.

In the months running up to the vote, the city doubled its meeting schedule to handle the increased workload. Issues considered and approved by officials during the meetings included regulations specific to the city's Townsite Overlay district and numerous amendments to the city's zoning and subdivision ordinances.

The amendments included clarifications and revisions to design review guidelines, permitted, conditional and accessory uses within various zoning districts and bulk regulations.

- Old Cutters annexation: After nearly three years of intense wrangling, the City Council on March 13 approved the controversial Old Cutters annexation on 142 acres of mostly bare land in northeastern Hailey. As proposed by developers of the project, the Old Cutters subdivision will have 149 single- and multi-family homes on 116 lots.

As part of the city's approval for the annexation, the Old Cutters developers agreed to pay Hailey an annexation fee of $3,832,500 in periodic installments. Developers hope to begin actual construction in 2007.

- Sweetwater Project: The massive 421-unit Sweetwater project in Hailey's Woodside neighborhood was approved by the City Council Aug. 14. The project, located on about 20 acres east of Highway 75 and west of Woodside Boulevard in southern Hailey, will include townhomes, condominiums and mixed-use commercial and residential space.

Work is now being completed on the project's first of four construction phases, as evidenced by the large residential buildings now sprouting up along Countryside Boulevard.

- City manager versus city administrator: During the Nov. 7 general election in Hailey, city residents rejected a proposed change from a mayor-city council style of city government to a city manager-city council form of government by a 586-278 vote.

The plan, proposed in late 2005 by former Hailey Mayor Al Lindley as a way to bring more professionalism to the city, would have installed a city manager as the person in charge of the majority of Hailey's day-to-day operations. Hailey would have continued to have a mayor, but that person would have been more of a ceremonial figure.

On Aug. 18, the city announced it had hired former Hailey Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Spinelli as the new city administrator, a position with similar responsibilities, but one that does not replace the city's mayor.

- Fire station bond: During the Nov. 7 general election in Hailey, city voters also rejected a city-initiated $2.3 million fire station bond request.

Those marking "yes" on their ballots totaled 1,218, or 57 percent of the votes cast. Those marking "no" totaled 908 votes, or 43 percent. To pass, the bond request needed a two-thirds majority from Hailey voters.

Funds from the bond would have been used to finance construction of a 10,445-square-foot fire station in southern Hailey at the intersection of Woodside and Countryside boulevards.

- Townsite Overlay: When Hailey mentioned the words "Townsite Overlay district" on its meeting agendas in 2006, officials were virtually assured of drawing large crowds of anxious homeowners.

Among the townsite changes gaining the support of the council in 2006 was a requirement that townsite lots must be 7,000 square feet or larger if accessory dwelling units are to be built. It also limited the size of accessory dwelling units to 900 square feet within the townsite. The council agreed to limit the subdivision of lots in the townsite to the traditional east-west layout of lot lines except on corner lots where historic structures still exist.

- Flooding: Like other Wood River Valley cities, Hailey experienced significant flooding during the months of May and June. The flooding was largely contained in the Della View neighborhood in western Hailey, although some portions north near the Bullion Street Bridge also flooded.

In July, city officials released a tally of the total flood-related costs Hailey incurred during the high water episode. Altogether the flooding cost the city $41,937.14.

- Tree cutting: The cutting of five mature spruce trees on private property between Walnut and Pine streets on Main Street in Hailey on Sunday, May 21, ignited a firestorm of protests from city officials and residents. The tree cutting led to an emergency 182-day tree-cutting moratorium, which the Hailey City Council enacted days later on May 25.

On Oct. 30, the Hailey City Council enacted a tree-cutting ordinance regulating tree removal on certain properties in the city. Under the new ordinance, the damaging or destroying of trees on public property through cutting, carving, topping and many other practices is forbidden. The ordinance does not regulate tree cutting on private property, however.

- River Street completion: On Oct. 11, Mayor Susan McBryant cut a ceremonial ribbon to open a short but long-awaited section of River Street between Empty Saddle Trail and Myrtle Street. Altogether, the road work cost the city approximately $40,000.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.