After Hailey began considering the annexation of the Old Cutters property northeast of town about three years ago, one issue after another stymied progress on the proposal.
Early last year, Hailey officials ultimately agreed to annex the 143-acre property on March 13 after the last of seemingly endless rounds of intense negotiation.
Finally, it seemed the development proposal for the large property was on the fast track to approval. As proposed by its developers, the Old Cutters subdivision is slated to include 149 multi-family and single-family residential units spread across a total of 116 lots.
On Monday, Hailey City Council members renewed a discussion they last had Dec. 11 regarding an application for preliminary plat approval for the proposal.
The preliminary platting process essentially lays out where lot lines, roadways and other essential components of a subdivision will be located.
Further hearings apart from the preliminary plat approval process are necessary for design review on a development's landscape plan, homes and other structures.
Taken as a whole, the council's position Monday appeared to be one of caution and reluctance to make any decision on the application without first coming to a resolution on several outstanding issues related to the preliminary plat application.
Still to be resolved are the questions of where to route a northern entrance into the project and who should pay for necessary upgrades on the water line that will service the property.
Another issue the council discussed Monday was an agreement negotiated between the Old Cutters developers and the nearby users of an irrigation channel, called the High Ditch Canal, that passes through the property near its eastern boundary.
Listening to the discussion during Monday's meeting were a large number of Hailey and Blaine County residents who live in the area surrounding the proposed development.
A suggestion by one neighbor that the city should consider condemnation proceedings for a parcel of land so the northern entrance could be routed more efficiently drew little support from city officials.
"I'm personally not comfortable going down the road of condemnation," Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant said.
McBryant said the city should work closely with neighbors to create a better design for the northern entrance that doesn't create the impacts the current design does.
On the issue of who should pay for upgrading the water service pipe to a larger, 12-inch line, the council voted unanimously to make the developers responsible for the improvements.
That decision was supported by Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson, who said the annexation fees are the developer's "price of admission." The annexation fees are not meant to be a buy-in to the city's water system, he added.
"You do not have to follow the suggestion of the developers that you (the city) have to pay for the upgrade," Williamson said.
City officials chose to delay any decision on the application for preliminary plat approval until issues have been resolved to their liking. The council will consider the application again at its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 30.
A portion of the Old Cutters barn still stands at the site where 149 multi-family and single-family homes are proposed for this 143-acre property in northeastern Hailey. Hailey City Council members chose to delay making a final decision on granting preliminary plat approval for the Old Cutters property at a meeting on Monday. Photo by Willy Cook
