The view running parallel to the Gannett-Picabo Road south of Bellevue takes in open farmland, a large circular center-pivot irrigation system and the lower undeveloped slopes at the base of Lookout Mountain.
Despite being so close to town, the scene is a pastoral one reminiscent of the Wood River Valley's agrarian past.
The Bellevue Planning and Zoning Commission made a decision Thursday, March 2, that may have far-reaching implications for the area's future.
In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the P&Z acted to send a 280-acre annexation application submitted by Wood River Valley landowner Harry Rinker on to the City Council with a recommendation for approval.
Rinker's property is the northern half of the large piece of farmland that stretches south of Bellevue all the way to the Griffin Ranch subdivision.
Unlike the unanimity the commission showed for Rinker's annexation application, the P&Z split in a separate vote related to the placement of 12 large estate-type lots on the eastern side of the development.
Separated from the rest of the development by a proposed wildlife corridor, a paved road would need to be built across the corridor to access the high-end lots.
That aspect of the proposed development didn't sit well with three of the P&Z's five commissioners.
Building a paved road over a proposed wildlife corridor would defeat the purpose of setting aside the area, the commissioners contended.
Commissioner Grant Horne—joining fellow commissioners Kathryn Goldman and Laira Thomas in voting against the 12 estate lots—wondered whether wildlife would truly use a corridor split by such a road.
"I just don't think that a paved road through the wildlife corridor will work," Horne said.
Adam McNae and Todd Mabbutt were the two commissioners who voted to allow the estate lots to be built.
In response to a suggestion by Goldman that the city work with the applicant to place added density elsewhere as an alternative to the estate lots, Horne said that wasn't necessary.
It's the developer's responsibility to make a project profitable, he said.
"That's not what we're here for," Horne said.
Rinker's application is just the first piece of a two-part annexation puzzle.
Combined with another 280-acre property owned by landowner John Scherer, a full 560 acres are being considered by city officials for possible annexation into the Bellevue city limits.
If annexed, the combined Rinker and Scherer additions would nearly double the size of Bellevue. The two properties are located south of the Muldoon Ranch subdivision, east of Gannett-Picabo Road, north of the Griffin Ranch subdivision, and west of the foothills managed primarily by the Shoshone Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Rinker's half of the development would include a mix of home types—including single-family homes large and small, townhomes and duplexes—in addition to a light-industrial park and a village square with a chapel, daycare, office space, and a number of small retail shops. The proposed development on Rinker's acreage would consist of 609 residential units, which would equate to approximately 2.4 housing units per acre.
The development would also include four small neighborhood parks and a southern extension of the paved Wood River Trails system.
Rinker tapped Denver-based land planner David Clinger to draw up the initial master plan. Clinger has designed such projects as the Pines development in Ketchum and Harris Ranch, a large development located in southeast Boise.
At a previous meeting, Clinger said he designed the development to be a "walkable village."
To achieve this, Clinger's plan for the property includes a series of pedestrian paths that wind around and through the proposed development.
With the Rinker application behind it, the P&Z's focus will now move to the Scherer application. The commission will begin discussing Scherer's application at its next meeting on Thursday, March 15. The 7 p.m. meeting will be open to the public.
City officials are also in the process of reviewing an application to annex into the city approximately 100 acres at the mouth of Slaughterhouse Canyon. The City Council expects to reach a decision on that application in the near future.
Express graphic by Gavin McNeil
The Bellevue Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended the City Council approve an annexation application submitted by landowner Harry Rinker for a total of 280 acres. Rinker?s property, located south of Bellevue and east of the Gannett-Picabo Road, covers half of the area highlighted on the lower right side of this map.
