The public's ability to influence land-use decisions was evident Monday night as the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously rejected a proposed annexation application for a 13-acre property north of town.
Moments before the commission voted on the application, Commissioner Owen Scanlon summed up the feelings of the entire five-member P&Z.
"It just doesn't seem to be in the right place. It doesn't seem to be compatible," he said.
The P&Z's vote, however, doesn't necessarily spell the end for the annexation application. The commission's vote is merely a recommendation to the Hailey City Council.
Unclear is whether the applicant, landowner Bill Abide, still wishes to have the council consider his application at a future meeting, Hailey City Planner Diane Shay said.
Immediately following the P&Z's decision, loud applause echoed through the upstairs meeting room at Hailey City Hall.
Under Abide's development plan for the 13-acre property, a total of 40 homes would be built. The homes would include a mixture of single-family and multi-family units.
Of those homes, a total of seven would be designated as affordable housing under the proposed development plan for the property.
Scattered throughout the development would be a large public park, several loop roads and a number of pedestrian pathways.
Abide has requested a mixture of Limited Residential and General Residential zoning for the development, which was to be known as Logan's Run.
The property is located north of Hailey between state Highway 75 and the Northridge subdivision.
According to lead project designer Thomas Kropf of DTJ Design in Boulder, Colo., the development's public amenities would make it a pedestrian-friendly subdivision.
Overall, the proposed development was designed with the look of Hailey and its surrounding neighborhoods in mind, Kropf said.
"We know Hailey has a nice, small-town flavor," he said.
The project's affordable housing plan was designed "for the people that live here in Hailey," Kropf said.
Despite all of Kropf's assurances, none of the more than 15 citizens who commented seemed to endorse the plan.
In general, their concerns came down to three main issues: water pressure, additional traffic and density.
Voicing a concern that would be repeated many times, Hailey resident Gordon Flade said he bought his large lot near the proposed annexation site because of the area's rural feel.
The addition of 40 lots in so small an area would harm that rural flare, Flade said, adding that the proposed density is more appropriate for areas closer to the city's central core.
The area already struggles with poor water pressure, he said, and adding additional domestic water users would only decrease that water pressure.
"We're not getting the services we paid for," Flade said. "Don't even think about approving this."
According to Hailey resident Peter Lobb, Abide's annexation application raises the question of just how large Hailey should grow.
"We've never had a discussion about how big we want to be," Lobb said. "I think it's about time we did."
Lobb also questioned the accuracy of water studies conducted by the applicant that indicate that water pressures wouldn't be harmed if the city annexed the property.
"I know people who flush their toilets and the irrigation stops," he said. "Let's hold off and not bring this into the city."
