After more than four months of deliberations, the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission has voted to recommend a draft Area of City Impact ordinance to the City Council for review.
The ACI proposal provides a map of potential development areas within the county adjacent to the city with potential impact on city services. It would give the city input into planning decisions made by Blaine County in that area.
The P&Z voted to approve the proposed ordinance during its meeting Monday night.
While the ACI identifies county lands that could be annexed to the city in the future, retiring Hailey P&Z Commissioner Nancy Linscott said "it's not about annexing out into the hinterlands, but about protecting areas of impact to the city."
County Planner Jeff Adams's presentation of the updated ACI maps included three zones of concern to the city.
The "Heritage Zone" consists of an open-space corridor between Hailey and Bellevue. The "Near Zone" includes property close to the current city boundary, including Croy Canyon and Quigley Canyon. The surrounding "Advisory Zone" is made up of hillside areas around Hailey and would have low priority for annexation due to hillside ordinances, which largely preclude development.
Changes made to the ACI map during Monday's meeting included extension of the Advisory Zone status in Democrat Gulch and Quigley Canyons. The maps also outlined local watersheds of concern to the city, including Deer Creek, Indian Creek and Ohio Gulch.
The commission also decided to strike language within the ordinance intended to combine a potential transfer-of-development-rights program within the ACI. TDR's are a highly debated program for preserving open lands by concentrating density in and around cities. The commissioners noted the merits of the TDR program, but were unanimous in agreement that the future of TDRs be addressed separately.
The commission concluded that the ACI proposal is in compliance with the Hailey Comprehensive Plan, including PUD guidelines for subdivisions within the Near, West and Horizon zones.
