Friday, January 11, 2008

Cove Springs group sues county

Developers say ?illegal? laws factored in rejection of subdivision


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

A large herd of elk crosses the lower agricultural fields on the Cove Ranch south of Bellevue during the winter of 2005-2006. Blaine County Commissioners cited the potential impacts the Cove Springs development project could have on wintering wildlife in denying the application for the project in October 2006. Cove Springs developers are now suing the county over that rejection. Photo by David N. Seelig

Cove Springs is an issue that won't go away.

Alleging improper procedure and arbitrary and capricious application of the law, lack of due process and the existence of bias and conflicts of interest, Cove Springs developers filed a lawsuit against Blaine County on Tuesday.

The three-member Blaine County Commission unanimously rejected the large-scale subdivision project on Oct. 18, 2007.

In filing the lawsuit in 5th District Court in Hailey, Cove Springs developers said that despite repeated offers, the county has rejected negotiations.

"Rather than accept any of our three genuine requests over a four-month period to mediate the issues related to our applications, and contrary to the desires of many community stakeholders, Blaine County has chosen to continue to take a political position against the Cove Springs project," the president of Cove Springs Development Inc., Steve Beevers, stated in a company news release earlier this week. "Therefore, today we have filed a significant lawsuit against Blaine County."

The lawyer representing the proposed development, Hailey attorney Martin Flannes, said the lawsuit is intended to bring about a fair and unbiased review of the project under applicable law. He said the suit could have far-reaching impacts if it's successful.

"We intend to pursue major damages against the county and to invalidate nine laws that the county has historically used and/or recently adopted as part of the Blaine County 2025 program as illegal leverage against developers," he stated in the news release.

The proposed 307-lot Cove Springs subdivision, which would be located on a small portion of the 4,630-acre Cove Ranch five miles southeast of Bellevue on the Gannett-Picabo Road, is the largest development ever proposed to the county. Opposition to the project during a lengthy set of hearings before the County Commission and the county Planning and Zoning Commission was extensive, and included such wide-ranging interests as wildlife advocates, the Blaine County agriculture community, rural homeowners and local recreationists.

In denying the project, the County Commission cited its large size, scope and location in rural Blaine County, as well as its impacts on wildlife and the local agriculture industry.

Flannes said the matter is of importance to county taxpayers.

"Cove Springs is asking the court to award significant damages for breach of an agreement entered into between the county and the project in February 2006 requiring the county to use good faith and best efforts to process its applications and for violations of federal and state constitutional rights," he said.

Flannes also warns that the damages could be "in the many millions of dollars."

Boise attorney Christopher Meyer, a member of the Cove Springs litigation team from the law firm of Givens Pursley LLP, said that for some time the county has had several subdivision ordinances that have improperly attempted to elevate the county comprehensive plan to the level of law. Meyer also contended that county ordinances violate the Idaho Development Impact Fee Act by illegally attempting to collect contributions from projects for offsite capital improvements.

"We are challenging all of these ordinances," he said.

As part of their filing, the Cove Springs developers indicate that they will serve requests for documents, depositions and other information on the county and on various third parties that they believe had improper communications and influence over the county related to the applications.

"We intend to pursue this litigation vigorously," Flannes said.

Blaine County Commissioner Tom Bowman declined to comment on the suit prior to the legal proceedings.

Tim Graves, the county's chief deputy prosecuting attorney, could not be reached for comment.




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