Lost in the mists of the last 25 or 30 years is the memory of the tradeoffs made in planning and zoning that have shaped the Wood River Valley.
Here's just one. In order to prevent the valley from becoming one long sprawling subdivision bordered by mini-malls, the county prohibited commercial development along state Highway 75 between Hailey and Ketchum and zoned it for low-density residential development.
Forward-looking citizens wanted to preserve the valley's rural atmosphere while still allowing development.
In return, the cities accepted the idea that any high-intensity development would occur within their boundaries.
Ketchum also decided to prohibit any serious hillside development. Blaine County later followed suit by creating view corridors on hillsides up and down the valley into which homes and roads could not encroach. Sun Valley also put limited hillside development restrictions in place.
Taken together, the ordinances have prevented the kind of hillside scarring seen in other mountain resorts.
Visitors to the Wood River Valley often express wonder at seeing undisturbed hillsides and a state highway mercifully free of urban commercial clutter.
The resulting beauty is not the result of any lack of engineering expertise.
The valley's open hillsides and rural feel are by design, the result of zoning ordinances crafted by forward-looking public officials who knew that unguided growth could destroy this beautiful place.
But for ordinances to continue to stand, the cities and the county have to hold up their sides of the deal.
The cities have to embrace intense commercial and residential development or risk eroding political support for open hillsides and the ban on commercial development on state Highway 75.
The cities were never intended to be wilderness areas. They were designed to be just the opposite.
In these days of escalating gas prices, creating compact, walkable cities, in which people can live and work, is critical to the valley's future.
The cities must figure out ways to stimulate residential development for all income levels—not just the wealthy.
It also means the cities must work with developers and local businesses to figure out how to nurture and sustain a vibrant economy with the addition and development of compatible commercial enterprises—including new hotels.
To do less is to break the longstanding zoning compact and invite disaster, not only for the valley's economy but also for its precious hillsides and rural atmosphere.
It's simply impossible to have it both ways with no commercial or high-density residential development anywhere.
