The Hailey City Council heard the last round of public comment Thursday in the long debate over the proposed Quigley Canyon land annexation. A few new faces turned out to express many of the same views the council has been listening to since January.
Supporters of the 1,109-acre, 378-home development plan, which includes an 18-hole public golf course and year-round clubhouse, say it will provide an economic boon for a city struggling to make ends meet.
"Once this opportunity is given up, it will not come back without the price going up," said businessman Mike Turzian. He said the proposed development on the east side of the city would help make Hailey a "recreational and business mecca."
Opponents of the plan have said it is ill-timed in light of the recession and that development leader Dave Hennessy should be prohibited from building in two parts of the property, above Quigley Pond and in Deadman Gulch. The primary concern there is about the impacts residential development would have on the environment, particularly wild animals that inhabit the areas.
"There is golf everywhere," said county resident Katharine Woods. "We shouldn't be building on wetlands."
Hennessy has plans to build 25 homes above Quigley Pond and in Deadman Gulch. He has said the golf course and other public amenities will be economically feasible only if he is allowed to build large "estate lots" in those areas. He has drafted an alternative plan to build the homes under the jurisdiction of Blaine County if his annexation proposal is denied.
The City Council will begin final deliberations next month on the proposed development, aware that the developer will likely pursue his plan through the county if it is not permitted through the city.
"I don't want to operate under any false assumptions," said Councilman Fritz Haemmerle.
Haemmerle instructed city staff to compare Hennessy's backup plan to county zoning ordinances to see how many homes, if any, the county would allow in Deadman Gulch and above Quigley Pond.
"The developer has said he can build 25 units in these areas," he said. "A county representative [Blaine County Regional Planner Jeff Adams] has said those units would be pushed down the valley. Which is it?"
County zoning allows for 110 housing units in the canyon, compared to the 378 units Hennessy hopes to develop through annexation of the land into the city.
Blaine County Commissioner Larry Schoen said Monday that the county has an "operative and valid" area-of-city-impact agreement with Hailey that should have some impact on the city's decision.
The agreement, signed in 1994, prohibits annexation outside of the area of city impact. About 30 percent of Hennessy's proposed development falls outside of the area of city impact, mostly in Deadman Gulch and above Quigley Pond.
"It is my hope that both parties will honor that agreement," Schoen said.
The council will take up the issue during final deliberations on July 14 at Hailey City Hall.
Hailey Mayor Rick Davis has said public comment will only be reopened if new information on the annexation request is brought forward.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
Hailey City Council hears the last public comment on the Quigley Canyon annexation request Thursday.
Photo by David N. Seelig
