The Blaine County Commissioners should be cautious as they approach the question of whether the county should redraw lines delineating where its hillside development restrictions apply when the change would specifically allow development of workforce housing, which has been high on the county's priority list for some time.
They must be careful not to let the camel's nose into the tent or to sacrifice one public good on the altar of another.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recently denied a request by county planners to redraw the boundaries of a protected hillside area near state Highway 75 to allow development to occur on a bench south of Ketchum and above St. Luke's Hospital.
The line as it exists would prohibit development on the bench.
Restrictions on development were put in place to protect steep hillsides from ugly scarring by cuts for access roads, driveways and homes. They were intended to protect scenic vistas and to protect emergency response workers whose vehicles often cannot navigate steep roads in the winter.
Planners argued the lines had been drawn arbitrarily by computer across narrow benches like the one at McHanville and should be changed.
Redrawing boundaries in this single situation likely would not set a legal precedent, but it could set a political precedent in that it would become notice that the hillside ordinance is assailable.
Unless, of course, the county can show that development on the bench would not harm scenic vistas and can say with a straight face that the same rules will apply equally in similar areas--no matter what the development may be.
