Hailey officials, fresh from the victory of passing a bond to pay for a major redevelopment of the rodeo grounds at the south end of town, are forming plans to enhance the city's downtown by widening sidewalks and building a central town plaza.
According to Hailey officials, the formation of long-term plans for the downtown will make the city eligible for development grants.
Boise Mayor David Bieter spoke Friday at the first State of Downtown Hailey event at the Liberty Theatre, extolling the virtues of downtowns as "the great rooms" of any city and saluting the Hailey Planning Department for a "first-rate" downtown plan.
"Cities are places where we are invited to maximize exchange and minimize travel," he said.
Bieter said Hailey officials should work with developers on issuing building permits and on height restrictions to "ensure they have an easy time." He also said large homes can become an impediment to "empty nesters" struggling with upkeep costs.
The event was attended by about 60 people who reflected on the prospects for improving an eight-block section of downtown that surrounds Main Street, including the Planning Department's proposed elimination of the turning lane in the center of Main Street.
<
The sidewalks on Main Street would then be expanded on alternating blocks to accommodate street-side café seating, benches, bike-racks and public art. The change would also slow traffic through Hailey.
"We should turn Highway 75 into Hailey's Main Street," said Hailey Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather LaMonica Deckard, to a round of applause. She also called for further studies of Hailey's downtown and warned about the "dreaded proliferation of sprawl" that could threaten the downtown's vitality.
Preliminary plans for the Main Street redevelopment, and many other ideas proposed in the downtown plan, are available on the city's website at www.haileycityhall.org.
Hailey Planning Director Beth Robrahn introduced portions of the 25-page draft plan to the audience and urged Hailey residents to read it thoroughly. She took questions and comments from the audience on a possible site for a central town plaza.
Suggestions included redeveloping the parking lot next to Atkinsons' Market, which is on private property, and the possibility of closing down Croy Street between the Hailey Library and the Hailey Hotel.
According to Robrahn, the downtown plan develops a preliminary strategy for economic development and physical improvements, and is intended to serve as a catalyst for community action.
"This is not a regulatory document. It only sets forth ideas," Robrahn said.
The next meeting on the downtown plan will take place during a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m.
A final plan will be presented to the City Council on Monday, June 28, at 5:30 p.m.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
