Wednesday, May 23, 2012

No more fun and games in Quigley?

City to deliberate on proposed annexation tonight, May 23

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By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

Quigley Canyon is a popular recreation area where area residents walk their dogs, hike surrounding hillsides, and ride both mountain bikes and dirt bikes. Photo by Mountain Express

Some heavy hitters from local recreation organizations and sports retailers showed up at Wood River Middle School in Hailey on Monday to participate in the last public comment period regarding proposed development in Quigley Canyon. They touted current and planned Nordic skiing, hiking and mountain-biking options in the canyon, and bemoaned the possibility that it could all soon go away.

Just as many people called into question the proposed development on the grounds that it would increase traffic, use too much water and compete with an already distressed housing market.

Sports retailer Bob Rosso, Hailey pub owner Billy Olson, Blaine County Recreation District Executive Director Jim Keating and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Executive Director Don Wiseman gave high praise to developer Dave Hennessy.

"This [development] has a powerful recreation plan that creates a lot of value," Keating said.

"The loss of Quigley would be disastrous," Wiseman said.

Hennessy recently unrolled plans for 11 miles of additional mountain biking trails and a pump park, to add to the ongoing Blaine County Recreation District's Nordic skiing trails in the canyon, but only if he is allowed to build 440 homes there.

"I think people forget that it's private property and that we've worked with Blaine County Recreation District for the last 10 years to make it happen," Hennessy said in an interview.

Under Hennessy's plan to annex the ranch property into Hailey, most of the houses would be clustered at the mouth of the canyon near Wood River High School and Deerfield subdivision. County zoning regulations allow for only about 110 homes in the canyon, but Hennessy said minimum lot sizes in the county, which would spread the development out, would severely limit options for recreation in the canyon.

Hennessy explained that minimum lots sizes of five to 10 acres for most of Quigley Canyon would "eat up" much of the flat ground that is now used by the Blaine County Recreation District for 13 kilometers of groomed trails.

"One hundred five-acre lots is 500 acres," he said. "The flat ground on that ranch is only 300 acres.

"I'm not sure when they [Nordic ski trails] would go away, but if the planning process in the county looked like it wouldn't work, then we would have to make a decision at that point."

Hennessy said an optional county "superior design" option that could reward him with density bonuses of 10-30 percent does not look as attractive to him as some would think. County "superior design" criteria include rewards for open space, recreational opportunities and affordable housing, but he said the required inclusion of 20 percent deed-restricted affordable housing leaves in doubt the economic feasibility of the development.

"We don't know if it would pencil out yet," he said.

Hennessy said 11 miles of hillside mountain biking trails from five trailheads, which he plans in the event of annexation, would become problematic under a county plan.

"Finding access to the trailheads would be difficult," he said.

Hennessy said the appropriate annexation fee should be about $6 million, about $500,000 less than the fee calculated by a consultant hired by the city last month. He said he would provide the city with security for payment of the fee, with cash or bond, in the event that the City Council approves the annexation.

Hennessy has offered an 1880 water right to the city as partial payment for annexation fees, but has contested the maximum appraised value of $3.3 million.

The council is scheduled to decide on the annexation during a special meeting at City Hall tonight, May 23, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

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