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 Imagine losing the
pristine view in the picture to the right! Here is the letter
voicing my concerns! Also see my editorial
after ther Commissioners held a sneak meeting to give SFL
preliminary approval. For shame!!
-------------------------------------
March 11,
2006
Planning and Zoning Department
PO Box 1300, 413 Main
St.
Idaho City,
ID
83631
Dear
Planning and Zoning Department,
I am writing
this letter to express some concerns that I have with the
Southfork Landing preliminary application. I am hopeful that
you will take these concerns to heart and act to ensure that
Southfork Landing meets the goals of the Boise
County
comprehensive plan, the spirit and letter of the county’s
ordinances, as well as all state and federal requirements.
I will raise
issues below and show that they are in conflict with passages
in the Boise County ordinances and
the Boise County Comprehensive Plan. I will then recommend
changes to the proposed Southfork Landing development to
remove the conflicts.
Let me first
state that I am not against development – but simply want well
planned development that is consistent with the goals of the
county and the wishes of the Garden
Valley
residents. I believe it would be productive for the county and
the Developers to take the time needed to modify the plan
appropriately to address these concerns.
In writing
this letter I am extremely concerned that the Boise
County
government is not willing to address these issues due to
expressed concerns over potential lawsuits. I think it is
extremely unwise to have Boise County known as the
county where every developer can have their way without regard
for the wishes of the county! I will definitely make future
voting decisions based upon the actions of the Planning and
Zoning Department and the County Commissioners in their
handling of this matter.
1.
Southfork Landing, as proposed, is
in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan’s goal for preserving
the rural character of Boise County. I have excerpted from
the Comprehensive Plan below:
GOAL:
To provide
for the planned and orderly use of land within the county in a
manner which recognizes and maintains natural resources uses
and the rural lifestyle of Boise County.
OBJECTIVES:
…
·
To
conserve and protect the quality of life, as defined by the
residents, in Boise County.
[From the Boise
County
Comprehensive Plan is the following definition of “quality of
life”:
1)
Quality of
life issues were identified as including:
-
Maintaining
low population
-
Creation of
appropriate growth standards
-
Maintaining
open space
-
Maintaining
privacy
-
Maintaining
wildlife
-
No
excessive traffic
-
Quiet
environment
-
Maintaining
low taxes
-
Accessibility
to government officials
-
Natural
resources
-
Recreation
-
Opportunities
to make a living
-
Opportunities
to retain
individuality/independence
]
…
·
To
discourage development in proximity to water resources
including streams, rivers, lakes, and
floodplains.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain the rural character of Garden
Valley: A 60 foot
high hotel is not compatible with a rural environment.
Hundreds of homes on lot sizes of one-quarter and one-third
acre are not compatible with a rural environment. Five and
seven foot setbacks are not compatible with a rural
environment.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain sufficient open space: The rural
character of Garden Valley will be
significantly damaged by the proposed development for
Southfork Landing. Although the Developers are highlighting
that they are providing a high percentage of open space, they
are obfuscating the truth that with 650 units Southfork
Landing creates some of the highest density housing in the
Garden Valley area. Drawing
parallels to Terrace
Lakes is
inappropriate as that subdivision is widely recognized as NOT
being what the Garden Valley residents or
emergency services wish for the County. Additionally, the
Comprehensive Plan lists at least 100 undeveloped properties
in Terrace Lakes which speaks to
either the need to develop those prior to creating new
high-density developments, or to the resident’s needs for
larger lots.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain privacy with five foot to seven
foot side setbacks on the bulk of the lots.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain wildlife in the area. Although the
developers are making attempts to lessen their impact, the
development will have significant adverse impact upon herds of
Elk and other wildlife which currently rely upon the land upon
which Southfork Landing is to be developed.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain “no excessive traffic”. 650 units
including timeshares and condos, coupled with a hotel will
create significant additional traffic for the Bank-Lowman
road. This increase in traffic must be addressed by the
Developers. Comments by the state that the road can handle ten
times the traffic may be true on average, but not at peak
periods and during common adverse weather conditions. There is
currently no plan for addressing this traffic increase in the
proposal. The agreements currently being discussed with the
developer only address traffic on Alder Creek
Rd – this is insufficient.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain a quiet environment. A heliport is
highly incompatible with a quiet environment. I request that
it be removed in favor of supporting air traffic at existing
facilities in the area. Additionally the high density of
housing will encourage an increase in noise which will be
exacerbated by the amphitheater.
Southfork
Landing won’t maintain low taxes. The projected lot values
for 1/3 acre and smaller lots in Southfork Landing will
significantly increase property taxes for all residents in the
surrounding area.
Southfork
Landing is in conflict with discouraging development in
proximity to water resources. The developers are
developing directly on floodplain of the Southfork of the
Payette River. It would be
impractical to believe that there would be no adverse impact
to the River. I would encourage large buffer zones to be
created that completely avoid development near the river. I
would also advise against redrawing floodplain maps hastily as
appears to be the current mode of operation for Southfork
Landing.
2.
The Comprehensive Plan passage
examined in #1 is further supported as it is codified in the
following excerpt from the Boise County Development and Zoning
Ordinance.
SECTION
1-3 PURPOSE
The
purpose of this Ordinance is to provide for the health,
safety, and general
welfare
of the county. It is designed to:
…
d.
prevent the pollution of air, soil, streams, rivers and ponds
and safeguard the ground water and encourage the wise use and
management of natural resources throughout the county in order
to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the county
and the value of the land.
…
e.
preserve the natural beauty and topography of the county and
insure appropriate development with regard to these natural
features while maintaining the open space and rural atmosphere
of the county.
Southfork Landing won’t
prevent the pollution of air, soil, streams, rivers and ponds
in order to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of
the county. Building in extreme close proximity to the
Southfork of the Payette River will cause some
degree of unavoidable pollution to the river due to increase
land use and run off from rain, irrigation and snow removal.
Southfork Landing won’t
preserve the natural beauty and rural atmosphere of the
county. The development will negatively impact the beauty
of the county through the addition of a highly visible 60 foot
high hotel, open sewage pond, open (non-forested) high density
homes (on lots as small as or smaller than many Boise homes!),
visible and noisy amphitheater, and helipad noise and traffic.
These offending elements must be modified prior to any plan
approval.
I also
believe the proposed sewage treatment facility and settling
pond are too close to the river and in conflict with the
current visual appeal of the area. Furthermore the Water tank
proposed is likely to be quite large and an eyesore as
well.
3.
The conflict that Southfork
Landing poses to county land use is highlighted in the
Comprehensive Plan in the following excerpt:
Natural Resource Land Use:
… The county will keep in mind the following
factors when making land use decisions
…
-
Impact of
surrounding, existing uses
-
Impact to
the environment (streams, rivers, lakes, groundwater,
wildlife, slide areas, erosion, seismic,
etc)
-
Impact on
the economy
-
Need for
this type of development in this area (are there other areas
already developed for this type of
use?)
…
-
Impact on
schools
Proposed
development that falls outside traditional natural resources
land uses would have to demonstrate (through the above
conditions) that such development would have minimal impact
upon the surrounding natural resource uses.
Southfork Landing is in
conflict with the surrounding land use. Southfork Landing
will negatively impact the neighboring low-density
developments; will have unintended negative impacts to the
environment through water pollution – as previously discussed,
and will threaten wildlife including bull trout, elk and bald
eagles. The sewage treatment facility and settling pond pose a
risk to the river – particularly in the event of failure.
These facilities need to be located further from the river,
and be completely obscured from view.
Southfork Landing will
negatively impact the economy. While additional tax base
is created by the development, and while the developers have
formed deals with many conditions to pay money toward the
school and for Alder Creek road improvements; the severe
financial strain that this development will place upon the
county must not be overlooked. First the county is required to
pay for road improvements within the development as well as on
Alder creek road. Additionally, increased need for emergency
services, broader education needs, increased transportation
needs including the Banks-Lowman highway, and law enforcement
will be paid for by all residents of Boise
County
not just by the residents of Southfork Landing. Lastly,
increased property values that the high density development is
bound to create
(based upon the developers proposed lot pricing) will
likely pose a hardship for many county residents in the way of
increased property taxes.
Southfork Landing is not
a type of development needed in the area it is proposed
for. The Garden
Valley area has an
existing high density subdivision with Terrace
Lakes.
This includes resort and restaurant facilities. Between
Terrace
Lakes and neighboring
Castle Mountain there are over
two hundred available units for development. Throughout the
county there are over 3000 available lots for development. It
is hard to see that there is a need for high density housing
in the proposed location when they exist elsewhere with
sufficient capacity at this time.
I would
advise significantly reducing the density of the proposed
housing and decreasing the amount of proposed amenities that
are already available elsewhere such as air transportation
services.
I think
a small clustered commercial area could be a good thing for
the area if it is done in a manner compatible with the
existing surrounding land use. A smaller hotel, a smaller
amphitheater, etc., would go a long way to preserving the
rural character.
Southfork Landing will
negatively impact the schools. The developers have
proposed an agreement for adding funding to the school
district. Unfortunately this agreement is likely to be
insufficient to pay for the full impact of 650 nearby
additional housing units when Southfork Landing is fully
developed. Also, the agreement stipulates passage of a school
bond within seven years of development commencing. This may
seem like a good deal, but the developers do not expect the
development to complete for up to 10 years (or more), and do
not expect the bulk of the build out at the beginning of the
project. This will likely reduce the funding to the school
district.
I would
highly recommend a longer-term agreement with less
stipulations between the developers and the county for the
purpose of providing for all impacts to services and schools.
4.
The aforementioned negative
impacts to land use and economic impact is codified in the
following excerpt from the Boise County Subdivision
Ordinance:
Section
III. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this ordinance is to promote the
public
health,
safety and general welfare, and to provide
for:
…
D)
Adequate water supply, sewage disposal systems, drainage,
transportation or other public services; with no unnecessary
imposition of an excessive expenditure of public funds for the
supply of such services;
…
F)
Mitigation of effects on political subdivisions and school
districts to deliver services without compromising the quality
of service delivery to current residents or imposing
substantial additional costs upon current residents to
accommodate the proposed
subdivision;
5.
The following excerpt from the
Boise County Comprehensive Plan identifies that additional
studies will be needed for the Southfork Landing
development:
Areas of Special
Concern
These areas
are of special concern and additional studies may be required
when development involves any of the following
areas:
·
River
Banks/Slopes - are particularly sensitive to building and to
degradation by poor management practices;
·
Surface
and Groundwater Protection - Surface water quality of the
South Fork and Middle Fork of the Payette River play a large role in the
Boise County economy. Groundwater and surface water supplies the
domestic drinking water to city and county residents that
could be jeopardized by poor management of this resource. Eventually, the county
may wish to restrict development from specific, identified
areas which are critical to the health and welfare of all
residents;
·
Floodplains
- are identified along waterways on Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) maps found at the county
offices.
Development should comply with the Boise
County
Floodplain Ordinance in these
areas.
·
Wildlife –
areas sensitive to wildlife feeding and migration needs should
be protected from over-development. Any development within
these areas should show how impact of that development would
be mitigated.
Southfork
Landing will impact River Banks, Surface Water, Floodplains
and Wildlife. Clearly additional studies will be required
of the Southfork Landing developers in each of these areas
described above. I believe the development should not commence
until these impacts have been carefully reviewed and approved
by both the county governmental bodies, as appropriate and
required, as well as the county residents. Absolutely no
development or roads should be allowed until all federal,
state and county requirements are satisfied – including the
Boise County Comprehensive Plan and supporting ordinances.
There is
significant additional risk to the environment that would be
posed by failure of the proposed sewage treatment facility and
its settling pond. I believe this facility must be located
further from the river than currently proposed, and be 100%
obstructed from view of any existing residences in the
County.
6.
Documentation on Southfork Landing
is not easily accessible to residents of Garden
Valley.
Southfork
Landing’s preliminary proposal is an important and sizable set
of documents. These documents need to be carefully reviewed by
the residents of Garden Valley if they are to
respond appropriately to the proposed development. Currently
the only easily accessible location where these documents may
be accessed is the Garden Valley Public Library. Additional
requests for the documents are responded to by Kathie Brady
with a request for $307.
If we wish to
have 1000 residents be able to review the documents for about
two hours each, and the library is open 50 hours a week, it
would take 40 weeks for those residents to review the
documents. To alleviate this issue I request that the
Developers of Southfork Landing be required to post the
documents electronically so that they may be available to
everyone who would like to review them. Following this posting
the residents of Garden Valley should be allowed
four weeks for review prior to any hearings on Southfork
Landing.
7.
Conclusions
Reasonable,
but significant, changes to the proposed application for
Southfork Landing development are required to meet the needs
of Boise County as spelled out in
the Boise County Comprehensive Plan as well as the Development
and Zoning and Subdivision ordinances.
These changes
should include:
1.
A significant reduction in overall
density of housing units to an average of two acres per
residential unit. Additionally minimum side setbacks of ten
feet per story should be required. No lot should have an
occupancy in excess of 30%.
2.
Significant performance bonds
should be required of the developers to ensure quality work is
performed in harmony with the rural character of the county.
The bond should be sufficient for repairing any failure to
meet requirements.
3.
Development of a sewage treatment
system that is further away from the river, and completely
obscured from any external view from existing structures in
the Garden Valley area. This should
include no offending odors present on any neighboring
properties
4.
Building the water storage tank
completely into a hillside so as to obscure it from
view.
5.
Removal of the helipad in favor of
locating one at the existing Garden
Valley
airport.
6.
Significantly larger buffer zones
between the river and development to preserve water quality
and existing elk habitat.
7.
The Developers of Southfork
Landing to pay for all economic impacts to the County
including full costs of road improvements and schools. The
Developer to work in cooperation with County governmental and
citizens groups to ensure that the studies are carried out in
detail and are accurate.
8.
A detailed study of traffic
impacts to the Banks-Lowman Highway and
State Highway 55. The results of this study should be used for
allocating funding from the developers for any enhancements
needed to those roadways to maintain a low-traffic environment
as spelled out in the comprehensive plan. If this cannot be
met, the development should not be approved
9.
The Developers of Southfork
Landing must make all proposals and documents available to the
Garden Valley residents in a
reasonable manner such as electronic access on the
Internet.
Thank you for
reading my concerns, which I am sure, are shared by many
others. I believe you and the Commissioners can act upon these
concerns, and ensure a great Garden Valley and Boise County
for years to come.
Best
regards,
Gary
Zimmerman | 
