The town of 7,960 that is the site of the airport for the popular Sun Valley/Ketchum resort area wants to annex 13 acres for a proposed 10-home development and nine-hole, walking-only golf course. Some residents of an existing subdivision near the site are expressing concern about water use, traffic impacts and housing density, but others feel the new course would be a beneficial amenity for the city, citing studies that have shown how golf has helped students develop better focus in school.
A proposed 10-home development and nine-hole golf course along state Highway 75 north of Hailey, Idaho has some neighbors in the area’s Northridge subdivision concerned about water use, traffic impacts and housing density, the Idaho Mountain Express of Ketchum, Idaho reported.
Hailey, a town of 7,960 according to the 2010 census, is the site of the airport for the popular resort area of Sun Valley/Ketchum, located 12 miles to the north.
About a dozen people showed up at a recent meeting of the Hailey Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission meeting to express concerns about the 2-IT Ranch development, with a few also expressing support, the Mountain Express reported.
The P&Z met to review an annexation request that would bring 13 acres into the city limits, with plans for a 12-acre, par-3 golf course, a 5,000-sq. ft. clubhouse and 54-space parking area, the Mountain Express reported.
About one acre of property within the proposed development would contain eight cottage townhome sublots and two single-family dwellings. City staff recommended Limited Residential 2 (LR-2) and Recreational Green Belt (RGB) zoning for the property, the Mountain Express reported.
Developer Sarah Hjort is requesting several modifications and waivers under a planned-unit-development application, including a decrease in minimum lot sizes from 12,000 square feet to 2,400-5,000 square feet, and an allowance for cottage townhouse development in the LR-2 Zone, the Mountain Express reported. Hjort is also seeking decreased minimum front- and side-yard setbacks to concentrate the housing units on a corner of the property close to existing, single-family dwellings in the Northridge subdivision.
But Roland Nickerson, a resident of the subdivision, was one of those appearing at the commission’s meeting to raise concerns about the plan, the Mountain Express reported. Nickerson said the cluster of townhomes would be built “right in front of my house,” and doesn’t conform to the lower-density surrounding neighborhood.
Others questioned traffic impacts on Highway 75, what might happen if the golf course business fails, and whether the LR-2 zoning would allow a proliferation of homes instead on the property,
Other criticism of the plan expressed to the commission centered around a lack of water pressure in city water lines already in Northridge, and fears that the new development could worsen the situation.
Resident Gordon Flade said he has lived in Northridge for 25 years and has seen the water pressure decrease over that time, the Mountain Express reported. “It has gone down and down,” Flade said.
Samantha Stahlnecker, an engineer working on Hjort’s project, said city water and sewer lines would be supplied only to the clubhouse and 10 homesites, with irrigation for the golf course coming from an existing surface-irrigation water right appurtenant to the property.
Shawn Aicher, Superintendent of the Bigwood Golf Course in Ketchum, said water use would be minimal for the proposed course, the Mountain Express reported. Speaking on behalf of Hjort’s plan, Aicher said the greens would require “very little” watering and the fairways would only require irrigation “about every third day.”
Hailey Public Works Director Brian Yeager said the lack of water pressure in Northridge could stem from inadequate water pipe sizes, and the fact that the neighborhood is situated at the northernmost part of the city, uphill of municipal water sources.
By contrast, water lines at the southernmost part of town have water-pressure-reduction devices to keep pressure within acceptable limits established by the Department of Water Resources, the Mountain Express reported.
Yeager said a new water-pressure study will be undertaken in Northridge, even though a recent survey showed that homes there were receiving pressure above the required minimum. “We’re going to be working with the applicant and monitoring water pressure,” he said.
Jane Reynolds was one Northridge resident who spoke in favor of the proposed development, the Mountain Express reported, saying golf would provide a beneficial amenity for the city.
“The townhomes in Old Cutters subdivision have worked out really well,” Reynolds said. “Studies have shown that golf helps kids to develop focus in school.”
Hjort also said no golf carts would be used at the course, the Mountain Express reported. “It would be walking-only,” she said.
Hjort’s development team is scheduled to make a full presentation of its plans on November 5th, with further public-comment periods also scheduled. Final approval of the annexation would have to be made by the Hailey City Council, the Mountain Express reported.
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