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MEETINGS & PROJECT UPDATES CONTINUEDNEW WEST CONFERENCE
HAILEY
Quigley Canyon Ranch Annexation
The application has been tabled until the terms of apotential annexation agreement have been drafted for the Hailey City Council’s review.
Currently, publiccomment is closed; however, the Council will reopenthe opportunity for public comment after a draftannexation agreement is presented to the Council byCity staff. The Quigley Canyon developer has agreed to removesome areas up Deadman's Gulch and beyond Quigleypond from the application. The new Quigleyapplication petitions the city of Hailey to annex 720acres to create 356 units, an 18-hole golf course, anda Nordic facility. Upper canyon areas removed fromthe application might still be developed under BlaineCounty’s ordinances. CSG has been opposed to development upDeadman's Gulch and beyond the Quigley Pond fromthe beginning. Development in these areas wouldimpact important wildlife habitat and contribute tosprawl. Not only is sprawl problematic due to itsfiscal infrastructure impacts including water, wastewater treatment, roads, and water delivery; but it alsocontravenes smart growth principles that encouragemixed land use, the creation of walkableneighborhoods, and the preservation of open space,natural beauty and critical environmental areas.Many of these principles are incorporated in the unitsproposed near the mouth of the canyon where theapplication integrates a variety of housing options,mixed land use, and alternative transportation.Restraining development in Deadman's Gulch and pastthe Quigley pond further aligns this application withSmart Growth's principles. CSG has encouraged thedeveloper to keep these upper canyon areasundeveloped and therefore not submit a proposal todevelop it under Blaine County's ordinances. Although Citizens for Smart Growth is pleased with thedeveloper's proposed changes, there are details aboutthe project, including water, waste water, traffic, andfiscal impact that still need to be fleshed out.Public comments about the Quigley project can be senttobeth.robrahn@haileycityhall.org. To find out moreabout the details of the application go tohttp://www.haileycityhall.org/and click on“Quigley Annexation Information” under Top Picks.
SUSTAIN BLAINE
Sustain Blaine moves forward with GoBlaine!- A Strategy for Economic Vitality
July 30th, the Sun Valley City Council passed aresolution in support of the goals of GoBlaine! They,along with Blaine County, also recently passed abudget that designated funding for theimplementation of GoBlaine! They join the cities of Bellevue, Carey and Hailey in their commitments. The Wood River Economic Partnership has also passeda resolution endorsing the GoBlaine! strategy. Earlier,the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber and Vistors BureauBoard voted to support the GoBlaine! strategy. In doingso, they said that they "recognize that enhanced effortsto support our current tourism industry while workingto diversify the economy of our county in a coordinatedfashion is critical to our long-term sustainability."Meanwhile, the rollout continues... Sustain Blaine isasking all the cities and the county to officially adoptthe strategy and help fund its implementation. Inaddition, the group will be reaching out to other localgroups like the Sawtooth Board of Realtors, localRotary Clubs, etc.If you want someone to present GoBlaine! to your group's meeting, please contact Joy Kasputys at joykasputys@yahoo.com.For more information on Sustain Blaine or view TIPStrategies' reports on Blaine County, go towww.sustainblaine.org
For more information, includingproject application materials, visit a jurisdiction’s website
Bellevuewww.bellevueidaho.usBlaine County www.blainecounty.orgCarey www.cityofcarey.comHailey www.haileycityhall.orgKetchumwww.ketchumidaho.org Sun Valley www.sunvalley.govoffice.com
LAND WATER & WILDLIFE ADVISORY BOARD
In June executive director, Vanessa Fry and summer planning intern, Alissa Praggastis attended the first annual Planing in the WestConference hosted by New West.net. This two day conference, held inBoise, provided a plethora of information about planning in our region- what’s happening today, what’s coming in the future and how we canmaintain the values, economics and vitality of the west. The event featured leading planners, policy-makers, architects,developers and landscape architects from around the Rocky Mountainregion. These leaders in their fields helped attendees track planningand development trends, gain insight to best practices and come to abetter understanding about how place-inspired planning can help usshape our region in the most positive ways possible.Of particular interest to CSG was keynote speaker Chris Duerksen’spresentation about sustainable community development codes for theWest. Mr. Duerksen is with Clarion Associates, the group the lead theBlaine 2025 Planning process. This year’s Sun Valley SustainabilityConference will be bringing Mr. Duerksen back to Idaho to present on how using Smart Growth codes in ruralplaces like Blaine County can provide ‘quick fixes’ for highest priority challenges we face. The conference’s panel discussion Agriculture, Open Space and the Promise of "Resource-Based" Planningencouraged us to continue applying the Smart Growth Principle of preserving open space, farmland, natural beautyand critical environmental areas when we look at proposed development projects in Blaine County. The panelaffirmed that open space preservation supports smart growth goals by bolstering local economies, preservingcritical environmental areas, improving our communities quality of life, and guiding new growth into existingcommunities. To learn more about the conference please visit www.newwest.net/planning-west-2009.
Alissa and Vanessa at the New West Conference,Boise
Tuesday, August 25 the Blaine County Commissioners unanimously approved a slate of candidates for the Land,Water and Wildlife Fund Levy Advisory Board.Citizens for Smart Growth served on the Levy Task Force, convened in May 2009, to assist the Board of CountyCommissioners with recommendations on the make-up, selection and appointment of the LAB, which will beresponsible for helping the Commissioners implement the Land, Water and Wildlife Levy passed by Blaine Countyvoters in November 2008. This levy was the first county-wide open space measure passed in Idaho. The slate of candidates approved by the commissioners is as follows: Barbara Acker, Mary Austin Crofts, Trent Jones,Wendy Pabich, Tom Page, Alan Reynolds, Lili Simpson, Ben Sinnamon and Trent Stumph. This fall the Levy Task Force will now work with the LAB and help them set up processes for carrying out their responsibilities. These responsibilities include: developing project selection criteria and procedures for evaluatingand recommending which lands, waters and interests in property will be eligible for consideration and developing,recommending and implementing a system for soliciting project proposals and working with county staff, in theidentification, nomination, review, study and recommendation to the Board of conservation projects for funding withlevy proceeds.Passage of the Land, Water and Wildlife Levy was a huge win for Blaine County. The LAB’s work will be critical inhelping build a successful program for spending the funds. Fund projects will be county-wide investments in our community’s future.CSG’s work on this important program has been made possible through a generous grant from the NorthwestConservation Initiative.
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