Growth
Developer 3, Neighbors 1
September 4, 2005 
After two nights of testimony, punctuated with a medical emergency and many hours of civilized debate, the Boise City Council voted to approve an apartment condominium complex on Peasley Street near the Depot.
Only Councilor Vern Bisterfeldt voted with the throngs of people who were overwhelmingly against the size and height of the project which will be 4 stories high. The vote came after 1 a.m. Friday morning.
All of the councilors praised developer Bill Clark for this project and past projects. Candidates during the upcoming council elections will have a chance to revisit the hearings when the incumbents claim they “favor neighborhoods.” Councilor Elaine Clegg is so close to the developer she had to recuse herself from any of the debate or votes. She is the full-time “Smart Growth” staffer and Bill Clark heads the board of the group.
The bigger issue at hand is the council’s avowed goal of “infill developments” to increase population density. We think infill developments would be best in areas like Foothills East, Warm Springs Ave. and Harrison Boulevard. Those skinny tall houses would fit nicely between the stately homes on those streets.
Boise State University removed several infill houses from the area of the campus to make room for more parking. Interesting to note how the houses were ideal for the neighborhood and now parking lots are just the ticket.
There are three houses currently parked at Protest and Federal Way. Bet the homes could find lots to be placed upon if Bill Clark applied for a variance along Warm Springs Ave. or maybe in the foothills where they could cram them ALL on one of those hillside view lots overlooking “open space” purchased by the foothills levy.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Sep 6, 2005, 10:17 pm
It appears that infill will now infest every part of Boise regardless of the impact on traffic volume, pedestrians, bikers, or the hundreds of effected property owners.
The loss of Idaho sunshine in surrounding windows will be replaced with a clear view of “infill” – all 200,000 square feet of it. Then our city council will learn why citizens of Boise are moving to Eagle, Star and Middleton.
If only we had a “sunlight ordinance”…..or if we only had council members that would honor what they said about neighnorhoods when they asked for our vote at election time. Those promises are now hollow.
Maybe we ought to just rename Boise, “Clarks”town.
It is a sad day for Boise.
Sep 8, 2005, 3:33 pm
In a nutshell “urban flight” has a lot to do with “urban blight.” Hehe, I gotta pat
myself on the back for that cute little rhyme.
But seriously, you touched on (but only touched on) the issue. Slumlords, detox
centers, trailer parks etc are part of the “urban flight” problem. IMO, more
importantly are the city officials who don’t care.
I’m referring to city code especially. I live in “inner city” Bosie neighborhood.
Let me give you one recent prime example of what needs to change. Car wreck near my
house, car undriveable, car abandoned right in front of my house, 48 hrs go by, I
call BPD to report it, 2 weeks go by and car finally gets it’s red tag, another week
goes by car still there, after some phone calling (and not the friendly kind) plus
some string pulling, offending car finally gets towed.
I say bullsh*t. I know abandoned cars are not a code issue but it’s the same
difference. I’ve reported to code enforcement many violations, most get taken care
of, (after days or weeks) but guess what, the same person is doing the same thing a
short time later. Prime example #876: lot at east side of Boise Ave. and
Protest/Beacon, please go drive by this one yourself.
I say 3 code violations over the lifetime as owner of a property and then it becomes
a criminal matter. (jail time and large fines)
I went to see the Mayor at one of his Saturday lip service meetings and brought
this issue up. He agreed with me, what a surprise. But has anything changed, no.
What a surprise.
As far as the infill issue, specifically
“shotgun houses”—Hey those lots were platted out 90+ years ago, i.e. there’s not
much that can be done about that. And bear in mind the new “shotgun houses” are
lots-no-LOTS better than the crappy houses and weedy lots that were there before.
Liveablilty as related to urban blight is the issue that needs to be addressed.
Expand code enforcement and really go after the slumlords. Go after the renters
too. How about enforcing the muffler laws? Let’s not even speak about the barking
dogs and the piles of canine fecal matter in Hull’s Gulch (and many other places in
the “inner city).” Save Hull’s Gulch, the bumper sticker said, I had to laugh, but
it wasn’t really humorous, after I thought about it.
That concludes today’s rant.
PS. The helicopter that was shot at in New Orleans. UH, where’s the picture of a
Helicopter with a bullet hole in it? And, if you’re in a helicopter, just how the
hell are you going to hear a gunshot? I smell bovine excrement.
Sep 13, 2005, 5:33 pm
The Mayor and City Council voted to allow Clark’s four story development to be built on Crescent Rim. It is obvious that four story buildings do not belong in this neighborhood, and yet the people’s representatives did not listen to the people. What’s new?
If the Mayor and City Council members truly listened to their constituents, they would have downsized the buildings to only three stories. This would have helped to protect the existing neighborhood. However, the contrary to what the Mayor and City Council Members tout, they don’t care about existing neighborhoods.
Their constituents will not forget this come election time. Watch and see.
Dec 2, 2005, 1:52 pm
It’s been a long time since I so enjoyed reading posts in the net. Two thumbs up!