So let me get this straight. There’s absolutely no place in Idaho (let alone Ada County) for someone to move to. Call me stupid, but I’m just getting the BG-spin on things, “Screw everyone, and let the Ada County economy die on the vine.”

Umm, makes sense – if you lived in a hive of fire ants.

Check the county’s Planned Community ordinance a little closer, you’ll see that every such development has to build its own sewer treatment plant. And, absolutely pay for (or construct) every single other essential public service (including roads) – all at no cost to other tax payers. If only all development was required to do this.

And as far as water goes, dig a little deeper. Most of the land ownership in that area was consolidated by five owners. These owners have significant ties back to Micron, and they bought the land for the massive underground water reserves – to protect their heavily water-consumpive micro-chip manufacturing investment. They’ve just begun to realize that the land (floating on an underground lake) is worth a lot more for living on than being sucked dry for a few silicon chips.

If such a proposed Planned Community isn’t labled as an exclusive enclave of the uberwealthy, it gets slammed (as has this one) for proposing to build ‘cheap houses’ – implying poorly constructed homes, not easily affordable ones.

Unfortunately, the average home in Ada County costs over $250K, yet the median income in the county is $50K. With this amount of income an ‘affordable home’ (defined in state code) is whatever house can be purchased by a family that earns just $40K/year (80% of the median income). At $40K, a bank would only be willing lend $140K-$180K for a mortgage (depending on how much money the family has for a downpayment).

I don’t know about you, but if I had to buy my own home right now I couldn’t afford it. So by all means, lets trash anyone who proposes building affordable homes. And since supply determines pricing, what does everyone think will happen to current home prices if developers stop building homes. If you think the prices will go down, then I’ve got some sea-front property in Florida I’d like to sell you.

We are thinking about moving to Jerome or that area….but I am sure there is a downside to that also. I actually like my house but the taxes and traffic are probably going to push us out of Eagle.

Our leaders need to rethink the water, sewage and trash removel needs before they allow more growth in this area. I am very willing to conserve but I don’t want to make my lawn, which provides cooling for our property, into a gravel bed, which reflects more heat onto our house. I don’t see that as a good alternative.

I fail to see why current residents have to sacrifice so that more people can move here. But, I guess us Americans always think the grass is greener in another pasture.

We have an election coming up in November. Any of these bad-development rubber-stamps up for re-election?

Perhaps someone could compile a list. I believe John Franden, president of ACHD is on the ballot.

If people are serious about this, picking one or two off in the fall would be a great way to send a message.

Dave is still out of town? Right? I can tell. He usually doesn’t publish the blog with typos. They can get corrected, however. Most blog spaces have ways to edit a post after it was published.

In the meantime, we get entertained by the anti-growth author. Okay, I admit. I’m less than entertained. There has to be a better argument against new developments than just ‘growth’. Boise – and the entire Treasure Valley – WILL continue to experience new building. Many of our most treasured landmarks, including the Capitol building, the train depot, Warm Springs and any of the ‘lady parks’ are sitting on once was undeveloped property and desirable natural habitate.

Besides, what is wrong with low cost housing or variable price ranges? Isn’t that what this city needs? The last thing I want to see developed is more McMansions (1/2 acre houses sitting on an acre of land). Maybe Mayfield Springs will even be dense enough to support a bus line for workers in and our of Micron or senior citizens to the fine medical facilities and shopping opportunities.

EDITOR NOTE–Sorry about the typos. Hard to edit on hotel computers with no word program or download capability.

When I voted for Dave Bieter for Mayor I thought I WAS voting for a growthophobe. Fooled again.

Worry not on all the big box house or inexpensive high density house growth. This sort of thing has been going on all over the world for a long long time. The sky is not falling. Read a text book for Sociology 101. The very very good news is we in this country are a long way from running out of food production capacity.

Furthermore, if one has a clear vision of the future. Might I suggest one drive the population bus rather than trying to stand in front of it. You’ll get very rich if you’re correct.

I hope we all realize that as long as the developers and groups like the IACI “own” our representatives, the decisions they make will be money tainted! They are not going to make rational , good sense decisions .Dollar signs get in the way of their vision! They sure don’t represent the citizens who elect them.. We all should check our candidates contributors out before we go to the polls in Nov..

There’s good reason we’re all so jaded when it comes to ‘development’. When it’s like pulling teeth to get a developer to put in a stop sign down the street from his/her new subdivision, who can blame us for thinking that having ‘development pay for itself’ is nothing more than a real estate sales scheme. Ponzi scheme, more likely.

Check out Ada County’s Planned Community ordinance – which requires that impacts on all essential public services (including, but not limited to): Roads, Sewers, Schools, EMS, Fire Department, Police, Parks, Natural Open Space, Air Quality, Historic & Cultural Resources, Wildlife, and Water (potable & irrigation) – be paid for, constructed, conserved, or rehabilitated. If the impacts of the proposed development can’t be mitigated, the development doesn’t get approved.

And, to ensure that any Planned Community stays on track in meeting its financial, cultural and environmental obligations the county performs a top-to-bottom audit of the development every other year until the development is fully constructed (usually 10-15 years, sometimes as long as 20). This financial audit also includes personal interviews of the residents in the community to ensure that the developer is making good on his/her promises. If any such audit shows a system or mitigation beginning to fail, the developer must correct the problem – or no new construction will be permitted.

If we could just get the cities to start implementing ordinances like this, growth will become a lot more manageable – and we would never have to worry about a crumbling infrastructure, declining levels of service, or a degraded human environment.

Right now, that ordinance is the closest thing this valley has to a truly Green & Sustainable approach to regional planning. And, if you think the private sector will never go for what could be a huge upfront cost and a long-term financial committment, read the paper or call Ada County. Ask them how many ‘greedy’ developers are lining up to pay for all these efforts – last count it seemed like around thirteen. With each being at least 640 acres in size, and each with housing densities identical to Boise’s Northend, that’s a lot of houses and a lot of land.

Seems to me that the county’s approach has struck a chord in the development community.

Bravo, Guardian!

Keep up the great campaign of bashing all growth and especially “Mayfield Springs.” As a current Mayfield resident (yes, there are a few of us out here in the weeds…) I can’t thank you enough.

The reason we live out here is because we abhor the “Stepford Wives” type Hidden Springs communities and revel in our privacy and solitude.

To the uneducated, we work where everyone else does – in Boise, and my commute takes half as long as my co-workers living in Meridian and Eagle…

Aside from that the place is a desolate, arid and lonely purgatory. There is absolutely no water, it’s brutally HOT, and there are millions of snakes! Snakes EVERYWHERE!

I can’t imagine anyone (else) building or buying out here.

Although, a golf course in my back yard might be nice… -)