I don’t think it’s unreasonable to deny a preliminary plat for a phased development when such a crtitical issue has not been resolved, not to mention the water issue and fire protection. Should the County just keep making a bad mistake over and over and over again? Avimor/Suncor probably has more horsepower than any other developer along the SH 55 corridor. If they have not resolved this and are allowed to move forward, I feel this sets a very bad precedent and does nothing but gut Comp Plan policies and contribute to the problems we already have here in Ada County.

Ultimately, this choice will be far more costly to taxpayers than a case of “arrested development.” The developer needs a time out to get it right, and every developer lining up behind needs to know that adequate public facilities are expected.

If the planned community has already been approved, should every subsequent phase be denied so that the phases including infrastructure(roads, utilities, water and wastewater systems), institutional buildings, commercial, etc.. not be completed. Then you have an unfinished project that will end up costing taxpayers more money. This usually occurs when the developer runs out of money and can’t move forward.

If you wanted Avimor or any other subsequent PC to be denied, that should have been done at the entitlement hearing.

I would have to agree with Scrootaype (I do enjoy the pun) that if the development doesn’t occur in Ada County, it’ll occur further out where ordinances and commissioners are less restrictive on such growth. Canyon, Elmore, Boise, Payette, and Gem are not prepared for what is being planned in those areas and are scrambling to have something to give developers. But until then, cheap homes will be built and will create the need for taxpayers to fund more roads, utilities, and deal with higher rates of pollution. More VMT=more emissions from commuters. The jobs will still stay in Boise, as there are plans for more office space in downtown.

I think there is opportunity for development processes to become more restrictive in Ada County…I don’t want to live in another large, sprawling city(especially one without zoning).
In my opinion, a planned community is much more restrictive, in what the county allows, than traditional subdivisions. Some commercial and institutional services allow for less trips onto major arterials and maybe even less trips using vehicles.

It’s a free country and Tony Jones can live as he pleases. When he starts lecturing others about growth and sprawl, however, he invites comment on his own habits as they relate to his crusade. People who live in illegal subdivisions in sensitive habitat without basic services and far from jobs and stores have no standing to rail against sprawl and bad development. If they do it, they should fully expect to get called on it.

It must also be disclosed if a close family member or a business partner is going to have a financial interest. This is true if the interest is substantial or de minimus.

It is good form, though not required, that an official disclose other links such as I used to be a partner with one of the parties but no longer or that I own property two doors down or the like.

If Frank Martin has disclosed a conflict and nothing has changed in his employement etc, then he needs to declare that conflict again and recuse himself.

Oftentimes, those who serve on P&Z commissions seek those appointments because it can help their businesses. This is perfectly ok if they declare any conflicts and recuse themselves to avoid any impropriety and conflict of interests.

But again, instead of defending “all that’s good” (the way Sprawler admits Mr. Jones does), they think that the public should care how Tony Jones earns his living and where he lives. Their venom really leaps off the page. Makes me think the quality of his argument have gored them badly.

Uh…hate to bring up the SUBJECT of this piece…but just exactly what does their finger pointing have to do with Frank Martin’s allegiance to Avimor? Commissioner Martin knew enough to recuse himself the first time around (see testimony links by Jus_the_facts above for some interesting reading). I want to know what changed? If nothing changed…was Frank Martin wrong to have recused himself initially…or is he wrong to NOT have done so this time around? And if wrong THIS time, doesn’t the public deserve that he act fairly at the next P&Z Hearing on Avimor?

I’m not siding with developers, but the claim that I side against developers would be even more inaccurate. I look at the facts on the ground and calls it like I sees it.

And I don’t defend any process, jurisdiction, or public commission behavior. My point is that it takes a remarkable amount of chutzpah – sorta like a certain transplanted Californian on a certain P&Z Board – that somewhat arbitrarily and very hypocritically determines it’s time to raise the bridge over the moat until the masses of the unwashed look elsewhere.

And that’s the problem, right there. Mr. Edgar and the rest that would rather see Ada County put development through far more hoops forget one thing: it has several other counties in the vicinity that will happily take the growth. And if that happens, it doesn’t change the fact that Boise is the core of employment and commerce. Only now, all those employees and households are Canyon, Elmore, and Gem County tax payers using Ada County roads and other infrastructure extensively without paying a single dime.

Does that seem like smart growth to anyone else besides those counties?

Tony, you live in the worst possible example of sprawl. You live in the middle of a sensitive wildlife area, poop in the ground with a groundwater-spoiling septic system, befoul the air and water with a dirt road and have to drive 10 miles to find a store – in an SUV, no doubt.

Boise City even sent fire trucks last year, at Boise taxpayer expense, to bail you out with the range fires. Did you ever pay them back, since you are so concerned about growth paying its own way? You want others to adhere to planning rules, yet you live in an illegal subdivision. You work for developers, including Tamarack, and gladly accept their money. Your only response to all of this is duck and cover and say, “I’m just a humble economist. I have a Web site. There are public records.” But you won’t address the content of this information.

Yet you proudly stand up as a noble, square-jawed defender of all that is good. Puh-leeeze. You have no credibility. Even with a name.

On 11/10/2005, Frank Martin, in the capacity of a private citizen, testified in favor of Avimor’s application at the P&Z Hearing. On that night, he was the only person who supported the application. (2)

Frank is the current chairman of ULI – Idaho. (3) One of the ULI Idaho Chairman’s (ie. Martin’s) goals is to, “Procure at least $40,000 in annual (non-program) sponsorships.”(4) Suncor, the parent company of Avimor, helped Mr. Martin meet his goal by donating $2,500 to ULI Idaho. (5,6,7,8,9)

At the 7/11/2007, P&Z Hearing, Frank Martin voted to approve the Avimor (Phases 2-6) application.
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(1) http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:UIIpJU7IQ-QJ:www.adaweb.net/departments/developmentservices/documents/10062005pzminutes.doc+avimor+minutes+martin+recuse&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=safari
(2)http://www.adaweb.net/departments/DevelopmentServices/documents/11102005pzminutes.doc
(3) http://idaho.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=ULI_Idaho_Leadership
(4) http://idaho.uli.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home39
(5) http://idaho.uli.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home39
(6) http://idaho.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Sponsors27
(7) http://www.avimor.com/
(8) http://www.suncoraz.com/residential.htm
(9) http://www.suncoraz.com/aboutUs.htm

I’ve read the Kastera Shadow Valley economic analysis — what Mr. Jones replies is correct. He acknowledges that the transportation issue is entirely unresolved and remains a huge question mark.

The developer-sponsored traffic impact analysis of the SH 55 corridor has not been made public yet, and therefore not peer reviewed, but you don’t even have to be a traffic engineer to estimate that the necessary upgrades will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Those infrastruture realities will enormously impact the economic analysis. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if developers began to think twice about the exhorbitant cost of developing in the foothills (and the denser they make it, the more infrastructure upgrades they have to provide). There comes a point when chasing your tail just makes you dizzy, and not a profit.

If Ada County Development Services tries to push the Kastera Shadow Valley application forward as complete without the traffic impacts acknowledged and mitigated, it won’t satisfy the Comp Plan and the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, just as Avimor hasn’t. I suppose that if Mr. Jones doesn’t agree with that, then you have every right to impune him given his reponse to playing it both ways. Frankly, I can’t see the Kastera application nor any of the others eyeing the SH 55 corridor as satisfying the fiscal impact requirements of Ordinance 621 (neither ITD nor ACHD has the funds to provide infrastructure, and the Ordinance clearly states that all fiscal impacts are to be borne by the development and not the overburdened public).

I think that’s the whole point of the editorial. If good policy and ordinances were applied as written, burdensome developments (which would injure all of Ada County with inadeqaute public facilities) wouldn’t even come before the P&Z — and certainly not have a P&Z commissioner make excuses for them.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but two years ago when Mr. Martin was a Commissioner, I believe he recused himself and testified as a private citizen in favor of the Avimor application. I suppose now it’s just easier to cut to the chase and vote for it as a P&Z Commissioner. To the point, I don’t believe he disclosed any potential conflicts the other night, unlike Commissioner Hayes (and given Commissioner Hayes’ voting record, I would bet the farm he would have voted to deny this application, and therefore the vote would have been 3 to 2). Is something rotten in Denmark?