Comments on: The Gravity Of Foothills Developments

By: Greedy City Leadership

Greedy City Leadership — Sun, 15 May 2016 01:11:57 +0000

Builders and developers in Idaho have never been held to account. They lay the golden eggs.

200 square miles of cheap trashy 15 year homes have popped up around here since 1990. Mostly the same builders/developers changing up the front companies every few years. This too shall be swept under the rug. And the local media will assist.

FORWARD! to the next irresponsible projects of public indebtedness and tax revenue increases!

By: boisecynic

boisecynic — Sat, 14 May 2016 09:13:44 +0000

TS:

Ha, you’re quoting KTVB. Their only interest is selling ads to advertisers. And no, no it is not all that obvious. I think you have 20/20 hindsight goggles on. If it was so obvious, show me where you wrote about this as a disaster in the making. Or where anyone wrote about it.

Why has KTVB not done the research on the rocks in the ditch on Table Rock Road? When were those placed? Why does curb, gutter, sidewalk and storm drain end just a few hundred yards before the slide problem area? Hey, I’m not defending the developer or those people who built on steep cut and fill banks, but… All I want to know is what did ACHD know and when did they know it about Table Rock Road above?

Actually, we can go even further. Table Rock and Table Rock Road need to be finished off into an urban park and parkway. For Pete’s sake, people are still 4-wheeling and ripping to shreds the hillside up there. And the city is all worried about 1 little airstrip? When are they going to crack down on the off roaders?

In fact, I bet some of the fast moving water which was mitigated by the rocks in the ditch, I bet that was caused by run off from the illegal off roading.

By: TS Samualson

TS Samualson — Fri, 13 May 2016 21:36:07 +0000

Boisecynic – KTVB, May 5th
…Geologist Coyote Short says it’s clear this land will eventually give way.
Short says geologists can look at this land and easily see that it’s different from the stable sandstone of Table Rock, and instead is made up if unconsolidated material prone to a landslide if enough rain falls.
“If the ground is already wet beyond saturation it’s waiting to let go, just a little more would unlock the door,” said Short…
…But Short says the answers as to why the pavement and ground is moving is obvious and so is the outcome.
“They shouldn’t be building on it they know better. Come on it’s obvious anybody who can read the landscape can see the whole thing is in motion,” he said…

By: boisecynic

boisecynic — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:27:26 +0000

No one is reporting on the rocky drainage swale on Table Rock Road directly above Alto Via. The question is when did ACHD put those rocks in the ditch presumably in order to slow down storm water which was deepening the ditch. Was it before or after the geo-soils tests for the development below?

I’m not a geo-soils tech, but that rocky swale is slowing down water which is then obviously percolating into the hill. It may be a factor, or not. I saw someone shooting video of it though, but not the news media.

TS Samuelson: Who? Which geologist said the foothills are a landslide risk? Once every 10,000 years is not much of a risk. There is greater risk of a Boise River flood filling the valley from bench to foothills. Should all new development in that vast area be banned?

My sources in Boulder Heights tell me they jumped through all the hoops and geo-soils engineers signed off. Do you understand that engineers simply do not sign off on stuff unless they can back it up? If there’s a failure then they get sued. For big money. It’s not unlike medical malpractice.

Yossarian with the obligatory Californian snark. I can tell you’ve never built so much as a doghouse in CA. I’m willing to bet most if not all developments in LA, Orange and SD counties are required to have geo-soils inspection reports. Ditto that for the Bay Area counties too.

By: TS Samualson

TS Samualson — Fri, 13 May 2016 01:03:17 +0000

On a KTVB story I just read…
“We had no indication at the time that there was a landslide risk in the area, obviously if we had known that if any of those reports had come back indicating that, then it would’ve been a different story,” said Journee.
Crazy… From what the geologists say, most, if not all, of the foothills is a landslide risk.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 11 May 2016 18:58:37 +0000

“It could likely be a mother nature kind of a situation”. Boise spokesmouth

Ya think???

This comment should get one of your dope awards. Gravity is a b*tch.

By: Yossarian_22

Yossarian_22 — Wed, 11 May 2016 17:05:50 +0000

You only have to look at California development to see how these grand plans can crumble and fall. The hydrologist and geologist are the last people to be listened to. Unfortunately, the taxpayer enters the picture, once again. Do impact fees offset these disasters? I doubt it.

By: Porcupine

Porcupine — Tue, 10 May 2016 17:37:45 +0000

Foothills in Boise are too unstable to build on..
Northend has a major risk of floods…
Development on the west end of the valley is eating up farm land…..
Traffic down town is unbearable….
If the dams break all is lost for every one…

You should move to Idaho City where you will be welcomed and safe….. but our mayor resigned… prosecutor lost her job over a DUI in Boise… Sheriff just quit…. and folks are trying to get the county clerk recalled….. and the postal clerk was stealing mail…

But you are all welcome!

EDITOR NOTE–Sounds to me that our politicos are smarter than yours. Ours don’t get caught. Most of the time.

By: Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown — Mon, 09 May 2016 18:05:49 +0000

In a cosmic long shot, torrential rains along with a massive earthquake could send the foothills mansions all sliding into the North End, then Anderson Ranch dam would collapse taking Lucky Peak dam (both are fragile earthen dams) out too, flushing the mansion debris and all the “smart growth” and “vibrant downtown” out to sea.

By: Rod in SE Boise

Rod in SE Boise — Mon, 09 May 2016 16:40:52 +0000

Guardian, the problem is not the Geologists having rocks in their heads or Hydrologists with water on the brain. The problem is nobody listens to them when they tell it like it is.

New Orleans – it is below sea level. why are people allowed to live there?

Cape Hatteras, NC – hurricanes

Florida – sea level rise will put much of it under water