Hammer Flats Development (Idaho)

[Washington Hunter]

Article published Dec 2, 2005

Developer lays out details of plans for 1,200-home community in east Foothills

Skyline Development Company announced preliminary plans today for its 1,200-1,400 home development in the east Foothills area known as Hammer Flat — a 700-acre area roughly two miles long and a half-mile wide near Lucky Peak Reservoir that is home to deer, elk, antelope, raptors and hundreds of other wildlife species.

Plans for the development are expected to be submitted to Ada County in early spring. Half of the 700 acres will be set aside for open space, developers say.

Some details of the plan include:
• 50 percent of residents will live within a quarterr mile of the village center, which eventually will include a restaurant and retail shops.

• Waste water will be purified on-site. From April-October, the water will be used to irrigate upland slope areas. United Water Idaho will provide domestic water service.

Skyline said it will set up a series of public meetings in January. The county requires developers to host at least one such meeting. Skyline Development Company, an Idaho business, has built more than 15 developments totaling 5,000 homes in the Treasure Valley.

Since news of the development broke last year, residents in the area launched Save the Plateau in hopes of finding another site for the project so the plateau can be turned into a wildlife refuge. In August, the group delivered a petition to Ada County commissioners signed by 1,634 people opposed to putting a large development atop Hammer Flat plateau.

Also this summer, the city of Boise and Ada County met to discuss extending the east boundary of Boise's area of impact — land earmarked for Boise's future growth.

Boise wants to extend its boundary — currently east of Harris Ranch — almost out to Lucky Peak with a south boundary of Idaho 21 and a north boundary of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. The area includes Hammer Flat.

Boise will hold a public hearing on Dec. 12 to consider changing language in its comprehensive plan to expand its area of impact.

Read Saturday's Idaho Statesman for more details on the plan.

http://idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051202/FRONTPAGE/51202002

 

[noharleyyet]

This wouldn't have anything to do with Moosies's big announcement a few months ago?


That is some significant urban sprawl WH.

 

[wapiti2]

well if they want to sprawl out more they need to go more south......they keep building in deer and elk winter range and then complain when these animals come down and eat there shrubs for winter food:BLEEP::MAD|oo

 

[Moosie]

HAHA. NO, thats not My baby...Although the "BIG NEWS" is still under works and Hopefully I'll have something around Feb. BIG/GOOD news takes Awhile and is worth waiting for.......1,200 homes ? thats only 2 years worth of work...... Why do something that Small...... If you're going to jump in, Go big.....We're going bigger then that, Just not in the PRIME winter Habitat area..........

Actually we (DHI) did a Newspaper "readers Concern" Bashing that Developemant (OAK, HELP ME ON THE WEB LINK, YOU posted it once I think......) and Those guys called me Directly after Reading it Seems like when you kick the Guys in the NUTZ hard Enough they tend to listen. I personally haven't met with Wardel yet but My Vice President and some board members have. I have 2 messages from them The FISH and Game Head (Huffaker) sent us Emails and Wrote me at home thanking me for our Input and Supoport on such Events. We've written letters of Concern and WILL be (As an Organization, on the Front lines of developing the Habitat and Wildlife Midigation outline on such developements in any habitat Developement......

You don't think Moosie just Pisses on Peoples Cherios on the Net now..... do you ?

(EDIT, oops, Although we have the Hammer Flats on the Radar and Support that one I thought you were talknig about the SunCor Proposed Developement.........)

 

[BigHornRam]

W. H.,

I heard they were thinking about including a Cabela's store in the development plan. That would make it more palitable for you, wouldn't it?

 

[Washington Hunter]

W. H.,

I heard they were thinking about including a Cabela's store in the development plan. That would make it more palitable for you, wouldn't it?

No, not at all. Doesn't matter what they build there or how they build it, it's still critical winter range for mule deer, and other wildlife. Someday I may retire in the Boise area. I'd like for there to be some mule deer left when I get there. And yes, I am greedy and selfish.

Do you think it makes sense to put a development in an area that will have such a negative effect on mule deer when there are other areas they could build and not have a drastic impact like this will? I thought you were a hunter???

 

[Ithaca 37]

Originally Posted by BigHornRam
W. H.,

I heard they were thinking about including a Cabela's store in the development plan. That would make it more palitable for you, wouldn't it?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, they are not including a Cabela's store. There is a Cabela's store planned for about 20 miles west of Hammer Flats, between Meridian and Nampa.

BHR is an anti-wildlife idiot. You'd be better off having him on "Ignore" and never wasting any time reading his posts.

 

[Washington Hunter]

Here's an article from Saturday's paper:

Article published Dec 3, 2005

Developer says The Cliffs will be wildlife-friendly
Critics say deer need the site east of Boise to live on

The developer of a controversial new planned community in the Foothills east of Boise unveiled details Friday for a "conservation-based" project that he said will improve wildlife habitat and "become a model for responsible, environmentally friendly planned communities in the Treasure Valley."

Skyline Development Co. Vice President Tucker Johnson said the project, dubbed The Cliffs, will dedicate half its 707 acres on Hammer Flat to open space, including wide swaths between neighborhoods that deer, elk and pronghorn antelope can pass through on their way from a wildlife management area directly north of the project to the Boise River to the south.

Johnson said Skyline plans to plant bitterbrush and sagebrush in the open space to provide forage for animals.
"We actually want to help them," he said.

But an Idaho Fish and Game official said Hammer Flat's value is not as a migration route for deer to get to the river. Rather, it is a low-elevation spot for deer to live in the winter when they want to escape harsher weather at higher elevations, said Ed Bottum, manager of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area north of Hammer Flat.
"(Deer) are not looking for a drink of water," Bottum said. "Hammer Flat's real value is it's a place for deer to go. (The deer) are seeking the lowest elevations they can."

Hammer Flat is on the bluffs above the Boise River near the intersection of Idaho 21 and Warm Springs Avenue.

Johnson spoke to reporters at the site Friday to explain Skyline's vision for the project. He's also kicking off what he said will be Skyline's campaign over the next few months to ease community concerns about the development in advance of Skyline's application to Ada County next spring.
Critics said Friday they worry about the impact of 1,200 to 1,400 homes on wildlife, traffic on Warm Springs Avenue, "leapfrog" development away from Boise city limits and a loss of Foothills open space.

"I don't know that I've ever seen this breadth of opposition to a development," said Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, who has called for the county to reject the project until the regional Blueprint for Good Growth plan is finished. "There's no recognition of that at developer or county level. It's a radical departure from the zoning that's there."
The land is now zoned as "rural preservation" with one home permitted on no less than 40 acres.

Nearly 1,700 people have signed a petition opposing the development, and "Save Hammer Flat" signs dot yards along Warm Springs and other nearby roads.

"We understand this represents change, and people don't like change, especially in their own back yards," said Johnson. "There's probably a little bit of misinformation out there."
Johnson said some people have unfairly made up their minds before seeing the details of his family's project and its provisions to benefit wildlife.

Skyline plans to ask the county for approval in the spring, which will require a zoning change from designation as rural preservation.
The public will be able to testify when Skyline's application is considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and again before a final decision is made by county commissioners.

As a planned community, The Cliffs has to pass more rigorous scrutiny than a run-of-the-mill subdivision. The county will review Skyline's plans for land use, open space, housing patterns, impact on natural space and public services.

United Water would provide water to The Cliffs residents, and Skyline would build its own wastewater treatment facility because there is no sewer service there, Johnson said. Treated water would be used to irrigate the arid plateau, creating more forage and habitat for wildlife, he said. A biologist working for Skyline said the company's plan to restore native shrubs on the site would make it better habitat for animals than it is now.
Skyline also would pay for construction of a new fire station and subsidize its operation until enough people live in the development to pay for fire protection themselves, he said.

Johnson disputed Bieter's characterization of the project as "leapfrog" development, saying The Cliffs would be largely self-sufficient and therefore limit the impact on Boise city services and roads. Half the residents would be within a quarter mile of the village center, making it pedestrian-friendly, Johnson said.
Traffic impact on Warm Springs Avenue also would be minimal, Johnson said. He estimated that 70 percent of the vehicle trips from The Cliffs would use Idaho 21 and enter Boise via Interstate 84 or Federal Way. But Deanna Smith, president of the East End Neighborhood Association, and other neighbors disagreed, saying more drivers will take Warm Springs downtown because it's quicker.

Johnson noted the East ParkCenter Bridge is scheduled to be built by 2010, before The Cliffs is fully developed. Once the bridge is built, just 10 percent of The Cliffs' cars would use Warm Springs, he estimated.

The Cliffs would be within Boise School District boundaries and provide housing options for potential homeowners who have been moving to booming western Ada County and Canyon County at the expense of Boise schools
The Cliffs could help protect Boise schools and Ada County's tax base, said Johnson.

Idaho Conservation League Deputy Director Suki Molina said there are better places in the Treasure Valley to build houses than in the undeveloped eastern Foothills. The Blueprint for Good Growth will identify those sites for development, and she urged Skyline to hold off on its plans until the Blueprint plan is finished.
Hammer Flat is zoned for rural preservation, she said, so plans to preserve open space and improve wildlife habitat are premature. "They're talking about mitigation, but they shouldn't be building anything there, period," she said.