Eagle stakes out a role in Foothills development

by Cynthia Sewell @ Idaho Statesman
Article published Oct 6, 2006

Eagle stakes out a role in Foothills development
City tries to ensure that large planned communities, which may be annexed, will fit with its vision for Eagle

A large swath of land in the Ada County Foothills is not part of Eagle, but the city is getting in the game to help mold how those 50,000 acres will be developed.

"We will probably inherit this land at some point," Eagle Mayor Nancy Merrill said. "Everything that is above us is going to come through us one way or another."

The possibility of annexation has Eagle officials trying to ensure the development meshes with the city's vision of a well-planned community. They want the city to stay true to its rural roots with amenities for outdoor recreation.
Up to 30,000 more homes are planned for the area by developers, who have snapped up large parcels of bare land in the Foothills in last couple of years.

And if the number of homes is bound to double or triple in the Eagle area, Merrill wants it under Eagle's purview to ensure that city roads and services don't become clogged from development over which the city had no say.
Ada County and Eagle are simultaneously creating plans to guide development in the Foothills north of Eagle between Idaho 16 and Idaho 55. The undeveloped land is under the county's jurisdiction, but that is not stopping Eagle from planning the area’s future.

Eagle is putting the time and effort into planning the area because if it were to be annexed into Eagle, the balance of power would shift from the county to the city.

One landowner, M3, already has requested annexation of 6,000 acres where the company wants to build a 12,000-home planned community.

Another landowner, SunCor, has asked Eagle to include its 20,000 acres -- which extend into Boise and Gem counties -- in the city’s comprehensive plan, setting up the basis for potential annexation.

If these two parcels alone came under Eagle’s fold, and M3 and SunCor each build 12,000 homes, Eagle’s population would increase from 20,000 to about 80,000.

Eagle would expand from about 15 square miles to 56 square miles.

By comparison, Meridian now covers about 25 square miles and has a population of about 70,000.

SunCor is keeping its options open as far as annexation into Eagle, said Bob Taunton, SunCor Idaho president.

In February, the county approved SunCor’s application to build Avimor, an 830-acre, 684-home planned community.

In its Sept. 22 application to be included in Eagle’s comprehensive plan, SunCor stated that its experience with the county during the Avimor process and since has “brought the viability of future planned communities in the Foothills into
question.

The draft (county plans) are ambiguous about their support for planned communities.”

SunCor also stated, “Avimor is currently outside the area of impact for the city of Eagle. Therefore, the city’s policies do not address (Avimor’s) property.

Without inclusion of the Avimor property in the comprehensive plan, future annexation would be unlikely.”

SunCor told Eagle that future phases of Avimor would cover 6,290 acres of SunCor’s 20,080-acre parcel, which stretches from Idaho 55 on the east to Willow Creek via Big Gulch on the west.

The northern boundary reaches nearly five miles north of the Ada-Gem county line.

Contact reporter Cynthia Sewell at cmsewell@ idaho statesman. com or 377-6428.