an advisory services panel report spring creek ranch...

A N A D V I S O R Y S E R V I C E S P A N E L R E P O R T

Spring Creek RanchIdaho

Urban LandInstitute$

Spring Creek RanchBlaine County, IdahoA Strategy for a New Town

June 25–30, 2006An Advisory Services Panel Report

ULI–the Urban Land Institute1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W.Suite 500 WestWashington, D.C. 20007-5201

An Advisory Services Panel Report2

ULI–the Urban Land Institute is a non-profit research and education organiza-tion that promotes responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance the

total environment.

The Institute maintains a membership represent-ing a broad spectrum of interests and sponsors awide variety of educational programs and forumsto encourage an open exchange of ideas and shar-ing of experience. ULI initiates research that an-ticipates emerging land use trends and issues andproposes creative solutions based on that re-search; provides advisory services; and publishesa wide variety of materials to disseminate infor-mation on land use and development.

Established in 1936, the Institute today has morethan 34,000 members and associates from 90 coun-tries, representing the entire spectrum of the landuse and development disciplines. Professionals rep-

resented include developers, builders, propertyowners, investors, architects, public officials,planners, real estate brokers, appraisers, attor-neys, engineers, financiers, academics, students,and librarians. ULI relies heavily on the expe-rience of its members. It is through member in-volvement and information resources that ULIhas been able to set standards of excellence indevelopment practice. The Institute has long beenrecognized as one of America’s most respectedand widely quoted sources of objective informa-tion on urban planning, growth, and development.

This Advisory Services panel report is intended to further the objectives of the Institute and tomake authoritative information generally avail-able to those seeking knowledge in the field ofurban land use.

Richard M. RosanPresident

About ULI–the Urban Land Institute

©2006 by ULI–the Urban Land Institute1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 WestWashington, D.C. 20007-5201

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or anypart of the contents without written permission of the copy-right holder is prohibited.

Spring Creek Ranch, Idaho, June 25–30, 2006 3

The goal of ULI’s Advisory Services Programis to bring the finest expertise in the realestate field to bear on complex land use plan-ning and development projects, programs,

and policies. Since 1947, this program has assem-bled well over 400 ULI-member teams to helpsponsors find creative, practical solutions forissues such as downtown redevelopment, landmanagement strategies, evaluation of develop-ment potential, growth management, communityrevitalization, brownfields redevelopment, mili-tary base reuse, provision of low-cost and afford-able housing, and asset management strategies,among other matters. A wide variety of public,private, and nonprofit organizations have con-tracted for ULI’s Advisory Services.

Each panel team is composed of highly qualifiedprofessionals who volunteer their time to ULI.They are chosen for their knowledge of the paneltopic and screened to ensure their objectivity.ULI’s interdisciplinary panel teams provide aholistic look at development problems. A re-spected ULI member who has previous panelexperience chairs each panel.

The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is in-tensive. It includes an in-depth briefing day com-posed of a tour of the site and meetings with spon-sor representatives; a day of hour-long interviewsof typically 50 to 75 key community representa-tives; and two days of formulating recommenda-tions. Many long nights of discussion precede thepanel’s conclusions. On the final day on site, thepanel makes an oral presentation of its findingsand conclusions to the sponsor. A written report isprepared and published.

Because the sponsoring entities are responsiblefor significant preparation before the panel’s visit,including sending extensive briefing materials toeach member and arranging for the panel to meetwith key local community members and stake-holders in the project under consideration, partici-

pants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments areable to make accurate assessments of a sponsor’sissues and to provide recommendations in a com-pressed amount of time.

A major strength of the program is ULI’s uniqueability to draw on the knowledge and expertise ofits members, including land developers and own-ers, public officials, academicians, representativesof financial institutions, and others. In fulfillmentof the mission of the Urban Land Institute, thisAdvisory Services panel report is intended toprovide objective advice that will promote the re-sponsible use of land to enhance the environment.

ULI Program StaffRachelle L. LevittExecutive Vice President, Policy and Practice

Mary Beth CorriganVice President, Advisory Services and Policy Programs

Tom EitlerDirector, Advisory Services Program

Nicholas GabelAssociate, Advisory Services

Carmen McCormickPanel Coordinator, Advisory Services

Yvonne StantonAdministrative Assistant

Nancy H. StewartDirector, Book Program

Laura Glassman, Publications Professionals LLCManuscript Editor

Betsy VanBuskirkArt Director

Martha LoomisDesktop Publishing Specialist/Graphics

Kim RuschGraphics

Craig ChapmanDirector, Publishing Operations

About ULI Advisory Services


The ULI panelists and staff members are in-debted to a host of people for their help, ad-vice, and support throughout the week.First and foremost, the panel thanks the

sponsor, the Kirk Group, for inviting ULI to assistin planning a new town for Blaine County. Thepanel is tremendously grateful to George Kirk andBob Kantor for the extraordinary generosity andhospitality they extended to the panel. In addi-tion, the panelists greatly appreciate the dedica-tion and skill of the Kirk Group’s consultant team.The panel sincerely thanks Marshall Bennett forsharing his time and knowledge during the panelprocess. Much appreciation goes to Monica Han-

son and Josette Stellers for their exceptional ef-forts in helping the panel reach its goals expedi-tiously.

Finally, the panel would like to thank the dozensof community, business, and government leaderswho added immeasurably to this publication bysharing their insights during the interviewprocess. The panel thanks all of these people foroffering their time and expertise, and for helpingthe panel understand the issues facing BlaineCounty.

Acknowledgments


ULI Panel and Project Staff 6

Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment 7

Market Potential 11

Planning 22

Site Suitability 26

Infrastructure and Phasing 32

Conclusion 37

About the Panel 38

Contents


Panel ChairJames M. DeFranciaPresidentLowe Enterprises Community Development, Inc.Aspen, Colorado

Panel MembersJames HeidFounderUrbanGreen, LLCSan Francisco, California

Linda C. HoffmannVice-President/Managing DirectorNolte Associates, Inc.Fort Collins, Colorado

Joseph HrudaPresidentCivitas Urban Design & PlanningVancouver, British Columbia

Rachelle L. LevittExecutive Vice President, Policy and PracticeULI–the Urban Land InstituteWashington, D.C.

Mary J. RobertsDirector of Community Development DepartmentCity of LittletonLittleton, Colorado

Stan ZemlerTown ManagerTown of VailVail, Colorado

ULI Project StaffMary Beth CorriganVice President, Advisory Services and Policy Programs

Alexa BachScholar-in-Residence

ULI On-Site CoordinatorCarmen McCormickPanel Coordinator

ULI Panel and Project Staff


Blaine County’s first permanent settlers ar-rived in the mid-1800s. They quickly dis-covered the mining wealth of the area andwere soon followed by a significant number

of Irish, Welsh, German, and Chinese immigrants.Towns such as Bellevue and Hailey grew overnight.The prosperity brought by mining spurred otherbusiness interests.

Idaho Territory’s first electricity plant was in-stalled in the valley, as was the first telephonesystem. Parallel to the mining boom, the sheep-feeding and shipping industries saw promisinggrowth. Between 1910 and 1920, more than 1 mil-lion head of sheep trailed through the area eachyear, making Ketchum one of the largest sheepshipping centers in the United States.

Impressed with the Swiss ski resorts of St. Mortizand Gstaad, Averell Harriman, chairman of theboard of the Union Pacific Railroad, decided tobuild America’s first destination ski resort. On De-cember 23, 1936, the Sun Valley Lodge opened forits first winter season. Ownership of the resortchanged several times in the 1900s, but it still re-mains a popular Idaho destination today.

Blaine County’s current economy relies heavily ontourism, construction, and the second-home mar-ket. As is common in such destinations, a growinggap exists between the price of housing and whatthe workforce in the community can afford. Evenproperty values in the most affordable portions ofthe county have become well out of reach for theentry-level homeowner (see figure 1).

As affordable housing options become scarce,the year-round workforce is commuting from evergreater distances, straining the transportationsystems. Employers find employees increasinglydifficult to attract because recruits are unable tolocate acceptable housing and they complain exist-ing affordable housing is of inferior design andconstruction. County businesses are beginning to

Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment

suffer as they become increasingly dependent onthe sporadic commerce of seasonal residents andtourists.

Study Area The proposed Spring Creek new town site is lo-cated on approximately 650 to 800 acres of the ex-isting 2,800-acre Spring Creek Ranch. Nestled in

Location map.

Regional map.

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JEROME

TWIN FALLS

CMINIDOKA

GOODINGLINCOLN

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CAMAS

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BLAINE

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ELMORE

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Ketchum Sun ValleyB

Twin Falls

IHaileySpring Creek Ranch

N E V A D A U T A H

W Y O M I N G

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I D A H O

M O N T A N A

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KetchumSun ValleyBoise

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Idaho FallsNampaMeridian

Lewiston

Coeur d'Alene


the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 75,any new development could be hidden from north-south vistas by the surrounding Timmerman Hills.A proposed site for a new regional airport is a fewmiles farther south on Highway 75. The site itselfis a working ranch.

The Panel’s AssignmentThe Kirk Group requested that the ULI AdvisoryServices Panel assess the viability of a new townon the Spring Creek property as a tool for enhanc-ing Blaine County’s livability for its year-roundworkforce. After conferring with the sponsor, thepanel decided to focus on the threshold question ofthe fundamental viability of a new town on theSpring Creek property, in both the physical andpublic policy contexts. The panel has devoted itsprincipal efforts to that threshold question.

A great many of the questions directed to thepanel were of a technical or quantitative characterthat the panel was not in a position to judge. Forexample, at this stage of project conception, thepanel cannot judge the adequacy of water or thelegal validity of water rights, fiscal effects on thecommunity, or effects on wildlife or present trans-portation systems. Such questions must be ad-dressed in a framework of thorough studies thatare based on detailed proposed land plans, eco-nomic assumptions, and public standards.

Figure 1Blaine County Housing Prices

Median Housing Price Average Housing Price Average Housing CostLocation May 2006 May 2006 2005

“For Sale” “For Sale” Actual Sales

North County: Sun Valley and Ketchum $1,167,206 $1,706,632 $1,180,715

Hailey $ 475,000 $ 603,968 $ 427,104

South County: Bellevue and South $ 442,357 $ 758,133 $ 393,637

Blaine County: Weighted average $ 823,017 $1,188,706 $1,037,569

County median: Income-affordable price $ 254,119 $ 254,119 $ 254,119

Source: Sawtooth Board of Realtors actual sales data and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Blaine median incomes.

20

75

N

MagicReservoir

Proposed Land UseTotal 2,805 Acres

Development Area650 Acres

Conservation Area2,155 Acres

BLM (Bureau of Land Management)

Conservation (2,155 Acres)

Spring Creek Development Site (650 Acres)

State-Owned Land

KEY

Big Wo

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General study area.


Summary of RecommendationsThe panel began by assessing the definition of anew town compared to a subdivision or a plannedcommunity. Within that definition, the panel thenevaluated the Spring Creek site in its physicalcontext. Finally, the panel reviewed current publicpolicy in Blaine County with respect to land useand that current policy’s application to both newtowns and this site.

The panel concluded that a new town is appropri-ate for accommodating the long-term growth ofthe community and can contribute to sensiblegrowth patterns and the best land use within thevalley. The panel also concluded that a new townis viable, in a physical context, at this site. Exist-

Typical development pat-terns in the county.

ing characteristics of terrain and location are suit-able to support a new town development conceptfor Spring Creek.

At the same time, however, the panel finds thatcurrent public policy does not support creation ofa new town. Blaine County 2025, which partiallyaddresses new town issues, falls short of establish-ing defined criteria for a new town. Moreover, theBlaine County 2025 plan does not call for such de-velopment in this location. The plan does, however,acknowledge the possibility of new towns and doesaddress many broad considerations. It presents agood foundation for shaping future growth, butmore-comprehensive planning efforts are needed.


This report offers detailed explanations of the con-clusions and suggestions for actions that should beundertaken in the coming years to revisit the suit-ability of this site for a new town. The panel addi-tionally offers a set of guiding principles to applyas the project moves forward.

What is lacking is a full set of criteria for determin-ing the need and location for a new town.

The panel concluded that although a new town de-velopment at Spring Creek is not now achievablebecause of current policy, it may be appropriate inthe longer term after more-definitive study andregional planning. Most important, considerationfor a new town in the future must be pursued as ajoint effort of both the county and the developer.In the panel’s view, the county must orchestratethe creation of a new town and the developershould implement the vision.


Market Potential

Development in BlaineCounty typically isdirected to the valleys.

This section discusses the market potentialand feasibility for a new town in BlaineCounty, in general, and at Spring Creek,in particular.

New Town as a Land DevelopmentModelThe concept of a new town can mean very differ-ent things to different people and in different loca-tions. Thinking about a new town evokes senti-mentality for the “way things used to be,” thevision of a slower time as well as the hope for bet-ter solutions to age-old problems of traffic, envi-ronmental disruption, ecological conservation, andfaster-paced lifestyles. The term is used in theBlaine County 2025 document to refer to “villagesthat would be a joint effort of the county and de-velopers.” No further elaboration of the compo-nents and motivations for a new town are dis-cussed, leaving open the question of what makes anew town. How is it distinguished from the othercounty development types of subdivision, plannedcommunity, and existing cities?

Figure 2 lists core elements useful in differentiat-ing these three development typologies: subdivi-sion, planned community, and new town. It identi-fies defining characteristics in three loosely wovencategories, or “constructs”: why is it done (devel-opment strategy), how does it fit into the largerregion (contextual relationship to region), andwhat is typically found in each (program elements).A fourth category called community connections(valuing the people) enters the more-subjectiverealm of how to create community spirit andconnections.

Figure 2 provides an overview of what each typeof development brings to the table in any commu-nity. It does not assess a specific project. It is ageneralized evaluation of what typically distin-guishes each development type and how it con-

tributes to any area over time. The report nextexplores how each defining characteristic relatesto Spring Creek and Blaine County.

Implications for Creating a New TownAgainst the backdrop of figure 2, the SpringCreek proposal can be reviewed to identifythreshold issues that the development team mustconsider if it is to achieve the goals shared withthe panel. Conversely, the proposed developmentshould be reviewed within the context of currentBlaine County planning proposals and issuesraised during the panel’s interview process toidentify alignment and points of difference.

Development Strategy Constructs The panel developed a series of “developmentstrategy constructs” to provide a context forreviewing the Spring Creek Ranch proposal.

Hallmarks. These are meant to capture the essenceof the three development models. The hallmarksoffered in the figure are not intended to be a com-plete list but rather a high-level view of one of themost significant identifiers separating a develop-ment form from other models. As an example, aplanned community is typically distinguished byits emphasis (both physically and strategically) oncreating a mixed-use environment that includes a


Figure 2Subdivision, Planned Community, or New Town: Defining Characteristics of Land Development Model Constructs

Development Strategy Subdivision Planned Community New Town

Hallmarks Simplicity Mixed use Holistic

Reason for being Market opportunity, land availability Market opportunity, creative vision Regional needs, social responsibility

Time horizon/capitalization Short term/debt based Long term/sophisticated debt and equity Long term/patient, socially responsible equity and debt

Implementation Land developer, builder led Developer led, builder supported Collaboration with government, multiple developers/builders

Evolution None, fixed point in time Some, depending on level of control of community covenants and Cornerstone; flexibility in land use evolution, design, and character while maintaining core framework conceptsrestrictions; usually highly prescriptive

Benchmarks of success Internal rate of return Internal rate of return Place making, diversity, economic benefits, financial sustainability

Contextual Relationship

Relationship to larger region Minimal/appended to existing fabric Could go either insular or connected Catalyst, direct response to regional needs

Jobs strategy/character None May make land available Always makes land available; proactive strategy to generate/attract jobs

Economic contribution Minimal tax base; construction jobs Increased tax base; potential jobs and sales tax Diverse tax base; strategic and proactive job generation

Governance Local jurisdiction, annexed or Homeowners association (HOA)/Property owners association (POA)/ HOA/POA/LID with some form of self-sustaining governmentsimply within existing jurisdiction local improvement district (LID) annexed or within local jurisdiction

Program Elements

Residential offerings Singular, 1–3 product lines Mixed, multiple builders and product lines; carefully choreographed; Deliberate approach to create economic diversity; range of housing choice by price, lifestyle, and demographic; multiple builders, more prescriptive p

Recreation, open-space None to limited with market- Typically private to community residents, extensively programmed, Open to broader public, embraces regional values while adding value and range of opportunity to community; willing contributoramenities driven recreation, code-compliant quality of life and market targeted; exactions by local jurisdiction; t

open space code-compliant open space

Employment None Sometimes: retail and service oriented Always: professional and career plus retail/service

Services/infrastructure Plug and play, use existing Either plug and play or some new infrastructure; potential pro rata New infrastructure; revenue neutralcapacities cost sharing of services and infrastructure costs

Transportation Plug and play; build to (exacerbate) Strategic/market-driven responses to provide alternative mobility Transit ready and transit supportive; conscious decisions about how people move around town and connect to regionexisting capacity options

Community Connections

Community organizations Existing Newly created HOA/POA Newly created HOA/POA plus new commuity-based organizations

Community servicesSchools Rarely Public or private Public or privatePolice/fire/EMS Existing jurisdiction Existing jurisdiction Contract with jurisdictionParks/open space Existing jurisdiction Existing jurisdiction Contract with jurisdictionRecreation/libraries Existing jurisdiction Private/district, library district Town-basedArts/performing arts Existing jurisdiction Contract, unique Town-based or districtService oversight Existing jurisdiction Contract by HOA Town staffNongovernmentalorganizations Existing jurisdiction If market will bear If market will bear


New Town

Holistic

Regional needs, social responsibility

Long term/patient, socially responsible equity and debt

Collaboration with government, multiple developers/builders

Cornerstone; flexibility in land use evolution, design, and character while maintaining core framework concepts

Place making, diversity, economic benefits, financial sustainability

Catalyst, direct response to regional needs

Always makes land available; proactive strategy to generate/attract jobs

Diverse tax base; strategic and proactive job generation

HOA/POA/LID with some form of self-sustaining government

Deliberate approach to create economic diversity; range of housing choice by price, lifestyle, and demographic; multiple builders, product lines; more organic

Open to broader public, embraces regional values while adding value and range of opportunity to community; willing contributorto regional green infrastructure

Always: professional and career plus retail/service

New infrastructure; revenue neutral

Transit ready and transit supportive; conscious decisions about how people move around town and connect to region

Newly created HOA/POA plus new commuity-based organizations

Public or privateContract with jurisdictionContract with jurisdictionTown-basedTown-based or districtTown staff

If market will bear


variety of residential product offerings; commu-nity services; recreation and lifestyle elements;and employment, commercial, and retail land uses.

Although a new town starts from this same plat-form, it moves to a higher level by looking beyondthe simplicity of land usedesignations and thinkingabout how their interac-tions, synergies, and func-tional relationships maycreate a sum greater thanthe parts. In a holisticview, each land use is notevaluated as a stand-alone economic decisionbut rather on the role itplays in creating a morevibrant, diverse, and inter-esting community. Thus, aninitial retail component maynot economically benefit thedeveloper, but by its verypresence it creates a focalpoint for the community,reduces the needs for dailyvehicle trips to buy a gallonof milk, and generates a fewjobs within the community. These benefits may faroutweigh the limited economic gain as measuredsolely by land use evaluation.

Reason for Being. The current demand for newhousing and dearth of affordable housing in thevalley indicate a strong market opportunity fornew development. However, the panel has notseen any hard data and in the absence of a rigor-ous market analysis and program projection can-not confirm or refute this assumption. Assumingthat upon a more detailed analysis a significantmarket opportunity is presented, Spring Creekclearly has a spectacular piece of land available andhas assembled a team of consultants to help craft acreative vision.

These elements should be harnessed and placedwithin the context of the recent analyses andstudies completed by Blaine County to determinehow this project might help resolve a broader setof regional needs. Those needs include affordableemployee housing, better retail opportunities, a

more-distinctive sense of place, employment andeconomic diversification, and conservation of sig-nificant open space assets.

Horizon/Capitalization. Building new communitieshas been the dream of social activists, land devel-

opers, and Fortune 500companies for more than150 years. Throughout thishistory the one recurringlesson has been that theundercapitalized and impa-tient cannot survive, re-gardless of the strength oftheir vision. The commu-nity-building process is ex-tremely capital intensiveand must have deep pock-ets to survive the in-evitable real estate cycles.Layered onto changingmarket cycles are the sig-nificant costs associatedwith building new infra-structure and public facili-ties from scratch—and in atrue new town, underwrit-ing the costs of economic

development strategies to attract jobs, subsidiz-ing retail and community centers to create place,and offsetting early community effects beforethe tax base is sufficient to support the servicesrequired from external providers.

Given both the opportunity and responsibility ofSpring Creek LLC, these costs cannot be dis-missed casually. The desire to create a newtown that provides a viable, cost-effective hous-ing strategy for the valley, while also creating avibrant, active place reminiscent of pre-1990sBlaine County cities, will require a commitmentof significant, patient capital and the willing-ness to deliver products in a thoughtful mannerthat not only matches demand but also ensuresthe buildingof community.

Implementation. The maturing process of commu-nity building has become as much art as science.Successful models today are business-driven en-deavors that are led by the strong hand of a mas-

Blaine County is typifiedby large ranches in theWood River Valley.


ter developer and supported to a large degree bya full stable of homebuilders—national, regional,and local. The emphasis is often on rapid sales andmovement of product to reduce capital carryingcosts while building critical mass as quickly aspossible. Efficiency, rigorous execution, and costcontrol are often the guiding principles at the im-plementation stage.

In building a new town, however, the “strong hand”will need to yield to a more collaborative processin which many stakeholders participate in key de-cisions to ensure broader diversity, a more organicevolution of the community form, and a greatersense of contribution. This process is messy, andproject efficiency and execution rigor give way toinclusion and more free-form delivery of products.

Opening the door to a broader set of “authors” forthe development of Spring Creek will requireSpring Creek LLC to play a stronger role as thecommunity facilitator—rather than the creator.The ultimate vision for the new town will becomemore diverse but will be more broadly embraced.Where community stakeholders have had a role indefining the community vision, long-term support(both in terms of the entitlement arena and mar-ket success) has been realized through more cer-tain and shorter approval times, more word-of-mouth referrals for sales, and increased publicsupport of the community as it evolves.

Evolution. Planned communities from the 1980sand 1990s were wedded to heavy-handed controlof every aspect of the community. For example,architectural controls, prescriptive materialchoices and paint colors, and parking and land-scaping regulations produced a generation of com-munities that stand as a testament to the vintageof their creation—inflexible, unevolving museumpieces from the era in which they were constructed.Arguably, Elkhorn, Idaho, offers an example of awell-executed but static community design.

Conversely, great neighborhoods and towns thatare most admired (and often have the highest eco-nomic values) are places that evolved somewhatorganically, with happenstance additions and reno-vations creating a patchwork quilt of interestingarchitecture and public places. Although somecontrols are necessary to minimize disruptive land

uses or designs that create a public or economicnuisance, the distinctive character of rural andsmall western cities is their diversity. Given alandscape setting as powerful as the Wood RiverValley, a harmonious but diverse architecturalcharacter can help create a place that is both origi-nal and interesting while paying homage to theparticular places, such as Ketchum and Hailey.

The developers of Spring Creek need to think aboutdesign codes and rules that are more evolutionarythan prescriptive. The town should look and feelas if it has evolved over time instead of beingparachuted in during one brief epoch in 2010. Em-phasis should be placed more on those characteris-tics that create a sense of place—building massand placement, functional relationships betweenuses, natural materials that are both healthy andsustainable—and less on dogmatic or historic ar-chitectural codes that reflect a current style orperiod of design.

Benchmarks of Success. In a world where issues ofconservation, environmental responsibility, andsocial equity are coming into increasing focus, thescorecard of success needs to be broadened be-yond traditional financial metrics.

Historically, real estate development has measuredsuccess solely on financial return—primarily in-ternal rate of return. Although this measure isstill used to assist in raising or structuring projectcapital, an increasing number of investors areseeking better-rounded returns measured in in-tangibles, such as pride in places created, role inhelping solve tough social issues, or protection ofsignificant natural resources.

Spring Creek comes to Blaine County at a signifi-cant decision point for the valley and its residents.A shifting local economy and real estate landscape,coupled with national trends in lifestyle choicesand wealth distribution, means the Blaine Countyof old must make some tough choices. Spring Creekand the county have an opportunity—in creatinga new town—to harness best practices in open-space conservation, affordable housing, place mak-ing, and economic development and create a posi-tive choice for people currently living in or movingto the Wood River Valley. The metrics by whichthe community will measure the new town’s suc-


cess must be defined early on, and then program-ming, planning and design, implementation, andlong-term evolution must be organized to ensurethose goals are achieved.

This effort requires a much broader communitydiscussion about what is important to the valleyand how this project can help achieve some ofthose core values. Similarly, the Spring Creekdevelopment team needs to identify what level ofeconomic and social return is required to feeltheir efforts—and their investors’ patience—areadequately rewarded.

Contextual Relationship ConstructsThe panel developed a list of attributes for whichthe project should be reviewed.

Relationship to Larger Region. A typical subdivisionis literally appended onto whatever the existingdevelopment is. It may or may not relate well tosurrounding land uses, transportation capacities,or community services. It sometimes appears tobe merely plopped in place, creating a jarring newdevelopment form immediately adjacent to a long-time land use. Planned communities can be com-pletely self-contained. The proverbial gated com-munity creates the mental image of an insular place,intended to be separate and different from its sur-roundings. It can also be highly integrated into anarea, carefully planned, and executed to blend intoexisting landscapes and development patterns. Anew town, in contrast, can be a catalyst that re-sponds to specific regional needs and goals. It isdriven by social responsiveness, community val-ues, and the desire to create new market opportu-nities based on local issues and concerns.

Spring Creek can be a catalyst for regional collab-oration that begins to address transportation, jobgrowth, jobs and housing balance, and quality oflife—issues affecting the entire region. Or it canbe a divisive fissure that undermines the verythings it purports to want to address: affordablehousing, environmental conservation, and trafficcongestion. As a catalyst it can create the forumsnecessary to have ongoing and productive dia-logues about how to realistically resolve theseand other community issues in a way that makessense locally. Nonetheless, the county and its citiesmust recognize that one development will not and

cannot solve all the issues the region faces. Througha collaborative process, citizens, decision makers,and property owners must identify what can andcannot be realistically addressed by a new townat this location.

Jobs Strategy/Character. In a subdivision no at-tempt is made to address the creation of jobs. Jobsmay be created to service the ultimate developmentof the lots in the subdivision (that is, service-sectorjobs to support the maintenance needs of the build-ings and provide personal services to the new res-idents). Not considered primary jobs, they areusually the jobs most directly affected by changesin the spending habits of these new residents. Aplanned community may actually designate landfor commercial development (office, retail, lightindustrial, or restaurant). Some job generationand direct business development may result witha planned community, and clearly a resort-basedplanned community can create jobs. Again, suchjobs are dependent on the spending habits of thosevacationers who come there. In the case of a newtown, the goal is to be a full-service community.Not only is land made available for commercialand industrial uses, but also a proactive strategyexists to generate and attract jobs.

Spring Creek has the opportunity to become a mini-employment center for the south county area. Todo so, it needs to incorporate an employment stra-tegy as part of its development plan. This strategyneeds to be based on real information about em-ployment and business growth in the county. Sim-ply making land available and hoping that busi-nesses and retailers will come will not make ithappen and may drain from existing cities em-ployment base important to their vitality. A coor-dinated effort with the cities and Blaine Countythat sets realistic business recruitment, support,and retention goals should be part of ongoing dis-cussions to determine how to integrate commer-cial development into the new town in a waythat supports countywide economic developmentgoals. More information is available through theInternational Economic Development Council,www.iedconline.org.

Economic Contribution. A subdivision contributesminimally to the tax base, a planned communitycontributes some increase, and a new town cre-


ates the potential for a diverse tax base and jobgeneration. In an economic development sense,subdivisions and planned communities provideresidents who will shop and do business locally.Subdivisions and planned communities do not cre-ate permanent jobs. A new town, in order to sus-tain itself over time, will have land use categoriesthat create a diverse tax base and an economicdevelopment strategy to attract and sustain per-manent jobs in the community. Economic develop-ment strategies, as indicated previously, must bebased on local and regional employment trends.

Spring Creek has the opportunity to work withthe county and the cities to identify types of lo-cally based employment that could be nurturedand grown in the valley. If the airport is relocatedin proximity to the Spring Creek area, the poten-tial exists for spin-off businesses that support theairport or need a location close to an airport. Hav-ing these businesses relate to and support the eco-nomics of a new town seems like a better alterna-tive than merely having a single-use business parklocated next to the airport. How the airport andthe Spring Creek development can work togetherneeds to be explored jointly by the developers,Blaine County, and the city of Hailey.

Governance. Both subdivisions and planned com-munities come under the auspices of the local ap-proving jurisdiction. A planned community mayalso be overlaid with a homeowners association(HOA), local improvement district (LID), or simi-lar structures with their own rules (covenants)that are enforced by that association or district.Often, community members pay dues to that orga-nization. A new town may also have an HOA orLID, depending on how infrastructure, parks, andother amenities will be operated and paid for overtime. It will also have its own form of self-sustain-ing government that could control and operatethese same amenities.

A new town in Blaine County would operate in thesame manner as existing cities and have similarworking relationships with the county. It may de-cide to contract for certain services that are al-ready offered by the county, such as policing ser-vices provided by the sheriff’s office. However,a trademark difference between a new town and a planned community or subdivision is self-

governance and the accompanying self-responsi-bility that goes along with governance, which ismanifested in the physical presence of a city officethat focuses the civic functions and discussions ofthe community. Adding another city to the countypolitical landscape may seem daunting, but the up-side is that county elected officials and staff willnot be directly burdened with the demands of somenumber of new residents and businesses. The day-to-day issues of potholes, snow removal, tree re-placement, trash removal, and the like will bedealt with at the new local level. The ongoing re-gional issues can be funneled through locally electedofficials, rather than managed by ad hoc special in-terest groups that may or may not represent thelegitimate interests of the entire community.

Program Elements Constructs The panel suggested consideration of the follow-ing program elements in developing the SpringCreek proposal.

Residential Offerings. Residential offerings pro-vide the backbone of the new town, the canvasthat communities are built upon. In places thatcelebrate diversity and desire to maintain it, theproduct mix and residential offerings are criticalcomponents of the proposed new town program.In ensuring availability of diverse products at alltimes in the community’s evolution, a detailedanalysis must be completed of market potentialfor a range of products, and creative land plan-ning, architectural design, and capital structuremust be brought to bear.

Given national and local trends, the programshould include a range of densities (one unitper acre up to 40-plus units per acre) and producttypes (single-family homes, townhomes, cottageproducts, cohousing products, mixed-use apart-ments over retail centers) to provide a variety ofliving options for single families, single-parenthouseholds, seniors, and intergenerational buyers.

Recreation/Open Space. In a setting as spectacularas the Wood River Valley, recreation is not just anamenity but an everyday part of life. Planning ofthe new town will require creativity and responseto obvious market expectations for access to ameni-ties such as hiking, biking, and cross-country ski-ing trails. Other venues that build community and

strengthen quality of life include more-passivenature watching, interpretive open space, and for-mal and informal parks that relieve higher-densityproducts, create a neighborhood focus, and pre-serve interior natural resources connected toexterior open lands.

Employment. The difference between bedroomsubdivisions and real towns is the ability to worknear your home. For Spring Creek, a serious testof the commitment to creating a new town will begoing beyond simply allocating land for commer-cial and retail uses and proactively programming,choreographing, and potentially underwritingthe creation of career-oriented professional jobswithin the community. This course is not for theweak of heart, and in a transportation-challengedsetting such as the Wood River Valley, attractinga major employer is not likely. A more creativeapproach is job incubators and development assis-tance for entrepreneurs that will help sow theseeds for future growth of companies that cancall the new town—and the county—their home.Another potential source of jobs would be if senior


executives who come to the valley for quality-of-life reasons decided to relocate their busi-nesses, assuming high-quality commercial spacewas available.

Services/Infrastructure. In a new town context, in-frastructure must be seen as more than simply arequirement for approval. A holistic approachthat seizes on the resource opportunities of infra-structure, such as creative use of reclaimed waste-water, harvesting and cleansing stormwater, andalternative transportation modes supported bythe community, is essential to thinking beyondthe simple engineering solution.

Funding of infrastructure operations and mainte-nance must be carefully structured so that ade-quate resources are available to create a high-quality system that meets user expectations whilenot unduly burdening homeowners and their totalcost of ownership. This factor is particularly im-portant in the face of the high percentage of af-fordable housing sought for the town.

The Hailey/Sun Valleyairport is a hub for BlaineCounty.


Community and Civic Facilities. In new towns, civicfacilities—such as churches, library, town halls,schools, and fire stations—serve a both pragmaticand symbolic role. As organizations, they play animportant role in bonding community membersaround spiritual beliefs, their children’s education,or pride of location within a well-managed commu-nity (see sections regarding Community Servicesand Community Organizations). But the buildingsthat house these services and organizations alsoplay an important role in the physical presence ofthe community. They should be in key locationswhere they emphasize the community’s form andprovide a focal point for a collection of residences.When organized in an appropriate manner on theirsite or parcel, these civic buildings provide a civicopen space, defined through an adjoining park orlarger setback, to contrast with the surroundingdensity of housing or nonresidential uses.

Although church generation numbers vary widelyby community and location, a rule of thumb is toprovide one two- to three-acre church site per 500to 1,000 residential units. School generation num-bers are typically provided by the local educationauthority. Districts typically have good generationdata based on overall community trends, but thespecific target market envisioned for the commu-nity needs to be examined, and districtwide gen-eration assumptions should be refined based ontargeted household composition. At a minimum, anew town should have at least one elementaryschool because a school provides one of the mostimportant community symbols and functions inany new town development. It is where both chil-dren and parents grow connected to their commu-nity and other residents and, if designed properly,can demonstrate the architectural quality andcharacter of the community.

Fire stations and town halls are two icons ofsmall-town life. For a new town in Blaine County,they would both provide valuable services and dis-tinguish the town from a planned community. Thesize, location, and programming of each buildingneed to be developed in conjunction with the ap-propriate service providers, but their location andexterior design should be carefully considered tooptimize the capital investment, to ensure theysupport the community’s theme and marketing

message, and to avoid producing something valueengineered to the point of being a community eye-sore or opportunity missed.

Retail and Office. The retail component and office/employment components of a new town are impor-tant distinguishing features that separate new townsfrom subdivisions and even planned communities.However, they are also the most difficult to de-velop, lease, and make economically viable in smalltowns with limited residential support. In newtown development around the country, a small re-tail or mercantile component is increasingly recog-nized as an important element creating a sense ofplace in new communities. Yet without a signifi-cant commitment of annual subsidy these ele-ments rarely can stand on their own financially.

One of the country’s best examples of leading witha crossroads mercantile to anchor a new commu-nity is found in Boise, Idaho, in the town of Hid-den Springs. Although the developer constructeda compelling 6,500-square-foot community-servingstructure with post office, convenience store, café,day care, and sales center, even ten years after itsopening the center requires in excess of $80,000 insupport subsidies. Nevertheless, its presence andservice as a community gathering point and therole it plays in reducing vehicle trips for conve-nience goods cannot be measured in dollars.

Empirical evidence from new towns and plannedcommunities around the country indicates thedifficulty of supporting more than about 15,000square feet of retail or commercial space withina new town of only 1,000 residential units. As thetotal count increases to about 2,000 units, retailofferings that include a small greengrocer, drycleaner, ATM, bakery/café, coffee shop, news-stand, and the like all become more viable.

Transportation. If the Spring Creek developmentteam is successful in locating the town centeralong Highway 75, its capacity to support moredepth of program also increases its viability. If apark-and-ride facility and transit stop are woveninto the town center, the viability becomes evenhigher, because additional people are added tothe customer base, increasing visible vitality andspending power. Also, the relocation of the airportmay create demand for transit facilities at this lo-


cation. Finally, a new town development has thepotential for a design and density patterns thatsupport an internal transit system and alternativetransportation modes.

Community Connections Constructs The panel believes the following community at-tributes need to be considered when reviewinglarge-scale projects.

Community Organizations. How does the subdivi-sion, planned community, or new town relate tocommunity organizations? Community organiza-tions grow in a variety of ways. In a subdivisionor planned community, people will plug into exist-ing organizations as needed and appropriate. In aplanned community, an HOA or similar organiza-tion often is created to administer special assess-ments to maintain open space or other amenitiesheld for private use by the residents and ownersof that development. Sometimes these organiza-tions also function as community organizations.But they often fail to integrate into existing com-munity systems because their reason for being isexclusive to a particular development. Such orga-nizations can be problematical because they neverreceive adequate training on their role.

In a new town scenario, the potential exists to addto the regional pool of community organizationsconstructively. Some regionally based organiza-tions may benefit with new memberships locatedin previously underrepresented areas. New op-portunities for the pooling of resources can occur.

In the case of Spring Creek, community organiza-tions may be key players in establishing the senseof place and belonging for the future residents ofthe new town. Although a new town’s future resi-dents need to belong to and participate in county-wide organizations to become part the human fab-ric that is Blaine County, they will need their ownset of community-based organizations to deal withand focus the energies of the local population inand around Spring Creek itself. Developing the in-stitutional knowledge and capability to organizefor local community goals will help identify SpringCreek as a community in its own right, not an ap-pendage to or unwanted stepchild of the county.The residents of Spring Creek will ultimatelyhave issues and needs different from those of

other county residents or the residents of the ex-isting cities in the county. Locally based commu-nity organizations can help solve those local issuesas they arise—organically, flexibly, and with localresources. In Blaine County, the school districtcurrently offers child-based programs that sup-port community-based initiatives. This resourcecould be used to assist in community building inSpring Creek or another new town.

Blaine County has countywide organizations al-ready in place that will want to call upon the en-ergy and resources of the new residents of SpringCreek. Sharing in community-based efforts toachieve common goals of countywide organiza-tions keeps the identity of the county intact. Thecurrent division of the county into north and southelements does little to build the kinds of relation-ships needed to solve regional problems of trafficand environmental degradation or to maintainstrong schools.

Creating a structure for community organizationsin a new town should address the following issues:

• Providing land and building space for community-based organizations as part of the development;

• Establishing an orientation and training manualfor community-based organizations;

• Providing information on existing community-based organizations and services offered;

• Working with the county to identify gaps incommunity services and explore alternatives tobridge identified gaps;

• Establishing clear lines of communication be-tween community-based organizations, SpringCreek officials, and county officials to workthrough new community-based issues asthey arise;

• Establishing clear roles and responsibilities forthe governance of Spring Creek and providingassistance to local community groups who iden-tify unmet community needs.

Community Services. Community services—includ-ing schools, police, fire, emergency services, parksand open space, recreation, libraries, arts and cul-ture, and performing arts—are as important as


physical infrastructure, such as water, sewer, andstorm drainage, to meet the physical needs of anycommunity. Whereas some, such as police and fire,are directly related to life/safety, the other less-tangible services are important components ofwhat makes a community livable.

The subdivision typically uses existing services,while a planned community may create its own spe-cial taxing entity to pay for specific services thedevelopers consider important amenities that willappeal to their target market. Rarely will either ofthese types of developments create its own districtand hire its own staff to cover the life/safety services.

A new town has the opportunity to provide a gamutof services, drawing on its own taxing authorityand ability to contract with existing serviceproviders to bring the appropriate level of serviceto its constituent residents. A new town also hasthe ability to directly control the service provider,if it chooses to staff and support that service. Itcan also contract for services with an existing ser-vice provider, such as using the county for policeprotection. These services are usually providedthrough an intergovernmental agreement thatspells out the conditions for service and costs.

Sometimes the cultural aspects of community ser-vices are provided through nonprofit organizations.Whether government sponsored or through non-profit organizations, a subdivision would rarelyprovide land or monetary support for such efforts.The planned community will plug into existing re-sources or may create its own through a specialdistrict—which may be considered private ameni-ties, not open to the public at large.

The new town scenario would provide culturalamenities open to the public at large, not just theresidents of the community. Such amenities are ahallmark characteristic of a new town compared toother development types; they represent the waya new town could practically and beneficially addto the depth of community services on a regionalbasis. Faith-based organizations and other non-governmental groups also have a place in the newtown scenario. Land or buildings for these groupscan be incorporated into the overall developmentplan for a new town. Planned communities some-times have such organizations, but their ability to

locate in a planned community depends more onwhat the market will bear (which equates to theavailability of land at a cost that such groups canafford).

Spring Creek has the opportunity to create a fullrange of community services, but the servicesmust be developed in a way that fosters regionalcooperation rather than regional competition forscarce volunteer and monetary resources. It alsohas the opportunity to control the level of serviceand quality of life/safety service it provides to itsresidents, if it chooses to have its own staff dedi-cated to those services. In addition, the physicalpresence of a town government—no matter howsmall an office—will provide a central location forthe discussing, processing, and initial meetingvenue for startup groups, educational programs,and even local cultural events.

Through the development of a new town, BlaineCounty has the opportunity to provide a betterlevel of service to other communities at the southend of the valley. Existing levels of service shouldnot be compromised by new development, however.

In providing community services through a newtown the following issues must be considered:

• Investigating current gaps in service levelswith existing life/safety service providers;

• Identifying satisfactory life/safety levels of ser-vice for new development at various densityscenarios and mixes of uses;

• Identifying alternatives for providing a fullrange of cultural, health, and educational ameni-ties in the new town such as bookmobiles, trav-eling art shows, or mobile health clinics;

• Working with local cultural and educationalgroups to bring programs to the new town anddiscussing space needs and providing opportuni-ties for shared office space or remote office loca-tions on a rotating basis;

• Establishing a community service strategy aspart of the development phasing for the projectjointly with the service providers in the county.


The Blaine County 2025 process identified apreferred future for the Wood River Valley.It recommended that Blaine County retaintoday’s community character by limiting

growth outside of towns and promoting develop-ment within already developed areas. It allowssome clustered development to occur on the edgesof the existing towns, to protect natural resourcesand wildlife habitat. The preferred developmentscenario of the Blaine County 2025 developmentplan is intended to achieve the following goals:

• Limit growth occurring in the unincorporatedcounty to ensure efficient provision of countyservices;

• Conserve land and resources in rural and re-mote areas of the county;

• Conserve agricultural land and reduce develop-ment patterns that will interfere with agricul-tural operations;

• Increase protection of environmentally sensi-tive areas, such as wetlands, streams, and hillslopes.

The values listed in the Blaine County 2025 planinclude the following:

• Protecting natural resources;

• Developing efficient infrastructure and ser-vices;

• Achieving regional cooperation.

Scenarios C and D of Blaine County 2025 call for75 percent growth of development in towns andareas of city impact (ACIs) and 25 percent in theunincorporated county. Irrigated agriculturalareas in the southern part of the county (the Belle-vue Triangle) will continue in agricultural use.

Although the favored land use Scenario C of BlaineCounty 2025 did not preclude new towns, they

were designated as a development approach thatneeded more examination. Scenario D would haveexpressly allowed new town development if it hadbeen selected. Interestingly, the 2025 process foundthat a majority of people favored new towns as apotential development option.

The following general criteria are specified in BlaineCounty 2025 for the development of new towns:

• Location near a major road;

• Ability of the county, the developers, or both toprovide a community water and sewer systemand other services, such as police, fire, andschools;

• Location where the development would not af-fect sensitive environmental resources, such aswetlands, streams, rivers, wildlife habitats, orirrigated agricultural lands.

The Blaine County 2025 plan presupposes thatmore-specific criteria need to be developed toevaluate new town proposals and that a consultantwill be hired to elaborate those criteria.

Regional IssuesThe panel identified a number of regional issuesimperative in creating a new town at SpringCreek. The panel believes that enhanced valley-wide cooperation is essential for managing theidentified challenges. During its interviews withcommunity members, the panel found a disconnectbetween the county’s vision and that of the cities.The following items need to be considered in an ef-fort to improve regional cooperation:

• Providing affordable workforce housing: Theavailability of affordable workforce housing is akey to the long-term viability of the Wood RiverValley. The county and several cities have rec-ognized the urgency by implementing inclusion-ary zoning. Furthermore, a needs assessment is

Planning


underway and soon to be completed. This im-portant study ought to be the basis for settingspecific goals and policies because it shouldidentify long-term affordability needs.

• Siting the new airport in the south valley: Thepanel found strong support for the relocation ofthe airport to the south end of the valley. A newairport could improve the possibilities for eco-nomic growth by virtue of upgraded air serviceand new job creation. The relocation also pre-sents an opportunity to master plan the vacatedairport property, assuming that the relationshipwith the Friedman family can be resolved. Anopportunity exists for a mix of uses, includingaffordable housing.

• Preserving natural resources and open spacesof the valley: The fabric of open space that givesthe valley its unique backdrop and pastoral val-ley floors must be conserved and protected tomaintain long-term economic and biologic healthof the land. New development should be care-

fully accommodated to increase economic oppor-tunity and viability of the valley, but it shouldnot come at the expense of open-space assets.Instead, a comprehensive approach to creatingan interconnected, multipurpose, and biologi-cally functional “web” of green spaces must bedeveloped in advance of development pressures.These resources are often called “green infra-structure,” a term that signifies natural re-source assets, and should be viewed and orga-nized with the same level of urgency and rigoras gray infrastructure assets, such as roads,water, and sewer. Thus, the consequences of de-velopment must be considered within the con-text of their effect on open space and conserva-tion of the natural resources of the valley.

• Because water can be a limiting factor of the de-velopment capacity of a region, the long-termconsequences of water distribution should beconsidered at the regional level. All water con-servation measures should be considered, andpreservation of water quality is a high priority.

Typical “community char-acter” in Blaine County.


• Retaining and diversifying the regional employ-ment base: The increase in second-home owner-ship has shifted the traditional tourist-based econ-omy to a service-based market. Consequently,escalating real estate prices have increasinglykept workers from living in the Wood RiverValley. The demand for year-round retail ap-pears to have declined with the increase in sec-ond homes. During the interview process, thecyclical nature of the economy and the need formore-balanced demand were raised as concerns.

• Capitalizing on the distinctive nature of the re-gion: The Wood River Valley is a rare environ-ment. In order to enhance economic activity, aconcerted regional effort should be made to pro-mote and thereby capitalize on the area’s excep-tional amenities, such as skiing, ice skating, bik-ing, water sports, and cultural activities. If noneexists, a regional chamber of commerce or tour-ism board should be created.

• Annexing contiguous land outside city limitsand promoting sprawl: The panel is concernedthat the recommendation for growth in theACIs will promote continuing sprawl. Consider-ation of increased density and infill would bemore in line with smart growth tenets. Thepanel is also concerned about concentrating de-velopment in the canyons rather than pursuinginfill within the existing cities. Infill uses the ex-isting infrastructure more effectively while sup-porting local economic activity.

• Implementing a TDR program: The purpose ofa transfer of development rights (TDR) pro-gram is to convert large-lot development (oftenconsidered sprawl) to more compact develop-ment. However, in the panel’s experience, thecounty TDR program, as currently being imple-mented, combined with the county downzoning,appears to further perpetuate the problem ofsprawl rather than solve it. The problem is thatthe TDR receiving areas are sprinkled acrossthe Bellevue Triangle and the allowable lot sizesare fairly large. The consequence is sprawl-likedevelopment patterns.

• Confronting transportation implications: Trafficproblems must be approached from a regionalperspective. Should Spring Creek be developed,its linkage with existing employment centersneeds to be resolved because residents of thenew town will increase use of Route 75. Trafficmitigation plans need to be developed that in-clude improved bus service, park-and-ride lots,high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes, slug lines(informal car pools), and car pool support.

Relationship of Blaine County Land UseIssues to Spring Creek DevelopmentA new town at Spring Creek is an opportunity topositively influence regional well-being as wellas offer solutions to regional land use challenges.Spring Creek is capable of meeting the generalcriteria for new towns as specified in Blaine County2025. Although the development will create ad-verse effects, opportunities exist to mitigate thosethrough good land use planning and practices.

• Contribute to the increase in the supply of af-fordable housing through the construction of a

The upper left graphicdepicts Hailey, Idaho, in1967 and the upper rightgraphic depicts Hailey,Idaho, in 2005, illustrat-ing how towns tend togrow in Blaine County.


significant and diverse housing stock, includingworkforce housing.

• Capitalize on the new airport site by providingboth nearby housing, and office and commercialspace that could support new businesses.

• Assist in creating a new employment base forthe region.

• Provide water, sewer, and other infrastructurethat make the new town self-supporting.

• Be the receiving area for TDRs, absorb newgrowth, and shorten commute times for up-val-ley workers who are currently living in the farsouth end of the county or Twin Falls. The de-velopment of a new town could preserve or limitthe pressure on agricultural land by concentrat-ing development in a compact footprint.

Establishing a time frame for development of newtown criteria is essential. Rather than relying on aconsultant alone, the panel believes that thecounty should establish a process for discussingthe county’s criteria for a new town. This processwill enable the community to work together to un-derstand the role of a new town and that of thelarger community.

Development Timing for the SiteThe preferred scenario identified in Blaine County2025 does not appear to support the creation of anew town at this time. Instead, it appears to sup-port limited development in rural areas and can-yons. The anticipated downzoning by the countywill make seeking approval for new town develop-ment even more difficult.

The panel recognizes the potential value of thisnew town to the larger community. The panelstrongly encourages the developer and the countyto immediately begin discussions about the stepsnecessary for its implementation.

The panel found that additional information re-garding development of the site is necessary atthis time and does not recommend moving for-ward until more due diligence is completed. The

developer has an opportunity to gather the neces-sary information to answer many of the questionsthat have arisen during the panel’s process. Thisinformation is necessary for the entitlementprocess and includes housing types and demand,transportation impacts, site analysis, various envi-ronmental analyses, project feasibility, and marketstudies. An opportunity exists to coordinateSpring Creek’s development with the possible re-location of the airport. It can be a catalyst for thesuccess of Spring Creek.

The panel heard concerns from the existing townsabout economic and housing competition from anew town. During the likely predevelopment pe-riod, the existing towns will continue to grow to-ward buildout and avoid this competition. Large-scale development, by its nature, is a long-termprocess and patience is necessary.

The Spring Creek prop-erty offers a variety ofland forms from whichto plan a series ofneighborhoods.


The Spring CreekRanch consists of2,809 acres in south-central Idaho, in the

unincorporated area ofBlaine County. Specifically,the site has frontage onState Highways 20 and 75.The boundaries of the ranchproperty are depicted inthe illustration on page 8showing proposed land uses.The site features a diversemix of physical character-istics. Portions of the siteare actively irrigated andfarmed. An extensive nat-ural riparian corridor exists along the Big WoodRiver and a tributary stream paralleling Highway20. Much of the site is rolling, natural sagebrushon a series of knolls. These knolls define the devel-opment site, which totals approximately 650 to800 acres. This development area forms a bowlthat slopes toward a central drainage course flow-ing from east to west. Portions of the ranch thatwill not be converted to developed uses will bepermanently protected using conservation ease-ments or other appropriate mechanisms.

Site Attributes Understanding the opportunities and attributes ofthe Spring Creek site in terms of its capabilitiesfor supporting and complementing the needs of anew town or community is an important step indetermining its suitability. This understandingtakes into account the site’s human, emotional, andexperiential qualities as well as its physical andcontextual aspects and its setting, its relationshipto its surroundings in the larger setting, and howit is experienced on the site and in the site sur-rounds.

The following section de-scribes a number of key as-pects and highlights thatmake the Spring Creeksite an appropriate, dis-tinctive, and attractive op-tion for receiving urbandevelopment, in particulara place-making opportu-nity that represents all ofthe best qualities of a newtown. When compared tothe effects of sensitive in-fill within cities and contin-uing expansion into sur-rounding secondaryvalleys, onto hillsides, and

in annexed areas of existing cities, a new town de-velopment can be an attractive regional option forcity building in the valley by potentially reducingthose impacts.

Guiding Principles for a New Town atSpring CreekThe following eight principles should be applied tothe development of Spring Creek, specifically, aswell as adapted for other new towns in the county.

Build on the Site’s Sense of Place, Spirit, andIdentityThe planning and design of a new town must re-spect and build on the particular sense of placeand locality of the site in order to establish itsidentity. The central irrigated platform of theSpring Creek site, defined on three edges by hillsand mountain ridges, provides a dramatic andmemorable opportunity for creating an identifi-able place and setting for a new community. Thesense of enclosure offered by these hills is en-hanced by the spatial opening to the northwest to-ward distant views of the snow-covered peaks ofSoldier Mountain and “The Three Pigs” Peaks.

Site Suitability

Wetlands such as thesewill be preserved as partof the Spring Creek development.

Spring Creek Ranch, Idaho, June 25–30, 200627

The design of the town’s central open-space spine,or corridor, along the line of an existing drainagecourse can reinforce this significant site experienceand create enhanced value and identity for the site.Together, this spine, which defines the view to the“beyond,” and the location of the town center atits culmination reinforce the opportunity for creat-ing a distinctive and powerful place-making townidentity in Spring Creek.

The site’s internal bowl form increases the levelof consciousness of what can be seen above andbeyond—the cloudscape, night sky, and starscapeas well as the hills beyond as seen between moun-tain peaks. The Timmerman Hills on the northedge of the bowl provide a distinctive backdrop.Three peaks and the valleys between them formwindows to the hills and sky beyond. The centralhill form has a distinctive rock crown that is aunique site feature that must be acknowledged inthe design of the town’s open spaces and internalview corridors.

Create a Vibrant and Economically ViableCommunity Heart and Gathering PlaceA town requires a community heart and centralgathering place that is the identifiable visual andsocial focus. The Spring Creek site offers a specialopportunity to connect that symbolic heart of thetown with the larger landscape, making the sur-rounding vistas and vibrant community life a partof daily life. Open space can be organized aroundlong-distance views to dramatic mountains to thenorth and west. It also provides an opportunity toposition the Spring Creek town center in a loca-tion that builds on the visibility of its highway lo-cation with the primary entry on Highway 75. To-gether these two opportunities could create a towncenter that is strategically and experientially con-nected to both the landscape and human activity.

A town square, located at the terminus of a linearopen-space spine, will provide a community focusfor the entire town. Locating the town’s mixed-use center around this square capitalizes on theregional movement patterns and directs all resi-dent traffic through its Main Street, therebycreating a focus of human activity and commer-cial vibrancy.

20

75

View into SpringCreek Corridor

Distant Viewsbetween Peaks

Panoramic Window toSoldier Mountain and

“The 3 Pigs”Ditto Hill

Timmerman Hills

Central“Bowl”

Views toPeaks

Near to SouthSlopes Views

N

Timmerman Hills

South Slopes

Living

Living

South Slopes

Entry

Community Square

Mixed-Use Core (Office, Live/Work, Retail, Cultural)

Community Park

View to SoldierMountain Peak

KEY

20

75

Open-Space Spine

N

Build on Sense of Place

Create a “Heart”


Design for Transit-Oriented Densities and Land UsesIn view of the existing and projected traffic con-gestion on Highway 75, the development of SpringCreek must build on all opportunities for expand-ing movement options from the site into the val-ley. Reduction of automobile use should be a keyobjective during the early stages of planning andbuilding. Such options include building dedicatedbikeways and trails, extending existing transit in-frastructure to and through the site, providing apark-and-ride facility, and locating a carpoolingstation in a convenient location.

With the potential of a new airport south of thesite and the considerable commuter traffic movingnorthward on the 75 corridor, a regional transitsystem, such as bus rapid transit on dedicatedbus lanes, can reduce car traffic in the corridor.Together with a potential park-and-ride facility onthe edge of its town center and an intercommunitytransit link, these services could make living in theSpring Creek community with limited automobileuse a reality. In addition, looping this transit linkalong a higher-density residential spine throughthe site may be feasible. Each Spring Creek resi-dent could then walk to a transit stop within fiveminutes. This loop would also bring outside trafficactivity through the retail center.

An effective way of promoting transit use is to in-corporate land uses supporting special transit inthe development program. This opportunity existsat Spring Creek and could include the integrationof a major community-learning facility, a wellness/health center, or a similar use. Such facilities wouldalso provide an alternative activity focus for thecommunity and an economic driver.

The airport relocation site, just south of SpringCreek, presents the opportunity to develop withinthe new town without contributing to valley traf-fic congestion. Depending on the product mix de-livered at Spring Creek, facilities could provideemployment, thus reducing traffic on the northernportion of Highway 75. Park-and-ride facilitiescould further reduce regional traffic. Two entrypoints from the highway to the town would allow acontinuous bus route link from the airport to thevalley through the town and vice versa.

Carpool Station

Mixed-Use Core

Bus Stop

KEY

20

75

Valley toAirport Bus

HOV Lane

Potential InnerBus Loop

PotentialSpecial-Use

Site

5-Minute Walkto Bus Stop

N

20

75

To Ketchum–Hailey–Bellevue Bikeway

PedwayWoodCreekTrail

SpringCreekTrail

Farm

ThreePeaksTrail

Wurst Springs

Mixed-UseCore

N

Design for Transit-Oriented Densities

Maximize Connectivity

Spring Creek Ranch, Idaho, June 25–30, 200629

Maximize Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivityto the Valley and through the SiteAlthough the Spring Creek site is part of the pat-tern of linear communities along the valley, it isseparated from the city of Bellevue by severalmiles. The existing bikeway and pedestrian trailspine of some 20 miles, which connects the north-ern cities of the valley, offers the opportunity toexpand and connect the Spring Creek site as anintegral part of that existing linear pattern. Start-ing with a clean slate, Spring Creek can be de-signed to optimize pedestrian and bicycle use bothwithin the community and outside. This opportu-nity includes creating a finely woven network ofintown bike and pedestrian trails and properlyscaled and designed streets.

The panel recommends bike lanes, wide sidewalksand paths, and tree-lined streets. Bike trails andpedestrian paths in Bellevue could be extended toSpring Creek along the Highway 75 corridor andpotentially along the Wood River corridor, offer-ing a multitude of movement options for bothrecreational and commuting purposes.

Integrate Diverse Density with Site Form The antithesis of sprawl is compact developmentwith clearly defined and permanently protectededges. Achieving higher densities of residentialdevelopment results in a compact footprint andthereby limits the effects of sprawl. The signifi-cant size and consolidated ownership of the en-tire Spring Creek town site allows the control ofdensity and built form to create comfortable andneighborly interfaces—a major issue that is diffi-cult to address within infill sites of existing cities.

The central bowl section of the Spring Creek siteis focused around a drainage course and open-space spine. The edges of this “valley” slope gen-tly upward toward the surrounding hillsides. Thistopography presents the opportunity to integratehigher-density uses along this central open-spaceamenity and progressively transition medium- tolower-density housing forms onto the upper slopesoverlooking the valley floor. These side valleyslopes would allow views over the town centerand to the hills beyond.

20

75

N

Timmerman Hills

Low

Low

Medium

Medium

High

High

Mixed-Use Core

Diversity of Housing Types/Densities/Incomes

South Slopes

KEY

Open-Space Corridor

Increasing Densitytoward Green Corridor

Decreasing Densitytoward Hills

20

75

N

Timmerman Hills

Mixed-Use Core

Views to Town Nonexistent

Squeeze Point

View Opens to Town

KEY South Slopes

NewTownSite

Town Form andPresence Expressed

along Highway

RuralOpen

Space

Integrate Diverse Density

Protect and Enhance Viewsheds

Protect and Enhance Scenic Valley ViewshedsThe hills that embrace and encircle the town foot-print also play an important role as a visual bufferfrom Highway 20 to the north and much of High-way 75. In effect, they make the development in-visible from those major corridors.

The protection of the rural setting and experienceis of paramount importance to the residents of theexisting valley cities. The approach to the SpringCreek site from Highway 75 is one that offers adramatic arrival experience. While the TimmermanHills provide a visual barrier on approach fromboth north and south, the highway cuts throughthese hills in a narrow gap, thereby revealing thetown form in a limited portion where the bowlform of the valley opens to the north and west.

The experience of town form and presence is onethat is inherent to the setting of the existing citiesin the valley where the highway passes througheach city consecutively. In the case of Spring Creek,the experience of the town center located alongthe highway edge is that of passing by and experi-encing its form and profile without the inherenttraffic effects of the highway on its pedestrianamenity. Traditional hill and valley towns through-out the world have built on the principle of reveal-ing their presence and character in powerful wayswithout allowing major traffic routes to destroytheir environment. This opportunity is an achiev-able objective on the Spring Creek site.

Connect with the Countryside and NatureThe essence of development in the valley has beenthat of discrete towns or cities surrounded by openspace, and rural and agricultural lands. Over timethis clearly defined relationship has eroded as thetowns have expanded into the surrounding valley.

A sense of connection with the rural countrysideis important in respecting the development pat-tern in the valley. The Spring Creek site, by virtueof its self-containment, surrounded by conserva-tion lands and steep topography and riparianways, can build on these connections.

Future Spring Creek residents will live in a smalltown set into an infinite landscape of thousands ofacres where links to trails, wildlife, and native veg-etation create a sense of connectedness with the


20

75

N

Hills

New Town

Conservation ConservationWood River

Corridor

Wetlands/Agriculture

Spring CreekCorridor

Mahoney Flat

RuralOpen Space

HinterlandConservation

20

75

N

Riparian CorridorValley Floor

Steep Topography

New Town Site Edges

Conservation Lands

Highway Corridoras District Edge

Connect with Nature

Create Strong Community Boundaries


site and make it compatible with community val-ues for preserving the rural setting. These con-nections will be accomplished and reinforced onthree levels: visual, contextual, and functional.

Create Strongly Defined Community Boundariesand a Compact FootprintThe challenges of sprawl—its undifferentiated de-velopment, consumption of important natural re-sources, lack of community diversity, and economichomogeneity—can often be addressed effectivelyby limiting the development footprint into a com-pact pattern. Implicit in this form of communitydevelopment is the need to provide for a broadervariety of residential typologies.

Higher densities and narrower streets can signifi-cantly reduce effects on the natural environmentand create a pedestrian-friendly and neighborlyliving experience.

The Spring Creek site has all of the characteris-tics that would allow it to achieve a limited, com-pact footprint. The steep hillside slopes to thenorth and west, rural conservation areas to thesouth, the Spring Creek Valley and riparian cor-ridor to the north, and the Highway 75 corridor to the east all result in a finite community foot-print that can never be expanded or extendedbeyond those limits. All these elements lead toa more pedestrian-friendly and neighborly liv-ing experience.

An Advisory Services Panel Report

Domestic Water Supply, Treatment, and DistributionAt this time, the mix of land uses and extent of de-velopment in the new town is unknown. Generallyspeaking, residential uses are traditionally consid-ered as demanding approximately 150 gallons perday (gpd) of water per person. That demand con-siders both domestic water needs and landscapeirrigation needs traditionally associated with de-velopment. Actual water use is often considerablyless than this 150-gallon estimate. Nonresidentialuses vary in their water demands.

Water conservation should be emphasized in thisnew town proposal. Appropriate water conserva-tion techniques include using low-flow fixtures andappliances in buildings, using native and drought-tolerant planting materials for landscapes, and im-plementing water reuse opportunities. Conserva-tion techniques can easily reduce traditional waterdemand by 20 percent. If the project is more ag-gressive in its goals and approaches, it should beable to reduce traditional water demand by asmuch as 50 percent.

For discussion purposes, the panel assumed the newtown would include approximately 1,000 dwellingunits with a mix of densities and housing types. Inaddition, the project would likely include employ-ment, retail, institutional, and open space uses. Asample water demand chart (figure 3) is includedto provide an idea of the amount of water rightsthat might be needed for a project of this magni-tude.

In addition to the land uses shown in the samplechart, the community might include approximately30 acres of irrigated open space for active recre-ation. Each acre of irrigated open space will re-quire approximately 1.1 million gallons of waterper acre per year, representing a total annual de-mand of 33 million gallons.

Creating a new community on the SpringCreek site will require developing signifi-cant infrastructure systems. This sectiondiscusses the infrastructure considerations

for a new town.

Wet UtilitiesTo serve the community, a water and sanitarysewer district will be established to build, operate,and maintain water and sanitary sewer facilities.An extensive study is needed to analyze the vari-ous service strategies for addressing water andwastewater needs in the community. The studywill reveal the cost-effectiveness of various ap-proaches. The size of the development will deter-mine the practicality of the studied options. Inthat analysis, recognizing the interplay betweenvarious types and sources of water is important.

For example, landscape irrigation can use non-potable water. In a large development, treatingwater to a potable standard for landscaping pur-poses is not cost-effective; running dual water dis-tribution systems (potable and nonpotable)through the community is cheaper than bearingthe cost of treatment to satisfy the total water de-mand. However, because the size of one of the dis-tribution systems is controlled largely by fire-fighting water demand, the duplicative cost of thesecond water distribution system may not be off-set by the cost savings of downsizing the watertreatment plant. In that case, the decision regard-ing separation of the two water systems shouldthen consider the operation and maintenance costsof both approaches and the overall goals of thecommunity. Are the environmental benefits ofseparating the systems of sufficient value to offsetthe difference in cost? Some of the considerationsand strategies that should be examined in a waterand wastewater infrastructure service study arediscussed in the following sections.

Infrastructure and Phasing

32

The Spring Creek Ranch has a combination ofsurface water rights and groundwater rights. TheIdaho state courts are currently reviewing waterrights within the Wood River Basin. The rightsheld by the Spring Creek Ranch are very senior.Nonetheless, the court decision may reduce thesurface rights allocations currently used on theproperty. The water rights assigned to the ranchare still being clarified, but perhaps as much as 90 million gallons of surface water rights are avail-able. These rights are supplemented by availablegroundwater rights.

Water rights used for agricultural irrigation pur-poses are used only seasonally. Water required toserve a community demands a reliable, year-roundsupply of water. Ideally, water would be divertedfrom the Big Wood River for use within the com-munity. Such diversions likely will be limited tosome percentage of available flow. That limitationmay cause a need for seasonal storage of raw wateror for supplementing surface water supplies withgroundwater sources.

A new water treatment plant will need to be con-structed on site to satisfy potable water needs.Raw water could be used for landscape purposesand fire fighting. If raw water is used for either orboth of those purposes, treatment and storage re-quirements for potable water supply will be sig-nificantly reduced, but dual water distributionsystems will be required—one for potable waterand one for raw water. The total water demandfor the community will determine whether thisapproach is cost-effective.

Given the relatively minor changes in elevationanticipated within the development area, only onepressure zone is anticipated to be required toserve the new town. Water will need to be storedat a sufficient elevation to pressurize the distribu-tion system. The placement of both the treatmentplant and the storage facility are critical decisions.

Water storage needs are typically calculated asthe largest of fire-fighting demand, maximumpeak-day demand, and emergency supply (typi-cally two days at average daily demand). Studyof the potential locations for water supply storagefor the system should consider service needs, en-vironmental effects, aesthetics, and costs (includ-ing pumping).

Sanitary Sewer Collection and TreatmentTraditionally, sanitary sewer demand is consideredto be approximately 80 percent of water demand.This estimate is very conservative in terms of siz-ing wastewater facilities, which in reality often gen-erate a far lower percentage of total water usage.Still, for the purposes of this discussion, 80 percentof total water demand was used. Therefore, usingthe sample water demand analysis provided, waste-water treatment demand could be in the range of0.57 to 0.36 million gallons per day.

A new wastewater treatment plant will be neededto provide this service. The treatment approachto use at the plant and the level to which to treateffluent should be carefully studied in light of theoverall goals of the community, overall waste-water generation, and potential disposal options.

Figure 3Hypothetical Water Demand at Spring Creek

Land Use Quantity Traditional Demand 20% Reduction 50% Reduction

Residential 1,000 dwelling units 330,000 gpd 264,000 gpd 165,000 gpd2.2 persons per unit

Employment/Retail 70 acres 175,000 gpd 140,000 gpd 87,500 gpd2,500 gpd/acre

Institutional 20 acres 60,000 gpd 48,000 gpd 30,000 gpd3,000 gpd/acre

Total 565,000 gpd 452,000 gpd 282,500 gpd



Treated wastewater effluent is a potential and en-vironmentally conscientious source of nonpotablewater. If wastewater is treated to a tertiary level,the effluent could be used to irrigate public openspace within the community. It would likely needto be supplemented by raw water supplies depend-ing on the availability of treated effluent and thedemand for irrigation water. Recycling treatedwastewater for landscape irrigation can be consis-tent with sustainability goals if the energy de-mands for pumping the water are not excessive.

If treated wastewater is not used for landscapeirrigation, it may only need to be treated to a sec-ondary level. At this treatment level, disposal op-tions include direct discharge into certain classesof streams and land disposal onto crops not in-tended for human consumption. Alfalfa is an ex-cellent choice of potential crops. With directstream discharge, both the quality of the effluentand the temperature of the release water need tobe matched to the receiving waters.

The desirability of various disposal methods willbe influenced by the associated storage needs ofthe treated effluent. If land application is selected(either onto landscape areas or agricultural areas),the effluent can be used only seasonally. Duringthe remainder of the year, treated effluent wouldneed to be disposed of by an alternative method orstored. If direct release into a stream is selected(either directly from a mechanical plant or follow-ing treatment in constructed wetlands), releaserates may be influenced by the available naturalflow in the stream channel. If natural flows areminimal, either the quality of the release waterwill need to be increased, or the rate of releasereduced, which could create a need for seasonalstorage.

Created wetlands can be used as part of the treat-ment train for wastewater as long as human con-tact can be strictly avoided. Created wetlands canbe an appropriate buffer for natural wetlands andcan actually enhance the overall health of the wet-lands ecosystem.

Other considerations for the type of wastewatertreatment selected include the methods of disin-fection and sludge disposal, the capital cost of thefacility, operation and maintenance costs (includ-

ing energy demands), sustainability goals forthe community, and phasing options. All of theseconsiderations are significantly influenced bythe quantity of wastewater generated by thecommunity.

In terms of wastewater collection system design,Spring Creek master developers should considerthe use of a small-diameter, pressurized systemin lieu of the more traditional large-diametergravity pipe collection approach. The former canbe less expensive to install and uses fewer re-sources because of the reduced pipe sizes. An-other example of the kind of sustainable designchoice that should be considered with sanitarysewers (and all wet utilities) is using native back-fill material in trenches instead of using importedbackfill. Again, depending on soil conditions, thisalternative can save construction costs and reducethe use of natural resources.

Storm DrainageCurrently in the Wood River Valley, storm drain-age runoff is not typically considered a major de-sign consideration for most developments. How-ever, in a new town setting, existing drainagepatterns can be significantly altered by the over-all size of the development footprint and the in-tensity of the development area core. At buildout,the amount of impervious surface coverage withinthe new town could be significant enough to changethe natural drainage pattern. These changes couldalter the rate of stormwater runoff, the total vol-ume of runoff, and the water quality of the runoff.Potential effects and suitable mitigations shouldbe studied during the design of the new townmaster plan.

Generally speaking, stormwater design conceptsthat strive to keep the water where it falls arebest. More information is needed about the soilcharacteristics on the site, but the soils appear topromote infiltration, creating minimal runoff.When pavement and rooftops cover portions ofthe site, natural infiltration will be reduced. Thefirst step in successfully managing stormwaterwill be limiting the amount of impervious surfaceon a site, while still achieving the developmentgoals of the new town concept. Narrowing stan-dard street sections, encouraging shared parking,providing appropriate parking ratios for proposed


land uses, and encouraging building configura-tions that go up rather than spread out are allstrategies for reducing the amount of imperviouscoverage in the new town. Substituting porouspavements for traditional asphalt and concretereduces runoff. Porous pavements that should beconsidered include compacted gravel, interlockingpavers, grasscrete, and porous asphalt and con-crete. Green roofs also reduce stormwater runoffwhen used instead of traditional roofs.

Managing runoff after it is generated is the nextchallenge. Extending the time of concentration forstormwater flows can often reduce the peak flowrate. Reducing peak flows allows the whole stormdrainage system to be downsized, saving moneyand resources. Extending the time of concentra-tion can have other benefits as well. If stormwateris allowed to form shallow pools, particulate mat-ter has a chance to drop out and settle; the waterthat continues downstream is cleaner.

Conveying stormwater in open channels ratherthan in pipes creates the opportunity for multiplebenefits. First, channels are cheaper to build thanpiped systems. Second, best management practicescan be designed into the channel to improve waterquality. Last, and perhaps most important, open-channel drainage systems can be designed in waysthat are attractive to both people and wildlife. Theexisting central drainage feature through the cen-ter of the development site represents a signifi-cant opportunity to incorporate a naturalizedswale amenity through the heart of the commu-nity that can create substantial drainage andwater-quality benefits.

Dry UtilitiesDry utilities include electrical service, telephone,internet access, cable television, and in some com-munities, natural gas. The developers will need towork closely with these service providers to en-sure that adequate facilities are provided for the

Right now, access to thesite is limited.


new community. Communication services of thehighest available quality will be particularly im-portant if progressive employers and residentsare to be attracted to the community. For exam-ple, high-speed, triple-play, and fiber-optic facili-ties are the current state of the art and must beavailable in the community.

Transportation Infrastructure The new town must have a well-planned and effi-cient transportation system. Congestion breedsfrustration and discontent. It also negatively af-fects air quality, noise, and energy consumption.The new town should develop strategies to reducevehicle trips that include ways to both eliminatevehicular trips and reduce trip length. Some of thetechniques that can achieve these goals are tooffer a compatible mix of uses within the commu-nity, colocate uses in a fine-grained pattern, pro-vide safe and convenient alternatives to vehiculartravel, and plan for technological advances intransportation.

The master plan for the new town should addressthe air quality and resource consumption issuesassociated with transportation. For example, thenew town should investigate the use of rubberizedasphalt. This paving material reduces noise, ex-tends pavement life, and creates a use for dis-carded tires. Second, encouraging (or requiring),through development standards, the availabilityof alternative fuels could provide a regional bene-fit. Street-lighting standards should protect nightsky conditions for wildlife protection and energyconservation reasons as well as preserving therural character of Blaine County.

The new town should be designed for vehicular ac-cess only from Highway 75. Extending the vehicu-lar transportation network across the ridgeline toHighway 20 could create significant aesthetic im-pacts, interfere with wildlife migration routes, anddamage the riparian resources along Highway 20.

Standard street sections should be developed foruse within the community. They should balancesafety and convenience considerations with the

benefits of reducing resource consumption, man-aging construction and maintenance costs, creat-ing walkable neighborhoods, and reducing the de-velopment footprint.

The transportation network should be developedwith thoughtful attention to bicycle and pedes-trian facilities. Plans should address both recre-ational and commuter needs.

Given the size of the planned new town, the oppor-tunity to develop transportation system manage-ment services through a homeowners associationor similar entity should be explored. These servicesmight include programs such as ridesharing orcarpooling organization services, or managementof a car-sharing program.

The viability of providing transit service in thenew community will be enhanced if the airport isrelocated to the south. Planning for the availabil-ity of transit service should be coordinated region-ally and involve plans for the airport.

Phasing of the DevelopmentPhasing any large development project is com-plex. Typically the goal is to identify a “doable”first phase that can be accomplished using exten-sions of existing infrastructure and minimizing up-front costs. That strategy will not be possible withthis new town proposal. The first phase of thisproject must include a significant amenities pack-age to create a sense of place and forge stronglinkages to other valley communities. In addition,major infrastructure investments will have to bemade to provide services to the first occupants ofthe new community.

Subsequent phases of the development can be de-fined in response to logical extensions of infra-structure and market forces.


Although much positive work has been re-cently accomplished, such as initiating aTDR policy, completing Blaine County2025, adopting inclusionary zoning, and pay-

ing attention to affordable housing needs, furtherefforts are needed to better determine the desir-ability and location of anynew town development.

The panel recommendsthe following action itemsto advance the decisionregarding a new town atSpring Creek. The panelemphasizes that new towndevelopment needs to bea joint private/public ef-fort (developer, county,and regional cities), andthese tasks need to be ad-dressed on a collaborative basis in the coming years.

• Design a regional economic development strategyto serve as the basis for formulating growth pol-icy. Such a strategy must address job creation andretention, economic sustainability, and employ-ment needs in both the public and private sectors.

• Define an affordable-housing plan and programthat will address both needs and solutions basedupon current data and verifiable experiences.

• Develop a detailed regional open-space plan as aframework for land use policy that defines thelocations of new development, transportationconnections, and the like.

• Adopt a regional transportation plan, which isessential to any new town decision, that consid-ers both nonvehicular modes and public transit.

• Refine TDR strategies and policies to betteridentify receiving areas, create a TDR market

mechanism, and establishmonitoring systems.

• Formulate detailed plan-ning criteria for determin-ing both the need for a newtown and the location ofsuch a town.

• Conduct a more extensivefeasibility study for this site(market analysis, trans-portation studies, environ-mental assessments) that

addresses in greater detail the constraints andconsequences of the developer’s proposed devel-opment concepts.

The panel believes that the concept of a new townin Blaine County is progressive and warranted.By continuing to be proactive in addressinggrowth issues—and growth is going to occur—thecounty can maintain its high quality of life and itsprivate partners can realize their developmentgoals.

Conclusion

The Wood River is anatural asset that thecounty is working hard to preserve.


ficer and senior vice president with EDAW (1994–2000) and a principal with Design Workshop (1987–1993). He has led award-winning projects in urbanrevitalization, new community, and high-end re-sort development throughout the world.

Nationally recognized as an articulate advocatefor environmentally responsible land develop-ment, Heid focuses on what he terms “commonsense sustainability.” With a keen ability to distillcomplex design ideas into easily grasped tech-niques, his current assignments include the follow-ing: visioning and development advisory servicesfor a 300-unit affordable housing, urban infill, tra-ditional neighborhood as a catalyst for revitaliza-tion of West Jackson, Mississippi; developmentadvisory services, including visioning, team man-agement, and green development techniques, for a1,000-unit affordable housing neighborhood on theformer Fort Ord base on the Monterey Penin-sula, California; development concepts, environ-mental and cultural resource easement strategies,and entitlement processing for a 14,000-acre con-servation community on the California coast; man-aging director of development for a 2,000-acre,$250 million resort community located in south-east Arizona; and research and author for theULI publication Greenfield Development withoutSprawl: The Role of Planned Communities.

Heid holds a master’s of real estate developmentfrom MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and abachelor’s of landscape architecture from theUniversity of Idaho. He is a member of the UrbanLand Institute and is regularly featured as aspeaker at annual meetings and conferences, suchas the Symposium on Sustainability sponsored bythe Heinz Foundation and ULI’s annual GolfCourse Community Forum. In 1999 he was se-lected to instruct the ULI/Conservation Fund’sworkshop in Environmentally Sensitive Develop-ment, a role he continues as the program entersits fifth year of national workshops. In 2003 he

James M. DeFranciaPanel ChairAspen, Colorado

DeFrancia is a principal of Lowe Enterprises,Inc., a national real estate development companyengaged in residential, commercial, and resort de-velopment, and president of its community devel-opment division. He has been involved in real es-tate development for more than 25 years; prior tothat, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy.DeFrancia is a trustee of the Urban Land Insti-tute, a member of the Northern Virginia Build-ing Industries Association, past national direc-tor of the National Association of HomeBuilders, a former Virginia representative to theSouthern Growth Policies Boards, and a formermember of the board of the Metropolitan Wash-ington Airports Authority. He has been a guestlecturer or panelist for the Bank Lending Insti-tute; the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; theGraduate School of Design, Harvard University;George Mason University; and George Washing-ton University.

DeFrancia is a 1963 graduate of the U.S. NavalAcademy, with postgraduate studies in businessand finance at the University of Michigan.

James HeidSan Francisco, California

Heid is president and founder of Urban Green,LLC. Begun in 2000, UrbanGreen provides advi-sory services and techniques for successful re-gional, new community, and urban infill develop-ment, while also taking on select developmentassignments as a partner or principal.

In more than 20 years of practice, Heid has es-tablished startup offices and led multinational de-sign practices. He was formerly chief operating of-

About the Panel


Hruda has more than 25 years of recognized de-sign achievement in new sustainable communityand mixed-use projects. His firm’s clients are pri-vate and governmental, domestic and interna-tional. His firm’s projects are located in variouscities in Canada, the United States, China, Aus-tralia, and Southeast Asia. He has lived for vary-ing periods in Boston, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary,Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney.

In Vancouver, Hruda was responsible for planningand urban design of the Coal Harbour project onthe Downtown Waterfront and the GranvilleSlopes neighborhood plan in False Creek. Else-where, he was responsible for the urban design ofthe Rouse Hill Town Centre Master Plan, a majortransit-oriented, mixed-use town center in Syd-ney, Australia, and the Galisteo Basin Village inSanta Fe, New Mexico, a compact, sustainablenew community. Recently, he was responsible forthe urban design and planning of the CharlestonSquare Town Centre Master Plan, a redevelop-ment of an existing regional retail center in Syd-ney; the Liangzhu New Town for 50,000 people,which includes a major cultural tourism compo-nent; and the Festival Place Town Centre inHangzhou, China.

Hruda’s community involvement includes a six-year appointment to the city of Vancouver UrbanDesign Panel, the city’s Council appointment advi-sory group, including one year as chairman of thepanel. He is currently a member of the Urban De-sign Review Panel for the state-owned real estatedevelopment corporation, Landcom, in Sydney.

Rachelle L. LevittWashington, D.C.

Levitt is a city planner and currently overseesand directs the real estate practice and land usepolicy activities of the Urban Land Institute asexecutive vice president. In that capacity, shemanages a total program budget of over $15 mil-lion. She works with staff and ULI members onplanning, designing, and implementing the re-search, educational programs, advisory services,awards, and competitions of ULI. These programsinclude handbooks, topical publications, tool kits,conferences, workshops, and real estate and urban

taught the ULI’s Advanced Residential Develop-ment School in San Francisco and in 2004 pre-sented at the Annual Partners for Smart Growthconference in Portland, Oregon.

Linda HoffmannFort Collins, Colorado

Hoffmann is a principal at Nolte Associates, Inc.,a civil engineering, surveying, and planning com-pany of approximately 420 employees. She hasworked for Nolte for 20 years and currently servesas the director of the Fort Collins, Colorado, office.She holds a bachelor’s of landscape architecturefrom Kansas State University. Hoffmann hasspent most of her professional career in the plan-ning arena working in land development and head-ing public-involvement programs for large publicinfrastructure projects. She has led master-plan-ning efforts for many large, mixed-use projectsand has directly overseen the civil engineering in-frastructure planning efforts on projects rangingin size from 50 acres to well over 5,000 acres.

Hoffmann is an Associate Member of ULI andserves on the Explorer Committee for the Col-orado District Council. She serves as lead contactfor Nolte’s corporate membership to the UnitedStates Green Building Council. She is LEED® ac-credited and is a member of Nolte’s core strategygroup for sustainable design. Hoffman is a trusteefor the High Plains Environmental Foundation inLoveland, Colorado, and previously served as anadjunct professor in the Landscape Architectureprogram at the University of California at Davis,where she taught studio design courses to juniorsand seniors.

Joseph HrudaVancouver, Canada

Hruda is founder and president of CIVITAS UrbanDesign & Planning, Inc., and principal of CIVITASArchitecture, Inc., a multidisciplinary urban de-sign and planning consulting practice. He is a Har-vard University master of architecture graduate,and a Gold Medalist recipient from the Universityof Manitoba.


policy research, whose findings are ultimatelypublished. She also serves as publisher of ULI’sbooks and magazines (approximately 20 books peryear), which includes the editing, design, andprinting of those publications.

Levitt has been responsible for the research andcompletion of numerous publications on real es-tate development and land use planning, includingretail, office, industrial, and residential develop-ment and such policy issues as smart growth, urbanrevitalization, and housing. She has written onthe subjects of city revitalization, research parks,public/private partnerships, commercial develop-ment, and real estate trends.

She has been instrumental in the expansion ofULI into Europe and has organized ULI’s Euro-pean Real Estate Finance, Development, and In-vestment Conference and its other conferencesin Europe. Levitt has also developed the curricu-lum for ULI’s real estate workshops and real es-tate school. Furthermore, she has managed theULI program that includes comprehensive realestate research, handbook development, publish-ing, conference program development, real estatefinancial information, primary data collection, andadvisory services to communities and privatebusinesses on solving land use and developmentproblems. Most recently, Levitt has been leadingULI’s efforts on improving the development pat-terns in fringe suburban communities and will bestarting a new initiative on infrastructure finance.

Mary J. RobertsLittleton, Colorado

Roberts hold a master’s in urban planning degreefrom the University of Colorado at Denver, a mas-ter’s in public administration from the John F.Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and abachelor’s degree from Illinois State University.Although most of Roberts’ experience is in thepublic sector, she has also worked for private con-sulting firms and in the nonprofit setting. Her ex-perience ranges from managing programs aimedat enabling elderly homeowners to stay in theirhomes to preparing comprehensive plans for smalltowns to providing affordable housing in super-in-flated markets. She has worked for large and

small cities, such as the city of Denver and the cityof Aspen. In addition, she has experience in his-toric preservation, specific area planning, andstrategic planning.

Roberts is currently the community developmentdirector for the city of Littleton, a suburb of Den-ver with a population of 47,000. She manages a de-partment of 17 and has been with the city sinceOctober 2002. Her accomplishments to date in-clude enacting a downtown historic district, em-barking on an update to the city’s 25-year-old com-prehensive plan, successfully rezoning one of thecity’s largest remaining undeveloped parcels to ac-commodate mixed-use development, and coordi-nating with the city’s housing authority to provideappropriate affordable housing throughout thecity.

While with the San Francisco Bay Area RapidTransit District, Roberts undertook the agency’sfirst strategic planning effort since its inception.While working in her own planning consultingfirm, Roberts created a set of affordable housingpolicies for Pitkin County, Colorado.

Stan ZemlerVail, Colorado

Zemler signed on to become Vail’s town managerin October 2003 and is best known for his strongleadership skills as a consensus builder. He brings20 years of local leadership experience, havingserved as president and chief executive officer ofthe Boulder Chamber of Commerce before arriv-ing in Vail. Zemler’s current focus is to help guideVail’s expansive redevelopment, which includespublic and private investments of more than $1billion over the next four years. He also has beeninstrumental in organizing a regional transporta-tion coalition to address congestion and other im-pacts along Interstate 70. The collation includesrepresentation from 27 cities and counties withthe aim of developing a regionally preferred trans-portation plan with locally accepted solutions.

As Vail’s town manager, Zemler oversees a budgetof $42 million and approximately 200 full-time em-ployees. Direct reports include the assistant townmanager, community information officer, fire chief,


police chief, community development director,public works and transportation director, financedirector, information systems director, and humanresources director.

Before his appointment at the Boulder Chamberin 1997, Zemler served as acting city manager forthe city of Boulder during a transition period inwhich he helped the city council work through achallenging budget, resulting in cuts of $1.5 mil-lion. He served as deputy city manager for Boul-der for five years and was the executive directorof the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority from1995 to 1997, where he facilitated attempts to re-develop an aging shopping mall and orchestrated

development of an urban renewal plan in whichtax increment financing is being used for a hotelproject currently under construction. He becamedirector of the Office of Environmental Affairs forPolicy and Program Development for the city ofBoulder in 1985. He also was an adjunct professorat the University of Colorado College of Environ-mental Design from 1984 to 1992.

Zemler holds a bachelor’s degree in geographyfrom the University of Colorado at Boulder and anassociate’s degree in environmental studies fromthe College of Marin in California.

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