Skyline aims high with ‘The Cliffs’
By Brad Carlson
IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW
December 12, 2005

Skyline Development Co. which recently announced an extensive residential project called “The Cliffs” east of Boise, has been developing subdivisions in the Valley for decades. The company plans 1,200 to 1,400 homes on 707 acres in an area called Hammer Flat, near Idaho 21 and Warm Springs Boulevard. Half the acreage would be preserved as public open space and wildlife habitat, the planned community would have its own wastewater treatment system, and would be served by United Water Idaho.

Tucker Johnson, vice president of Skyline, said the firm,founded 38 years ago, has “tried to be a very diversified company in terms of our offerings,” he said.

BUCKLEY / IBR

Johnson’s father – Ted Johnson, 74, a former magistrate judge and U.S. Air Force attorney – founded Skyline and remains president. Skyline has more than 15 Treasure Valley neighborhoods totaling more than 5,000 homes under its belt – including The Hickories, Vienna Woods, Rockhampton and Hazelwood. Recently it redeveloped the shopping center that Paul’s Market anchors at Lake Hazel and Five Mile roads in southwest Boise.

“The idea was to create a livable environment, near schools and activity centers,” Tucker Johnson said. Skyline included lots for homes across the price spectrum, “which made sense, in terms of being a good business model. We’ve had repeat customers – builders and homeowners – in multiple Skyline communities." Now, he said, “a lot of what the market is looking for is diversity” of neighborhood and home type. At The Cliffs site, outside the Boise city limits, “we recognize the opportunity to create a quality community … a planned community,” he said.

The Cliffs ultimately will be “a reflection of what the market demands,” said Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Realtors. From Skyline he expects “a very high-quality development. They have a great reputation.” “The market likes the idea of planned communities, where you have a mix of retail and a mix of homes of different styles,” LaBeau said. “It’s a quality way to do large-scale developments, and you get parks, schools, infrastructure and services.” Local governments – particularly counties – often favor planned communities “because they are all-inclusive developments,” he said. They are popular among people who already live in an area and are looking for a different home, and people relocating from cities where this development approach is common.

In media coverage of the Dec. 2 Cliffs announcement, critics voiced concern that the project would put too much traffic on Warm Springs Road and impact wildlife negatively. Johnson said most residents would use Idaho 21 and Federal Way, and that plans to purify and recycle water would benefit the environment and wildlife. The project would take 10 to 15 years to complete, he said. As for financing, “we have personal financial resources available, as well as various lending institutions that have worked with us for years.”

Skyline is yet to submit formal plans under the Ada County Planned Community Ordinance, but the company has met with county planners informally, Johnson said. The ordinance requires compliance with 14 broad-ranging requirements. Areas of concern include impacts to school districts, infrastructure, wildlife and the environment.

“The intent of a planned community is to be a self-contained community, providing all its own services and a sense of community,” said Gerry Armstrong, Ada County Development Services director.

Hidden Springs northwest of Boise is said to be the only true planned community in the Treasure Valley, but the county Planning and Zoning Commission has endorsed Suncor Idaho’s plans for the Avimor community, slated north of Eagle along Idaho 55. Developers of Harris Ranch, farther west on Warm Springs,
have expressed interest in building as many as 300 more homes there. They halted construction about two years ago after a dispute over funding the planned East ParkCenter Bridge. The Ada County Highway District now plans to fund it with impact fees. Boise Mayor David Bieter has voiced support for re-starting Harris Ranch but not for The Cliffs. Boise aims to eventually extend its impact area to include the Cliffs site.

“The issue is less one of sprawl and more a question of what’s appropriate in terms of the intensity of development,” Bieter spokesman Michael Zuzel said. “You’re going from one home per 40 acres to multiple homes per acre, and is that appropriate in the eastern part of the Foothills?”
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