The Cliffs' Blog

Most of the discussion about The Cliffs has focused on wildlife and the natural environment, as well it should. But I don’t want us to overlook what kind of place The Cliffs will be for its human residents.

The word “community” gets used a lot – so much, in fact, that I think we should stop now and then to consider what it really means and does not mean.

“Community” is more than just people living and working in proximity. In fact, the auto-oriented areas that dominate Boise’s public realm erode community. Many great neighborhoods were originally laid out like a true community more than a century ago (the North End is an example of this traditional approach) and developers such as Skyline and others are now revisiting and improving on that.

More than anything, the concept of community is pedestrian based. We need physical settings to practice community and these include public squares, plazas, parks, recreation centers and walkable neighborhoods connected to small shopping centers with local businesses.

We advocate a socially sustainable model of development, much as our habitat restoration will be a model of environmentally sustainable development. At The Cliffs, we will have all the essential places necessary to conduct community. We are designing the development with sidewalks and pathways that connect neighborhoods with a school, the public square and neighborhood services and offices and each other. Pedestrians and bicyclists will have priority. We will connect to the regional Ridge-To-Rivers trail system, allowing all Ada County residents to enjoy the specialness of the plateau.

Ada County is an excellent place to develop a community such as The Cliffs. On March 8, the Idaho Statesman reported Boise is the fourth best city for walking nationally, according to Prevention magazine. Our area stood out for its percentage of adults who say they walk for exercise, our high rate of sports participation and our low crime rate, said Prevention magazine spokeswoman Sheryl Spain. The Cliffs will fit all of these criteria and will truly be a ‘liveable and walkable’community.

I recently came across an article on planned communities at Reason.org. It explains very well why, despite efforts to promote infill, the public is voting with is pocketbook and choosing planned communities. For those who see a better tomorrow and additional choices in living, these planned developments offer a sure way to restore community to American life.

After much careful thought, Skyline has appealed Boise City’s decision to move forward on expanding its area of impact to include The Cliffs. As we argued during the P&Z hearings (and again at City Council on February 22) the city didn’t hold a public informational meeting within the required time frame or in the correct location as required by the Boise City Code. The city also failed to properly analyze whether its efforts amount to an illegal taking under the federal and state constitutions. In addition, the City exceeded its authority by attempting to control federal lands and proposing policies for land that is not yet within its area of impact. The Petition for Judicial Review filed today in 4th District Court objects to the legal, factual, and procedural flaws in the City’s proceedings.

This move brings us no joy. We would much rather focus our resources on more productive efforts. Likewise, we would much prefer to see the city focus its attention on the pressing needs within its city limits.

The city needs to take stock of what it’s doing – and how. Previous conversations, letters, and emails from city staff show the city resolved to include the area before initiating the Area of Impact (AOI) public process. They also reveal the effort to expand the AOI is really just a surrogate effort to stop The Cliffs.

This brings to mind Boise City’s application for Judicial Review of the County’s decision to approve the Avimor planned community. The city claims the Ada County Commission decided to approve Avimor in advance, violating their role as independent reviewers and decision makers. It’s astounding the city would claim that Ada County’s decision on Avimor was prejudged, when the County took more than six months to make a decision and sent the Avimor application back for months of revisions.

Aside from the legal arguments, there are other good reasons why the city should stop its efforts to control land outside its area of impact. Boise has its hands full with problems inside its city limits…the failed Boise Tower project… the failed library bond … the stalled Harris Ranch development … long-delayed urban renewal on the Bench … newly annexed areas that lack sewers and parks … inability to fund the detoxification facility … and on and on.

The city’s efforts to control land outside its jurisdiction threatens to derail the Blueprint for Good Growth. Earlier this month, the city of Star pulled out of the process, saying Boise’s efforts to control land outside its boundaries politicizes and discredits the BFGG process.

The Idaho Statesman put it well in a March 13 editorial when it said, ”…the city suggests it’s less interested in cooperating than in making sure growth in other jurisdictions is done Boise’s way.”

Boise must stop its misguided, misdirected and wasteful efforts to control land outside its boundaries and instead focus on the very real issues facing its taxpayers.

Like many other Boise residents, I am happy to see the $94 million Boise School District bond passed this week. This bond will be used chiefly to replace and modernize old, worn-out buildings in the district, many of them on the long-neglected Central Bench. As a lifelong resident of the valley, I am very interested in the success of its schools.

Boise schools and their neighborhoods are facing disinvestment and loss of more affluent, middle-class families, who are moving to the newer suburbs of Meridian, Eagle, Kuna and Nampa. Thanks to the bond passage, the district will have fewer but better schools – schools that have recreation centers, modern classrooms, youth programs and amenities newer neighborhoods enjoy. We applaud the Boise School District for taking such a visionary approach to disinvestment and for taking the lead in urban renewal on the Boise Bench, which has seen precious little investment over the decades.

Pat Larson, a Bench resident quoted in The Statesman, summed it this way: “This is the first time they paid attention to our area.”

In fact, we hope the school district’s leadership on Bench urban renewal prompts Boise to reconsider its priorities. At this point, Boise is squandering money and political capital trying to control land outside its area of impact. We hope the school district’s commitment to the Bench prompts the City of Boise to at long last “pay attention” to its own struggling neighborhoods south of the river in a serious, coordinated fashion, as has been done with the Foothills and Downtown.

The city’s infill ordinance is a good first step, but the whole infill controversy suggests Boise officials have been overlooking the Bench for some time. It’s worth pointing out the Foothills seem to merit their own dedicated planner, but not the Bench.

For our part, we can say The Cliffs has an important role to play in the school district’s vitality. Because of our diverse housing supply, we will attract families of all socioeconomic strata, the very people who have fled the district in droves over the past decade. The Idaho Statesman put it well in an July 3, 2005 editorial, when advocating for the East ParkCenter bridge to restart the stalled Harris Ranch development: “Harris Ranch’s new housing would attract upper-middle-class taxpayers and its businesses would attract new jobs and generate taxes. That would help families with children in schools on the Bench, the North End and other parts of town where teaching and tutoring jobs are being cut.” Because The Cliffs is in the Boise School District, it would have the exact same benefits to schools.

While the plateau is known and loved, there has been surprisingly little close study of its current condition. Despite the presence of deer and antelope there, it has long been understood the plateau is in poor ecological health, due to overgrazing, wildfires and invasive weeds. An illegal subdivision on its eastern boundary, which uses dirt roads and septic tanks, certainly doesn’t help things.

For the first time, a comprehensive assessment of this land has been undertaken. A year ago, we hired Accipiter Consulting of Boise to study the land. In order to create a truly environmentally conscious development, we must first know the condition of the land, down to the level of specific patches of ground. Aside from its scientific rigor, this report presents significant and specific guidelines for development in this sensitive area.

This comprehensive assessment of the land represents our commitment to permanent habitat restoration of much of the property, including perpetual funding and stewardship for the habitat enhancement area. Conservation and environmental education programs are an integral part of this proposal.

We delivered this 75-page environmental assessment to Ada County on March 3 and a copy can be downloaded here (see the press release about the report here). The report is part of our application for The Cliffs Planned Community and it is also intended to provide opportunity for collaboration between Idaho Department of Fish and Game, local stakeholders and our project team. We are committed to protecting critical wildlife resources alongside a quality living experience in Ada County.

Some highlights of the report:
· At least 80 percent of the site is highly degraded, consisting of noxious weeds, invasive foreign species and fire-damaged range, and this has significantly reduced the land’s historic ability to provide food and shelter for a variety of wildlife.
· Current zoning law, which allows one dwelling per 40 acres, has a greater potential for spread of noxious weeds, wildfire and indirect impacts to the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. The current zoning allows for more septic tanks, increased fire danger and fences to block wildlife. (Skyline’s development plan calls for water recycling, a new fire station funded by Skyline and habitat/native plant restoration.)
· When Skyline successfully restores the native habitat on the property, the plateau will be able to support several times the number of deer it currently can support, based on available forage. Furthermore, we will require all dogs be leashed whenever outside a home, yard or the fenced dog park; close the wildlife habitat buffer, located on our property between the developed area of The Cliffs and the Boise River Wildlife Management Area, between November and April to minimize stress to wildlife during winter; require landscaping near the wildlife habitat buffer with native plants; and establish an education program for residents and the public to inspire environmental values.