The Cliffs' Blog

Since my Father, Ted Johnson, founded Skyline some 40 years ago, Skyline has developed more than 5,000 home sites. We take pride in creating great neighborhoods and find satisfaction that so many people appreciate our work. As developers, and natives of this valley, we care deeply about neighborhoods not only because it’s our life’s work, but because we live here and take great pride in this community.

That said, I am very concerned about Proposition 2, a so-called property rights initiative, and I urge everyone to vote against it.

Proposition 2 claims it’s about protecting the rights of people to use their property. As a developer of new neighborhoods, I can tell you I hold that right very dear. While eminent domain actions are well publicized, they’re fairly rare in the vast scheme of things. Most cities have planning and zoning and code enforcement departments to keep people from, among other things, negatively impacting their neighbors’ property with inappropriate land uses.

For most people, a home is a family’s single biggest financial investment and therefore, people expect quality developers to create places of enduring value. This arrangement can only exist in a framework of planning and zoning laws and local government enforcement. These laws regulate what people may build and what kinds of businesses they may operate in and near neighborhoods. In most places, for example, that means your neighbor can’t turn his property into a junkyard. Under Proposition 2, if your neighbor wanted to do that, the local government would have to let him. If not, he could sue, claiming the government reduced the value of his land. Already in Oregon, some $5 billion in claims await resolution.

And what could you do if your neighbor set up a junkyard next door and reduced YOUR property’s value? According to Proposition 2 supporters, you could just sue them! This sounds like a guaranteed jobs program for lawyers. We already have planning and zoning laws to protect the public health, safety and welfare. We need consistent enforcement of these, not government by lawsuits.

The Legislature has already addressed this issue and passed a law earlier this year to protect homeowners from abusive use of eminent domain. To join the fight against Proposing 2, visit www.neighborsprotectingidaho.com.

I’m happy to report Ada County has accepted our application for the preliminary plat for Phase 1 of The Cliffs, for about 350 home sites on 192 acres. For a site plan showing the expected layout of lots, click here.

We’ve received scores of emails from people requesting to reserve a lot at The Cliffs. Indeed, if everyone who showed interest actually purchased, we’d be well on our way to selling out the first phase! However, we cannot take any money or other information to reserve lots until the final plats have been recorded, which should happen early next year. Also, we currently anticipate most, if not all, lots will be sold through our builder team (which has yet to be determined), not to specific individuals.

There is, however, an important way you can help ensure there will be a lot for you at The Cliffs.

As with any project of this size, there is opposition to The Cliffs - the core of which is composed of a small group of residents who already live on or near the plateau. Unfortunately, they have resorted to using misinformation to advance their campaign in order to keep others out. Ada County officials need to hear from people like you who, like the opposition, want make the plateau their home.

On Thursday, July 20, at 6 p.m., our preliminary plat application and the overall conceptual plan for The Cliffs will come before the Ada County Planning and Zoning Commission at the Ada County Courthouse, 200 Front St. in Boise. Your testimony at this hearing would be invaluable.

Or, if you are unable to attend this meeting, you can send a letter to the Ada County Planning and Zoning Commission care of Gerry Armstrong, Ada County Development Services, 200 Front St., Boise, ID 83702. If you like, you may email your comments to mpecchenino@adaweb.net. You may review our Web site for ideas on things to put in your letter or testimony.

Thanks for your support and please contact us if we can help in any way.

Last week’s public information meeting gave us excellent guidance. About 50 people came to see our previously-released concept plans, as well as the first concept of the preliminary plat for the North Neighborhood. Their comments, as well as the many supportive e-mails we’ve received, show our year-long public information effort is reaching people and helping them understand the careful planning with which we’ve approached this remarkable project. The public is increasingly aware The Cliffs will provide a diversity of high-quality, attainable housing in an environmentally conscious manner.

At our most recent public information meeting (held last week), we had a wonderful cross section of people. In fact, those who attended were exactly the group of people we’ve been aiming to appeal … young families, singles, empty nesters, couples without children and retirees. The guidance they gave us was invaluable. Here are excerpts of some of the comment sheets from last week’s meeting:

“At least I know there is a diversity of houses – not just hilltop palaces. So far the project seems to be well-thought-out and avoid the pitfalls of develop-and-run.”

“Reduce the density of the housing.”

“I would like availability of large lots with the first phase. I would like to see bigger lots than 8-10,000 square feet, more 15-25,000 square feet.

“Make sure you have nice homes affordable for retirees.”

“When are you going to build? Build it sooner.”

As we’re working to demonstrate through our preliminary plat for the North Neighborhood, there will be single-family homes, townhomes and patio homes which are popular with retirees, empty nesters and singles or couples without children. Additionally, there will be a few estate lots.

We’re also listening to the comments that people would like to see more, larger lots. While we will have a few larger lots, there are sound environmental reasons for having smaller lots predominate and I’ll discuss those in a subsequent blog.

It’s official: Ada County has accepted our application for a planned community called The Cliffs.

The county’s acceptance is the culmination of more than a year of public meetings and thousands of hours of work by skilled planners and consultants. The result is a greatly detailed plan for one of the most environmentally conscious large-scale developments yet seen in Idaho.

We submitted our application for The Cliffs Feb. 21. Since that time, we’ve worked with county planners to ensure our proposal addresses the 14 elements in the county’s Planned Community Ordinance. These elements range from economic viability, ability to provide services and expected demographics to population trends, open space, high level of self-sufficiency and financing plan.

This level of scrutiny is not at all unusual. In fact, it’s required for all planned communities in Ada County. Suffice to say that no other kind of development is subject to the scrutiny planned communities are put through by the county.

So what’s next? The Cliffs now enters a new phase: the rigorous public evaluation process with Ada County. As part of this process, the county will hold at least one public hearing before the Ada County Planning and Zoning Commission. That meeting is currently scheduled for July 20 at 6 p.m. After that, the Ada County Commission will have final say on whether or not The Cliffs is approved.

It’s worth noting the Cliffs will have up to 1,350 homes when fully built out (projected for 2015). We welcome the county’s process, because we know it will result in sound planning.

One final note and reminder. I hope you will make time to join us Thursday, April 20th at the Shakespeare Interpretive Center for a neighborhood meeting. We’ll have the preliminary plat for the North Neighborhood available for viewing as well as a myriad of experts available to discuss various features of the project.

We are pleased to announce we’ll hold our second public informational meeting on Thursday, April 20, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival Interpretive Center, 5657 Warm Springs Avenue.

We held a similar such meeting in February, but there will be one key difference this month. The meeting will feature the first preliminary plat for at least a portion of the north neighborhood. Though subject to change as we go through the approval process with Ada County, this preliminary plat does show new details, including the layout and sizes of the 355 homesites, streets and locations of the environmental education center, amphitheater, parks, water recycling facility, community clubhouse and pool.

Over the past few months, we have been inundated with e-mails and calls from families interested in reserving or purchasing a homesite at The Cliffs. Our neighborhood meeting on the 20th will be the first opportunity for people to get a more intimate look at what many have told us they want to call their home. That said, we do need to note here that we will not take any money or other information to reserve lots until the final plats have been recorded, which may happen in several months. Furthermore, we currently anticipate that most, if not all, lots will be sold through our builder team (which has yet to be determined) – not to specific individuals.

The format of this meeting will resemble our February meeting, including information and displays about the overall design, services and vision of The Cliffs. Our development team and experts will be on hand to answer your questions. As always, we appreciate your comments and suggestions because they help us do our job better.

If you’re considering living at The Cliffs, we suggest you write a letter to the editor of The Idaho Statesman to show your support. We are entering a crucial phase of the official approval process and the public needs to know The Cliffs will meet a demand for high-quality housing in an environmentally responsible manner and be a great place to live.

We know any ambitious project such as The Cliffs will attract great public interest and we want to give everyone full opportunity to learn as much as they can. See you Thursday!

Recently, we put up signs asking people not to trespass. This was a difficult decision, because we know the plateau is a special place to many people.

Our first priority is the health of this land. We are designing The Cliffs entirely around what is best possible development style to accommodate big game, birds, plants and other creatures frequent the land. This land has suffered many abuses and continues to suffer.

We’ve also become aware of people allowing their dogs to run off-leash in the area and chase wildlife. Following is an excerpt from an email from someone who was in the area:

“I yelled at a guy whose dog was running after deer and he told me there was no leash law there since its outside Boise City and I told him not true. Please check on this. How about a sign on each gate?

Strict leash laws will need to be reinforced and should be now for Hammer Flat. The dogs chase the wildlife which is not acceptable to many animal groups and I'm sure you may be hearing from some of them!

What are the developers stand on this issue? It’s an important one to everyone, dog owners and non-dog owners alike. We want all dogs leashed - its dangerous to animals and humans and children also.”

I want to assure everyone that when The Cliffs is built no dogs will be permitted in any public areas without a leash. All house pets – including dogs and cats – will be required to be confined at all times. We will have a fenced dog park at The Cliffs to allow people to exercise with their pets. We will also have a strong educational component to instill environmental responsibility.

In the meantime, however, the land is posted for no trespassing. I wished we didn’t have to do this, but given the continuing abuse of the land, we have little choice. Under Ada County code, it is legal for dogs to run off-leash on private property. So, to stop off-leash dogs, we must post the land for no trespassing.

As I write this, our team is hard at work reviewing comments from about 100 people who showed up to our public informational meeting last night. Even our most vocal critics came to learn what they could. Our 22 experts in traffic, water treatment, biology, hydrology, conservation easements and planning provided a great level of detail and new information for all who came.

We’ve been discussing this development with neighbors for the past year and they have provided a number of good ideas. While this meeting was legally required, we certainly would have held it anyway. We are committed to doing the right thing and keeping everyone informed about our efforts is a crucial part of that.

A sampling of the valuable comment people gave us:

“Why not work with a Fish and Game biologist?” “Will the CCRs cover xeriscape, wildlife prevention, construction techniques and light pollution?” “Do not build it!” “Everyone seems very passionate about the project and has done extensive research.” “Find other open space to build on.” “What will be the number of raptors impacted and your intent to study the impact?” “A 3-D model would help me visualize the land and the development.” “How does this development mesh with the future Harris Ranch development and will that development be forced to deal with traffic.” “Don’t build. No matter how you want to ‘sugar coat’ this, you are developing, period. Idaho is full of beautiful scenic areas, don’t build on this one.” “Increased traffic on Surprise Way was not considered.” “An exciting design and layout” “It appears you’re certainly doing your homework.” “Still need more information on sizes and numbers of lots.” “Will there be sufficient number of parking for public access to cliff areas and bike trail heads? Single-point roadway access to development is a very poor idea.” “Will this be affordable? I’m not sure if we’ll be able to afford the community.” “This is exactly what we’re looking for – when will it be available?” “I liked the level of comprehensive planning and commitment to open space.” “Continue to involve the public all throughout the process.”

These comments were offered in the best spirit of democracy and public process. We will do everything in our power to ensure our submission to Ada County reflects these concerns.

Several people have asked us about our public outreach efforts. We are pleased to invite you to join us for an informational neighborhood meeting to be held Thursday, February 9th from 5-8pm at Trail Wind Elementary School, 3701 E Lake Forest Drive in Boise.

This is not an official public hearing, which is conducted by a government agency to take testimony. Rather, set in the style of an open house, our informal meeting will give you an opportunity to visit one-on-one with our development team and various experts with whom we’ve consulted concerning important issues such as traffic, wildlife habitat, planning, water treatment, etc. They will staff tables with diagrams, photos and brochures. You will be able to ask specific questions, express your ideas and suggestions and provide comments. We encourage you to learn as much as you can about our project.

Likewise, we are excited to meet with you and listen to your thoughts. Whether you're a wildlife lover, climber, hiker, neighbor or prospective resident, there is much we can learn from you. After this meeting, we will put our planners and consultants to work on how to best incorporate these comments into our application to Ada County.

This meeting is a culmination of a year of public outreach. Starting in January 2005, we began involving people in The Cliffs through one-on-one interviews and small group meetings in neighbors’ homes. Through these early efforts, we talked with more than 80 people. The wisdom of holding these meetings has been proven to us, because neighbors came forward with many excellent ideas and a number of them are reflected in the current conceptual plan. These include adding a traffic roundabout to the community entrance that will serve as a traffic calming structure for Warm Springs and provide an attractive entrance into the Barber Valley. In addition to traffic measures, we learned more about our land and the wildlife needs as observed by our neighbors.

We are committed to being good neighbors, good stewards of the land and creating a place of enduring value. First and foremost, however, we must listen, and I look forward to hearing your comments at our meeting.