The Eagle City Council voted 3-1 this week in favor of the annexation of the Avimor development into the City of Eagle.
In the past month, the council heard over 10 hours of public testimony and read through over 400 e-mails regarding the application requesting Avimor to officially become a part of the city.
RELATED | Eagle City Council hears community voices regarding Avimor annexation
Final discussions between council members were heard Thursday night before a final vote was taken.
The decision was mostly based on the city being able to maintain control of the development of the foothills and residential growth in Avimor, as opposed to control being with the counties or if the development were to become its own city.
Annexing Avimor into the city adds roughly 70,500 acres to Eagle's footprint.
The council referenced the intentions of the city's comprehensive plan from 2007 and 2017, stating that the Avimor development application has met the requirements as outlined.
The main objective of the comprehensive plan is to achieve workable solutions and serve as a guide for future development of the foothills north of the city, and was developed with resident input that included over 4000 people and required board approval.
The council brought up examples of private property in the area being developed to maximize density for maximum tax revenue, pointing to developments in Emmett and Idaho City as examples. They believe this will not be the case with Avimor, as Eagle will maintain control of permits and authorizations for all future building.
The current plan submission accounts for one house per every two acres. The city believes they will be able to restrict development to maintain 50% of the area as open space and cap the number of homes built.
Additional reasoning for the decision was covered by the council spanning several topics, with consideration to the major concerns brought up by the public.
One of the biggest concerns brought forward was in regard to the impact of the water supply on Eagle residents. The annexation will increase the Eagle city aquifer count from two to three, believed to be the most of any city in the state. The value of the completed Avimor water system is estimated at $11 million. Maintenance of the full three systems will be spread across more people and is expected to result in reduced costs to residents.
Taxes are expected to remain the same for property owners. Avimor will have the same impact on school districts and highway districts whether annexed or not.
Many expressed concern that Planning and Zoning had already voted against the annexation. P&Z cited reasons for opposition being trail standards, requiring a resolution in differing fiscal analyses, and reworking of proposed driveway structures. Each of these areas has been addressed and corrected as requested.
RELATED | Eagle Planning and Zoning votes 3-1 against recommending for Avimor annexation
Other topics covered were the impact to transportation and habitat. The council reiterated its ability to control lane changes and light requests for the development versus control being solely with the Idaho Transportation Department and county. As for habitat, they referenced that Avimor is the most fire-wise subdivision in Eagle and has a full fire management plan. They also stated learning from past mistakes, citing the development of all private land in the Boise foothills on Bogus Basin, and plan on preserving open space in Avimor for wildlife and recreation.
Two areas discussed that will have close attention paid are trails and services. It was noted that the Eagle city standards for trails cover those near the river and the Greenbelt, but do not adequately address the foothills. Comments were also made on the record voicing fear of dilution of supporting services for public safety such as fire and police.
The council made it a point to note that all stages moving forward will require additional meetings and approvals from the city and community members will continue to be involved.
