Valley County and the Idaho Transportation Department will have the final say on plans for Gun Hill Road and Club Hill Boulevard that are the result of the proposed Whitetail development, McCall Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Don Bailey announced Tuesday.
The P&Z made no decision on the proposal and continued the meeting to Monday at 6 p.m. at the McCall Golf Course clubhouse.
The P&Z held its third meeting Tuesday on the proposed development, which would create about 220home sites between Boydstun Lane and Valley County's border with Adams County.
The project is proposed by Summit Resources of Idaho, which owns the Whitetail Club on Payette Lake, and property owners would have access to the club, the Whitetail Golf Course, and other amenities.
Bailey made the announcement early in the meeting to head off more testimony on the roads that would lead to Whitetail.
Developers want to use Club Hill Boulevard, Gun Hill Road and Boydstun Lane for access points and residents in those areas are concerned about increased traffic and the resulting noise, dust, and wear-and-tear on the roads.
Residents in King's Pines Estates, the main access to which is Club Hill Boulevard, are also worried about how Whitetail would connect to their road at a hairpin turn. Any intersection at the turn would be dangerous on the steep road, the residents have said.
Other agencies responsible
At previous meetings, testimony has focused almost exclusively on the access points, and Bailey made sure everyone in the room knew the issue would be handled by agencies other than the city of McCall.
"I don't think this commission should get involved in refereeing disputes between different bodies of experts," Bailey said.
He referenced a letter dated Feb. 17 from Valley County Road Superintendent Gordon Cruickshank in which Cruickshank proposed conditions that should be placed on the city's approval of Whitetail. Those conditions were tweaked slightly and placed in recommended conditions of approval drafted by McCall City Manager Lindley Kirkpatrick,
Here are the two conditions concerning roads from Kirkpatrick's recommended conditions of approval:
• Prior to final approval of the final plat of phase one of the Whitetail project, the applicant shall provide written confirmation from Valley County to the city of McCall that the county and the ITD have reviewed and approved the applicant's plans for its use of Gun Hill Road.
• Prior to final approval of the final plat of phase two or the beginning of construction of a road connecting Whitetail to Club Hill Boulevard - whichever is earlier - the applicant shall provide written confirmation from Valley County to the city of McCall that the county and ITD have reviewed and approved the applicant's plans for its connection to and use of Club Hill Boulevard.
If the project is approved and the conditions remain intact, then oversight of improvements to the two roads w ill fall on Valley County and ITD. Whitetail representatives said they have "no significant issues" with any of the conditions recommended by Kirkpatrick.
The rest of Tuesday's meeting consisted of general discussion of the project. McCall attorney Steve Millemann, who represented Whitetail, repeated the developers' desire for gates at each entrance to the community. He said gates are needed for security and to protect golfers on the course. He also noted that McCall's laws do not prohibit gates.
Millemann also restated the developers' intent to build a 15 foot-wide, two-mile pathway along the western edge of the property and to "take a leadership role" in securing easements through other properties to connect that pathway to the North Fork of the Payette River at the city's proposed Riverfront Park site.
When asked by Bailey if 15 feet is wide enough for machines to groom Nordic trails, Millemann said Whitetail is committed to making sure the path is groomed even if the Little Skill Hill's equipment is too wide. The Little Ski Hill would be the northern access point for the pathway.
