New subdivision with nearly 300 lots is approved

SHELLEY – The city of Shelley is about to get a lot bigger as the city council approves the preliminary plat for a new residential subdivision on the east side of the town

At the Shelley City Council meeting on Feb. 22, the council approved the preliminary plat for The Parks subdivision, a 278 lot development on 182-acres of land, which the council recently annexed into the city. 

The proposed development is located on the south side of the Taylor Highway and extends east from Lincoln Road by the Hobbs Middle School to 900 East or the old Butte Road.

“This subdivision will increase the size of the city by almost 18 percent,” city clerk Sandy Gaydusek said. “It is the largest development in the city in more than 50 years.”

The proposed subdivision features 82 twin home lots, slated for construction on the west side of the development.  This section of the property consists of 31.36 acres lying between Lincoln Street and the electrical transmission line running across the city’s east side.

The rest of the property features 196 residential lots ranging from half-acre to one-acre in size. 

The developer will start construction as soon as the city approves their final plat.

“We hope to start moving dirt by May or June,” land developer Derek Dye said. “The first phase will include 15 twin home lots and 60 larger residential lots.”

Dye said they would release the listing price for the lots this summer when they begin selling.   

“This development is unique because most of it features larger-sized lots compared to typical residential lots currently found in the city,” Gaydusek said. “The city has created a Residential Estate zone to accommodate this and other new developments seeking to construct larger lots.”    

The RE zone requires a minimum-sized lot of 0.33 acre.  The Parks development has half-acre to one-acre sized lots.  Most of the subdivision lots in Shelley zoned residential range in sizes from 0.19-acre to 0.25-acre. 

The RE zone also has different-sized streets than those found in the city. The streets in this zone are more narrow and have no curb or gutter. However, they are engineered with a rolled curb and are designed for surface water to run to catch basins and retention ponds. Unlike small city lots, dwellings are set back are 73 to 83 feet from the center of the street. The side yard setbacks are 20 feet compared to 10 feet on smaller city lots.

The new development will be improved with city water and sewer services.  The RE zone allows for either a gravity flow or a pressurized sewer system.

RE zone lots require a secondary irrigation system where canal water, not city water, is used to irrigate lawn and landscaping.

Finally, the RE allows for sidewalks. But, they are located seven-and-a-half feet behind the rolled curb. The area in between is designed for utilities. Ultimately, the homeowner will be obligated to plant and maintain the lawn in this area.

No on-street parking will be allowed in the RE zone because it has narrow streets.  

“I am excited about this new development,” Councilmember Leaf Watson said. “We thought outside the box and found a way to attract a market for larger lots into the city.  This (development) will bring larger homes with higher assessments.”

This new development is occurring at a time when there is a high demand for new home construction.  At their last planning and zoning meeting, Bingham County entertained the idea of expanding Cedar Estates, a proposed one-acre lot subdivision, from 73 to 134 lots.  This proposed development is situated in Bingham County at the southeast corner of 1500 North and the New Sweden Highway. 

“We hope this larger lot zoning designation will attract developers and new home builders into the city and away from the county where urban sprawl is occurring,” Watson said.