Planning and Zoning board approves 375 plot subdivision
SHELLEY — Plans are moving forward for a neighborhood that could increase the city’s population by one-third.
At Tuesday’s Planning & Zoning Board meeting, the board approved the preliminary plat for a 375 plot subdivision on E Center St. east of N Lincon Ave. The City Council will decide whether or not to approve the Fox Crossing development at their July 27 meeting at 7:30 at Shelley City Hall.
“I don’t really like it. I don’t think it’s Shelley,” Planning and Zoning Board member Jeff Kelley said at Tuesday’s meeting. “But what I think, or personally think, is irrelevant. We have rules in the city that we have set, as a council and as board members, to protect the public. And those have been met by this developer.”
The developer is the Anderson Hicks Group. Mike Hicks spoke during the public hearing portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
“The homes at Fox Crossing, our intention is to create a quality home that — based on today’s dollars — will be below the average selling price in the market,” Hicks told the planning and zoning board.
The subdivision would have 375 plots on around 104.5 acres. The lots would be around 8,500 square feet. To comply with Shelley’s zoning laws, the homes would be a minimum of 20 feet apart.
The homes, built by Bateman Hall, would be between 1,700-2,100 square feet, single-story, 4-5 bedrooms with basements and two-car garages.
“It would be totally finished … including the basements,” Hicks said. “We also will be installing the sprinkler systems, hydroseeding the yards and providing full fencing.”
The starting price for a home would be around $350,000.
During the public hearing part of Tuesday’s meeting, multiple members of the community spoke out against the subdivision. The common objection was that there would be too many homes in too small a space.
“We have to go take care of QRU calls. We have to take care of fire calls,” Shelley Fire Chief Randy Adams told the board. “(Shelley Police Chief Rod Mohler) has to take care of the things that happen with the police department. When we jam a whole bunch of homes in a very tight area, and we don’t have room for those people to put anything anywhere, it get’s congested.”
Hicks said that Fox Crossing would have covenants and a Home Owners Association that would prevent residents from parking on the streets long-term.
Casey Merrill worked with the Anderson Hicks Group on creating the development plan. He told the board that proposed lots are bigger than what is being done in other areas of the state.
“What is being built in the Idaho Falls region–Ammon region– those lots very small and substantially bigger here,” Merrill said.
Another common concern among those who spoke out against the development was that Shelley may not have the infrastructure to handle such a large influx of residents.
“The City of Shelley is growing so fast that the city is unable to properly keep up with everything this type of growth needs. Things such as water, security, garbage, streets and so on,” Shelley Police Chief Rod Mohler said in a letter to the board.
After hearing arguments, both for and against the subdivision, the board discussed the matter. The board members agreed with Kelley that even though they didn’t like the development, the developer had met all of the city’s requirements.
“Our job is to make sure what they bring us matches what city standards are. The city council has the final say in what does and doesn’t happen,” Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Shane Wootan said at the meeting.
They voted three in favor, with Wootan abstaining, to approve the Fox Crossing preliminary plat.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shelley Planning and Zoning board member Jeff Kelley is a co-owner of Community Pioneer. As such, Kelley had no input on the writing of this article.
