Rivers West Public Hearing 4/19/22

To view more application materials,
here is a link to this project page on the Driggs City Website.
Here is the City’s staff report for this upcoming hearing. 
Read the email alert.

What’s happening?
A very large, multiphase housing proposal with several types of attached and detached homes is proposed for the vacant 40 acres east of Teton High School on E Ross Avenue and Booshway Street. The parcel is currently undeveloped and has been maintained for winter trail use through an agreement with the City, the previous owner, and Teton Valley Trails and Pathways (TVTAP) in the past. 
The master plan (click link to view) accompanying the preliminary plat application shows the creation of 166 lots designed for attached single-family homes, proposed in four phases. The master plan also includes plans for common space, which the applicant has indicated will contribute to the parks requirement in future phases. 

The first Phase proposes 24 twin lots of an average .11 acres to accommodate attached single-family homes, a total of 24 units. The units are proposed to have shared driveways on Booshway and E Ross, with two end units accessing from Cowboy Tr and Comanche Tr.

Traffic Impacts! Phase 1 alone will add 24 new driveways along Booshway and Ross. Here’s the developer’s traffic impact study. Please note that the study only addresses the first 24 units of this 166 unit project. The bike path along Booshway will be chopped up with 10 new driveways in this phase alone.

Please ask the City Council to require access to Phase 1 be internal to the development in order to protect our pathways and already overburdened roads. 

Keeping perspective on “the big picture”: These first 24 proposed units are only 14.5% of the whole project. They are the smallest, and lowest value units, all abutting existing neighborhoods.  The Master Plan proposes that all the higher value homes and almost all the common areas are tucked further inside the development, away from the existing community and users. The Council should take great care to not entitle any of this Master Plan at this preliminary stage.   

There are still NO park improvement plans for this project. Please carefully read the City’s staff’s statement on the current plan for parks in the project. The applicant is requesting to only provide half of the required park space, with NO improvement plans for the park, and there is no longer any winter trails use on the property per the request of this new developer. 

Timing of the phases and impacts to the neighborhood. The engineering drawings for Phase 1 show 24 units burdening Ross and Booshway with concrete washout, materials storage, chemical storage, and vehicle cleaning and maintenance areas interior to the project.

As currently designed, if this project goes belly up after Phase 1 is done (which has happened so many times in the past,) the bike path on Booshway will be far less safe, traffic impacts on Ross and Booshway will be significant, there will be no park improvements, and chemicals/debris/construction blight will remain on the interior of the project site.  This is all unacceptable; the design must be changed. 

Zoom Links and Meeting Info:
To view more application materials,

here is a link to this project page on the Driggs City Website.

Here is the City’s staff report for this upcoming hearing. 

The Agenda for the meeting.

To WATCH and LISTEN ONLY to this City Council Meeting:

By personal computer or smartphone, access the meeting via the Zoom application one of the following ways:

Click the Zoom Logo on the City of Driggs website: City Council Meeting Information Page 

Open Zoom on your device and use the Direct Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86201838007 

Or By Phone:  Dial 312-626-6799 or 646-558-8656 and use Webinar ID: 862 0183 8007

To SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENT for this City Council Meeting:

In-person public hearing comments will be heard at the appropriate time during the meeting.  Visit our Public Hearing webpage  for the online form plus more information and tips on what to expect and how to participate in a public hearing.   

Written Comment Submission Options:

by filling out the PUBLIC COMMENT FORM  online

by mail at Driggs City Hall P.O. Box 48, Driggs, Idaho 83422

by fax to 208-354-8522

by email to publichearingcomments@driggsidaho.org 

by voicemail when calling 208-354-2362 ext. 1007

Written comments received by 5 p.m. one week before the date of the meeting will be included in the staff report. Comments received after that and before the start of the meeting can be read into the record during the meeting. Comments will also be heard from those attending the meeting in person. There is currently no opportunity for remote (video) commenting during meetings.