The McCall City Council weighed in on a proposal to build a vineyard, an amphitheater, and more than 1,100 homes on foothills overlooking McCall.
A letter submitted to the Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission says plans for the development, called Red Ridge Village, should not be evaluated until the developers consult city staff and complete further analysis on expected impacts to McCall.
“The bottom line is that if this were to happen, it would have effects on the city and we need to be brought into the mix,” council member Mike Maciaszek said.
So far, McCall city staff have not had any communication with DF Development about plans for Red Ridge Village, City Manager Forest Atkinson told council members.
The Red Ridge Village concept plan submitted by DF Development, which is owned by billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks of Cisco, Texas, is set for a public hearing on Thursday at 6 p.m. before the Valley County P&Z in Cascade. The meeting can be watched online here.
If approved, the concept plan would set the stage for four phases of development spanning 2,250 acres on hills overlooking McCall and Payette Lake.
Valley County has jurisdiction over the proposal because it is not within McCall City Limits.
Valley County’s second-largest city
Red Ridge Village’s unclear effects on transportation, affordable housing, and public
services in McCall are among the concerns cited in the city’s letter.
“The suggested 10-year built out would establish a ‘new city’ approximately half the size
of the City of McCall that would be the second largest ‘city’ in Valley County,” the
council’s letter said. “As such, much greater review, analysis and disclosure is needed.”
The letter says detailed analyses of the development’s financial impacts to local
governments and how it would affect housing affordability in Valley County are needed
before the proposal can be evaluated.
Application materials submitted to the county call for 340 affordable housing units to be
built in Red Ridge Village, but do not specify target prices or the number of units needed
to serve the development itself.
“More information is needed to understand how this proposal would contribute to the
supply of local housing rather than worsen the affordability and supply problems we are
experiencing,” according to the letter.
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Traffic coordination
At buildout, Red Ridge Village is predicted to generate 9,490 daily vehicle trips on weekdays, including 477 trips between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 710 trips from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to a traffic study.
The additional traffic would trigger the need for all-way stops at Boydstun Street’s intersections with Idaho 55 and West Valley Road.
However, neither the city nor the Idaho Transportation Department was consulted on the all-way stops, which the city’s letter suggested could conflict with a future Idaho 55 bypass of McCall.
“This alternate route runs through the three intersections most impacted by this project,” the letter said.
Property taxes
The city also questioned its ability to fund street improvements and maintenance triggered by Red Ridge Village, which is proposed outside of city limits and therefore would not net the city any additional property tax funding.
“The city’s ability to generate increased financial resources to offset this impact would be limited—despite the increased traffic created by the project on city streets.”
Wildfire risk
The city’s letter noted that the wooded area in which Red Ridge Village is proposed is designated as a “high-risk wildfire area” by Valley County’s Hazards and Risk Map.
Several other conflicts with city and county planning documents were also pointed out in the letter.
The McCall Area Comprehensive Plan envisions the area proposed for Red Ridge Village as preserved open space and an “urban edge” to McCall.
“The DF Development proposal creates sprawl along the ridge to the southwest of McCall,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, the Valley County Comprehensive Plan calls for controlling suburban development on open foothills.
Besides the Valley County P&Z, McCall sent the letter to several other local and state agencies, including the Idaho Transportation Department, Gov. Brad Little, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
