Valley County could update its zoning rules to govern land surrounding the City of McCall in response to the city’s angst over expected changes to a planning boundary known as the McCall Impact Area.
McCall City Council members and Valley County Commissioners met on Monday to resume negotiations on new impact area boundaries ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline.
No decisions were made during the meeting, but the city agreed to present its proposal for revised boundaries to the county in early May. A final decision rests with the county commissioners.
On Monday, the commissioners invited the city to suggest changes to county zoning codes that could ease the city’s concerns surrounding changes to the impact area, which are likely to include shrinking the current boundaries. Any land removed from the impact area would be subject to the county’s zoning laws.
“Go over our codes, see what we’re missing, and if there are some blatant gaps…bring those to us,” commissioner Katlin Caldwell said.
Currently, the impact area consists of county land surrounding McCall city limits that is managed under zoning laws that resemble those in place within the city. A joint planning and zoning commission reviews development applications and makes recommendations to the county commissioners on land use decisions in the impact area.
The impact area is largely the same as it was in 1977 when it was established, but is now subject to new rules under a law updated last year by the Idaho Legislature.
The new rules include the availability of central water and sewer service, as well as a likelihood that the land will be annexed into the city within five years.
Easing tensions
Few specifics were discussed on Monday by city and county officials, who instead focused on charting the path forward and clearing the air on what council member Julie Thrower called a “rocky start” to the negotiations.
In recent months, the county commissioners have implied that the impact area will be removed or reduced during hearings for impact area development applications, which has chafed city officials.
In February, the city sent a letter to impact area residents warning the changes could lead to “ambiguity” in land use decisions and potential harm to Payette Lake, among other things.
“We were frustrated by some of the statements because they were negative to the county,” said Sherry Maupin, who chairs the board of county commissioners. “That’s making an assumption that if it’s not in the area of impact, that the quality of life would be reduced, and I reject that.”
If the impact area is removed or reduced, the lands within it could be subject to Valley County’s multiple-use zoning concept, which relies on compatibility evaluations instead of assigning specific zoning to parcels.
County: current process is risky, confusing
Meanwhile, McCall Mayor Bob Giles asked the county commissioners what is wrong with the current process in place for the McCall Impact Area.
Maupin told Giles the process is confusing for the county as well as impact area residents.
“Having two sets of rules is very difficult,” she said. “It’s confusing to people on who they go to and what code they’re under.”
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The county also carries legal liability for land use decisions within the impact area. Maupin suggested that the county’s risk is only increased by administering codes it did not develop and is not as familiar with.
“When there are lawsuits filed, they come back to the county,” she said.
Maupin told Valley Lookout after the meeting that the county has not recently faced any lawsuits stemming from impact area land use decisions, but that it is always concerned with “liability that we don’t control.”
City likes ‘necessary complexity’
Council member Lyle Nelson framed the challenges of the current system as “necessary complexity” for the impact area, as a transitional zone from city limits to unincorporated land in the county. Council member Colby Nielsen echoed that sentiment.
“Our codes are designed to help for healthy growth,” Nielsen said. “What our community would like to see probably differs than other areas in the county. Other communities have different visions.”
Similar impact area negotiations are under way between Valley County and the cities of Donnelly and Cascade.
Last month, Cascade adopted a resolution announcing the city’s intention to remove its impact area entirely, though no official action has been taken by the county yet.
