"Dry Creek Ranch"
-- Development map
-- Planned Community Proposal

Special Habitats:
--  Raptors of Dry Creek
--  Mule Deer
--  Aase Wild Onion

Ada County
--  Ada County Comp Plan
--Blueprint for Good Growth
-- Ada County Commissioners
--  Planning & Zoning 
--  Eagle Foothills Plan

Growth in Ada County
List of Planned Communities
 

HELP SAVE DRY CREEK
--  SIGN THE PETITION
-- CONTRIBUTE to Save Dry Creek
-- CONTACT neighbors
-- IDENTIFY our group

In the foothills to the northwest of Boise is a hidden valley of rich and fertile land kept green and irrigated by Dry Creek. An area of approximately 1400 flat acres has been continuously farmed since the 1860s.

The valley provides water and food for mule deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, red-tail and other hawks, golden eagles, pheasants, chukars, and hundreds of other migrating birds as well as other wildlife species.

"Land Baron Investments" of Las Vegas purchased this land and plans to fill it with houses, apartments, condominiums, and commercial buildings. They estimate 4300 "dwelling units"--which equates to 10-15,000 people--in an area of 2-1/2 square miles. This is an area which now has only one homestead. And Land Baron even intends to tear down its old barn!

Everything that drew wildlife to this area will be destroyed by the proposed development.

What do the people of Boise and Eagle get in return for giving up one of the few remaining pristine valleys, wildlife food and water resources?

• Approximately 43,000 additional auto trips per day onto Highway 55 (national estimates use an average of 10 trips per day per household)

• Added congestion on State Street and Eagle Road from Highway 55

• Cost to taxpayers for widening Highway 55 to bring the autos to roads ill-suited to handling them

• More Meridian school bonds since the most recent tax increase approved by voters pays for school expansion in areas of current subdivisions and not for new schools in the foothills miles from Eagle. (Please note that the developer is not required to pay impact fees for schools or state Highway 55--that burden falls on current and future taxpayers.)

• Increased cost to taxpayers for police, fire, and paramedics to support the residents of the new development

• Poor air quality in the foothills, Eagle and Boise caused by the additional cars

• Destruction of the view for residents not in the new community--their view will go from nature to rooftops, from birds to automobiles

• Loss of mule deer and raptors, as both will attempt to return to known migration routes and nesting areas...only to find them gone.

And the main beneficiary will be those "land barons" in Las Vegas who will destroy the land, take the money, and run.

It seems heartbreakingly mean-spirited that out of the entire Treasure Valley, with many areas ready and willing for new subdivisions to be built, that these outsiders picked this unspoiled, unpolluted valley for an incredibly high density "planned community"-- one that would be four times the density of Eagle. It's almost as if they have purposefully set out to destroy our foothills and wildlife.

Only three people have the power to stop them--three people in whose hands lie the future of your tax assessments and the natural beauty around us: Rick Yzaguirre, Fred Tilman, and Paul Woods, the current Ada County Commissioners. In the past the Commissioners have taken the position that that "can't" stop developers, that they "can't" even follow the Comprehensive Plan of the county they've been elected to serve. (Ms. Judy Peavey-Derr, who had been a major proponent of growth in the foothills when she was Commissioner, learned that voters "can't" vote for a Commissioner who refuses to listen to their wishes.)

The future of this area and the quality of life for its people and wildlife is too important to ignore or to hand over to commissioners who think they "can't" follow the desires of the public.

Tell them they need to Save Dry Creek now. Sign the petition, call (208-287-7000), and e-mail them. It's your county, too!