HomeMy Public PortalAboutDave Simmonds - Pine Creek Ranch EA scoping commentsComments on the Draft Public Review / Environmental Assessment for proposed Pine Creek Ranch
August 4, 2021
As this process has not been routinely, if at all, invoked in the past, getting it right - or not - will affect
the future of planning and growth throughout the McCall Area of Impact. Further, the significant
resources necessary to complete this environmental assessment should be prudently and effectively
applied to best benefit current and future residents and taxpayers. Its success would position City
planning to better grapple with other upcoming and difficult challenges such as the disposition of
significant State endowment lands within the area of impact. Conversely, its failure would cast a
shadow over the City's ability to manage growth and maintain the quality of life that sets McCall apart.
The large size of this project rises to the level of community-wide effects. However, neither indirect nor
cumulative effects are explicitly found as issues in the draft scoping document. The inclusion of these
elements would be needed to provide a truly meaningful assessment, and so they should be included.
Put another way, significant broadscale effects would reasonably be expected to result from adding
relatively large - and thus statistically significant - numbers of homes and residents to the City.
City-wide indirect and cumulative effects within City government purview which should be analyzed
for large proposals such as Pine Creek Ranch include the following:
1.Wildland-urban interface fire risk and mitigation, including effects on offsite insurance ratings
2.Increase in area and municipal vehicular traffic and indirect effects on streets planning and
resources, including snow removal
3.Manageability of emergency access and evacuation routes
4.Exacerbation of community-wide imbalance in proportions of short-term rentals, long-term
rentals, seasonally vacant homes and permanently occupied residences
5.Additional unplanned demand on City water infrastructure and treatment capacity at a time
when restrictions on water use are already in effect
6.Stormwater analysis at the landscape level including nutrient management, long-cycle flood
events and offsite effects on facilities, private and public property
7.Incremental demand / impact calculation for all City-wide services such as Police calls for
service, Parks and Recreation facilities, Public Library, public boat ramp and associated parking
8.Incremental, indirect and cumulative effects on Payette Lake
Of course it may be complicated, difficult and expensive to meaningfully address many indirect and
cumulative effects. However, assessing and capturing the real costs of development in a timely way is
arguably necessary to a sustainable community, and even more so during a time of high growth.
We - as with many others in McCall - live in a neighborhood that suffers from some poor planning at
the outset, many decades ago. Water, sewer and street infrastructure, pathways access, and emergency
ingress / egress have deficiencies that are increasingly expensive and difficult to fix. The long-term cost
of expedience and poor planning to the City and its residents far exceeds the cost of doing development
right and capturing real impacts and costs at the outset.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
David Simmonds and Jamie Melbo
506 Sunset St, PO Box 287
McCall, ID 83638