Hayden council split on addressing survey results

HAYDEN — The Hayden City Council is looking to improve the city’s comprehensive plan and better determine its priorities, but council members have differing ideas about how to accomplish this.

“The council has wanted to talk about the comprehensive plan and brainstorm whatever ideas they might have,” Brett Boyer said at a recent workshop.

Councilwoman Sandra White largely wanted to eliminate the comprehensive plan and go back to the existing zone map.

Having a city plan for growth is required by Idaho statute, city attorney Fonda Jovick said.

“What I would propose is that we amend our comp plan and include results of the survey,” Council President Matt Roetter said.

Hayden commissioned a survey in March that sought to identify the priorities of Hayden residents, which would guide council decisions.

“In my opinion, the survey confirmed what was expected and gave us data related to what the citizens are truly concerned with: Growth, density and traffic," Councilman Ed DePriest said.

DePriest argued the council has made policy changes that address citizen concerns without having to completely change or throw out the comprehensive plan.

If the city does not plan for growth, its infrastructure will not be adequate to accommodate changes, Public Works director Alan Soderling said.

White continued to argue against the plan.

“When I ran, I was running on the premise that we would go back to the 2019 map,” White said. “I wanted to go back to what happened before the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan brings in too much mixed-use, mixed-residential. A lot of this takes density out of the hands of the council.”

The comprehensive plan does not change property owners’ zones but does provide guidance for future zone requests.

“Remove all high density from the comprehensive plan,” White read from a user comment in the city survey. “No apartments, no duplexes, prioritize residents over developers.”

She argued the plan takes away property rights from residents while encouraging limitations on developers.

DePriest said he supports reducing growth through targeted changes in zone standards or density maximums, without overstepping people’s property rights.

Roetter weighs traffic concerns against growth, arguing the two should balance and expand together.

During the workshop, council members identified traffic as a top priority for residents.

“I know that these were not high priorities in the city survey, but I’m concerned about along Hayden Avenue, Huetter and Hayden and Atlas and Hayden,” White said.

White suggested four-way stops at Hayden and Atlas and slowing the speed limit on Hayden Avenue to reduce accidents.

Roetter said real traffic fixes would require major construction projects and significantly more money than the city has in savings.

He hopes the Hayden Urban Renewal Agency could fund major intersection improvements.

“The transportation issue is not a simple fix,” Roetter said. “It isn’t about having money and adding more lights for controlling traffic.”