Hayden Council rejects new development

With a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday at Hayden City Hall, the City Council unanimously denied a zone map amendment that would have paved the way for a subdivision to be developed at Dakota Avenue and Ramsey Road.

The Kerr family, which currently owns the property, was hoping to develop the land as a continuation of the Moonridge Acres housing development, just to the north.

Many citizens at Tuesday’s meeting provided comments to the council.

In rejecting the proposal, council members cited public concerns about the impact new residences would have on traffic, and their own experience with the Ramsey Road and Hayden Avenue intersection near where the development was proposed.

“We're struggling to be fair with everybody,” said Councilman Ed DePriest. “People who live here and are dealing with (growth and traffic) every day, have to be given equal weight.”

Jeremie Terzulli, on behalf of Olson Engineering, was requesting a zone map amendment from suburban-residential to mixed-residential.

“Our goal is that, to the untrained eye, in a few years, this will look like a continuation of Moonridge,” Terzulli said.

Moonridge is a roughly 10-year-old development of 33 houses off Olympus Avenue, and expanding it would connect Hubble Street to Hayden Avenue for an alternate exit route for residents and emergency services.

Everyone at the City Council meeting to comment was opposed to the development, including Gary Carter, who spoke on behalf of the Homeowners Association for Moonridge.

“I am here to tell you that we object,” Carter said. “We, being the Moonridge Acres Homeowners association, of which I am a member, as well as 32 others.”

Terzulli presented a map showing a plan to divide the 6.44-acre lot into a residential development with a diverse array of 25 homes, ranging from twin homes at entry-level pricing to single-family homes with up to 10,000-square-foot lots.

“Hayden, on its current trajectory, will alienate service-based industry and blue-collar workers,” Terzulli said in his rebuttal to public comments. “They will not be able to reside in the community where they build.”

The request to change the zone to mixed-residential would have permitted up to four homes per acre, instead of the current zone standards allowing only two units per acre.

“What impact will this project have on the intersection of Ramsey and Hayden Avenue?” asked Council President Matt Roetter.

There are plans in process to improve the Hayden and Ramsey intersection in the city’s capital improvement plan because it’s one of the intersections identified as a point of failure by 2040.

“My understanding is that prior to 2040, the city will have to come up with a plan to address Ramsey and Hayden Avenue … It’s not a great intersection, I don’t like it at all,” Terzulli said. “But I think the city is working hard and it’s high on their list of priorities to make improvements on that intersection.”

Options have been presented to the public for either a roundabout or signal at Hayden Avenue and Ramsey Road, and an improvement is in the planning process, but with no date.

“My main concern is the traffic,” said DePriest. “It’s a narrow street and I’m concerned about the hazard that is already there.”

Commenters agreed.

“My old dog used to lay in the middle of the road because the gravel felt good on his old bones,” said Vern Fitzgerald, a commenter who has lived near the intersection since before the road was paved. “You know what would happen to that old dog now? Voom, thump-thump. Trying to get through that intersection at times is terrible. And it’s only going to get worse. That road was not designed for the load that’s going to be put on it.”

Impact fees are supposed to cover infrastructure improvements for things like roads, but the $60,000 in fees from the proposed houses could only cover striping on the road, said Mayor Scott Forssell.

Terzulli and the Kerr family have an option to request a reconsideration or file for a petition for judicial review, said city attorney Fonda Jovick.

“We’ll reserve any comment until the written decision has been issued,” Terzulli said.