Letter to the Editor

County's action undermines comp plan

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dear editor:

Although a Comprehensive Plan is not a legally binding document, it should be considered as a tool that leaders in Elmore County can rely upon to guide development decisions. When the County Commission voted on Monday morning to direct Planning and Zoning to consider amending the Comprehensive Plan, it may have been undermining the validity vested in the Plan by the public and by the Commission itself.

On several occasions the Comprehensive Plan applies language which implies that Heavy Industrial growth should occur in the Simco Road District. At the beginning of the comprehensive plan, regions zoned Heavy Industrial (M2) are "specifically established for heavy manufacturing and processing industries. The Simco Road district will continue to have an 'M2' designation" (p 29). The Economic Objectives portion of the plan reiterates this designation, "encourage and support heavy industrial development to locate in the vicinity of Simco Road" (p 24). The portion of the plan which articulates Land Use Objectives affirms, "Allow heavy industrial/manufacturing land uses and waste facilities to locate in the Simco Road District only" (p 32).

Reiteration of only the Simco Road District as appropriate for Heavy Industrial development indicates the intention of the public and the Commission to exclude this type of development in other regions. By challenging this assertion, the Commission risks challenging the vision of the Elmore County Community as articulated in the Comprehensive Plan.

Economic Objective 6 of the Comprehensive Plan urges leaders to, "Set aside suitable sites for economic growth and expansion that is compatible with the surrounding area" (p 24). The proposed AEHI project is not compatible with the Hammett community. Hammett Community Goal number five (5) reads, "Encourage new development to comply with the County Comprehensive Plan. Create a rural residential zone, a light industrial zone and a commercial zone for Hammett to avoid conflicts with agricultural developments" (p 70). The Hammett Community Goals do not indicate the need or desire for Heavy Industrial economic development. Perhaps M2 development is omitted from the Hammett Community Goals because the Comprehensive Plan specifies that M2 development should only be encouraged in the Simco Road District. Perhaps another reason for this omission is that the Hammett Community does not see Heavy Industrial development as compatible with the surrounding area.

The creators of the Comprehensive Plan clearly intended to restrict Heavy Industrial development to a specific area of the County. The County Commissioners are challenging the authority of this document by requesting Planning and Zoning to reconstruct it.

Kendall Webster

Masters Candidate: Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University

Intern, Snake River Alliance