Mayfield growth is inevitable

Dear editor:

I would like to clarify Kelly Everett's part of the front page story last week on Mayfield Springs and how he portrayed my testimony at the Planning and Zoning hearing.

The P&Z has three sign-in sheets upon entering the hearing, for, neutral and against and they do a roll call in that order. When my name was called I asked them if they would mind if I spoke after all the testimony was heard. They granted permission, therefore, according to Kelly, I spoke "out of turn." Certainly the way it was worded in the article I was out of control, speaking out of turn.

Furthermore I would like to reiterate what I said in the hearing. The man that owns this land is persistent and unfortunately for the local residents in that immediate area there is going to be development of some sort.

He isn't going to give up or go somewhere else so if you have your druthers you might reconsider your opinion of a planned community.

You can take a highly regulated planned community where you can have a lot of input to its development or you can take a subdivision with a mere set of CC&Rs. Yes, CC&Rs are legal binding rules for a subdivision but they don't address many of the things a planned community will.

First of all, the septic tanks and wells that will be poked in the ground with a subdivision will make you cry, the PC will have community wells/septic with regulation and monitoring. Traffic, law enforcement, fire, schools, general stores will all be provided where it wouldn't be with a subdivision.

Seriously, Mayfield is a beautiful little place but it is so close to Boise and so convenient that if you moved there thinking it would be a little countryside home forever it must have been wishful thinking. Keep in mind what you push out you may be pulling something less favorable in.

Courtney Ireland

(Editor's note: As the byline indicated, the story on the meeting was written by Mountain Home News Reporter Brian Orban, not Managing Editor Kelly Everitt, who was attending a different meeting that night).