8-13D-9-20: CENTRAL PLANNING CONCEPTS:

Plans for Hidden Springs have been under preparation for several years. The plans presented in this document are the result of an extensive period of regional and site-based analysis, a careful consideration of program and design alternatives and the study of other major projects in the country that are known for environmental quality and traditional community values. The plans were refined to reflect the suggestions of numerous public agencies and interest groups (including many neighboring property owners) who are concerned with land use and development in the Dry Creek Valley.

The resulting development strategy seeks to set a distinctive precedent for development in the Dry Creek Valley by establishing a small rural town and agricultural valley floor as the defining identity and amenity for an environmentally sensitive and visually dramatic planned community. The central planning concepts which make up this plan include:

   •   Site disturbance will be minimized through the use of rural roadway designs, shared driveways, building envelope controls on rural residential lots, and a compact and efficient village center core.

   •   Water will primarily come from United Water Company and be distributed to a reservoir and a comprehensive distribution system. Lots greater than two and a half (2.5) acres in size will be served by individual wells.

   •   Sewage will be handled primarily through an aerated lagoon biological treatment system. Lots greater than two and a half (2.5) acres in size may employ individual septic treatment systems.

   •   The sewage treatment system will be managed by a qualified professional entity acceptable to the department of environmental quality and Central health district.

   •   Stormwater will be captured, dispersed, and treated in a series of grassy swales and retention areas that will naturally filter pollutants and recharge the aquifer.

   •   On-site commercial and community/recreation facilities will help to capture traffic and minimize the number of trips off site. Park and ride lots and vanpools will help residents get to work without using their automobiles.

   •   A wildfire prevention and management strategy, developed in coordination with North Ada fire and rescue and BLM will be implemented. Elements include use of noncombustible building materials, fire resistant vegetation, sufficient water supply and pressure, and access to permittee's areas.

   •   Advanced telecommunication connections to every home will enable residents who choose to work at home to communicate with their employers, schools, libraries, and other information services without leaving the community.

   •   Extensive trails and bicycle facilities will encourage residents to walk and recreate within the community as well as have access to larger regional systems.

   •   An active community association will be established to ensure long term maintenance and operations are of the quality of initial improvements.

   •   The Hidden Springs boundary configuration together with the design and provision of essential public services enhances the ability of Hidden Springs to potentially be annexed or incorporated.

   •   Minimizing development in the highly visible valley floor and concentrating development in the more hidden side coves, gulches, and valleys.

   •   Minimizing development of the highly visible hillsides and keeping development either at the base or top of slopes.

   •   Siting ridgetop units in saddles and low areas to minimize "skylining" when development occurs at the top of slopes.

   •   Tucking buildings into topographic folds.

   •   Orienting roadway views to open space, agricultural parcels, and the creek beds.

   •   Offsetting building pads to permit views between homes to open space, agricultural fields, and the creeks.

   •   Using native vegetation in natural massings to blend homes with hillsides.

   •   Limiting heights, breaking up building massing and facades to minimize the visual scale of structures.

Greenbelt or open space buffers have been designated between all riparian areas and nearby development. Wildlife corridors and big game winter range management areas have been designated with plans for enhancing these areas with vegetation to improve their ability to support big game winter feeding.

Greenbelt, regional and local trails have been designed to allow both wildlife and humans to move unobstructed throughout Hidden Springs and connect to corridors on adjoining lands. Approximately fifty percent (50%) of Hidden Springs will remain as open space. Existing vegetation will be maintained through the enforcement of building envelopes and related design guidelines on the rural residential lots. Natural drainageways will be protected through similar design guidelines regulating the grading and drainage of building parcels.

Drainage from the road system will be contained and filtered through grass swales and natural soils where terrain allows. The water system will be metered and managed.

Existing irrigation water rights will be used to continue farming activities and irrigate common areas. Irrigation losses will be minimized through a program of limited and controlled landscaping and planting. Wastewater will be treated primarily through a pressurized subsurface treatment system. All the water quality management features will be designed in accordance with regulatory standards and sited with soils and geology suited to that purpose. The existing springs on the south side of Dry Creek will be integrated into the overall site plan's common areas and agricultural areas. All of these systems will all be integrated into the overall management structure for the area.

These concepts, properly designed, constructed, maintained, and managed, will offer a rare opportunity to have development without sacrificing water quality.

Developing A Distinctive Community: Hidden Springs has also been conceived with the intent of establishing an environment that fosters a high quality of development and strong community interaction amongst its residents. The village center will emulate the small-town character which makes so many of Idaho's rural towns unique. The community will offer homesites with a broad range of size configurations and features. Hidden Springs will encourage a diversity of residents bound together with a common pride and identity in their community. While distinctive in their design and product type, residential neighborhoods will be linked by pathways and trails to the village center allowing the community center and general store to act as community wide gathering places. Recreational facilities such as playing fields, playgrounds, tot lots, trails and other open space features will provide numerous opportunities for residents to interact. Hidden Springs will also sponsor numerous community activities including farmers' markets, community gatherings, family-oriented holiday events and educational sessions to encourage residents to explore the natural environment, meet their neighbors and share in community activities. The schools, general store and produce stand will also meet important community needs, reduce travel requirements, and will provide the community with opportunities for residents to interact with their neighbors. Hidden Springs will provide Ada County and the Boise area with a model planned community that captures the rural character and traditional town values that have historically made Idaho's communities ideal environments to live in and raise a family.

   1.   Residential density may be transferred among development parcels providing this transfer does not conflict with the general intent or conditions provided in Section 8-13D-4 of this Article, nor exceed the total project unit count of one thousand thirty-five (1,035) units. Density transfers will be reflected in plats submitted for each phase.

   2.   A mix of residential uses is permitted in all development parcels.

   3.   Total commercial uses shall not exceed fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet (GSF) of interior building area of village commercial uses and fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet (GSF) of interior building area of agricultural commercial uses as defined herein. Public and community support uses are not included in these totals.

   4.   A major portion of the Dry Creek Valley floor will remain in use for agricultural activities.

   5.   There will be a designation of a major wildlife and winter range area, both north of Currant Creek, south of the power line, and west of Cartwright Road, as well as east of Cartwright Road and north of the power line.

   6.   The total acreage of the open space areas will not decrease below eight hundred ten (810) acres.

(Ord. 1002, 10-28-2025)