Ordinance Text
8-13D-9-27: WILDLIFE PREVENTION STRATEGY:
Background: The Hidden Springs community has been carefully planned with a strategy for the prevention, control and rapid extinguishment of wildfires. This program is intended to address the legitimate concern about residential development in the foothill areas as it relates to public safety and wildfire prevention, while maintaining the functional and aesthetic parameters of the community. Development of a program for wildfire prevention has been an effort involving members of the planning team and local fire experts. This strategy has been reviewed with fire and resource experts since the 1996 wildfire affecting the Hidden Springs property. The consensus is that the strategy remains valid and highly desirable as an approach to dealing with fire hazards in the foothills. Seven (7) primary criteria have been identified in establishing a sound wildfire prevention program for this project:
Available Water: Two (2) aspects of water systems have been considered in the planning and development of this community. The first is the quality and quantity of water available for domestic use. The second is the type of system and quantity of water available for fire protection. The availability of water for fire protection on the Hidden Springs community will exceed the minimum storage requirement of five hundred fifty thousand (550,000) gallons. Fire flow will also exceed the minimum one thousand five hundred (1,500) gallons per minute with additional buffering for peak hour demands.
Water mains will be sized to accommodate fire hydrants at a maximum of five hundred foot (500') spacing in residential areas and about three hundred fifty foot (350') spacing near commercial and community structures. Hydrants will be strategically located near emergency access easements to the residential perimeter and wildlife management areas, as well as periodically along roadways. Booster pumps to ensure adequate pressure and backup power are also part of the design of the water distribution system.
Lots greater than two and a half (2.5) acres located north of the power lines will be served from individual wells, subject to approval by the required jurisdictional agencies. Each residential building will be required to have a fire sprinkler system meeting NFPA 13D supplied from their individual well. Fire hydrants connected to the public water system are located approximately one and one-fourth (1¼) miles south of the ninth addition access on Cartwright Road. Fill and return time for a firetruck would be ten (10) minutes or less.
Proximity Of Fire Services: Fire service will be provided by the North Ada fire and rescue district. The bureau of land management also has responsibilities for fire protection in the foothills because of extensive public lands in the area. A fire station site will be provided in the village center in the first phase of the project. When the district constructs a station on the site, volunteers from Hidden Springs may be asked to supplement the staff at the new station. The new facility is envisioned by the district to house a pumper, tanker, and grassfire equipment (that have adequate capacity to serve Hidden Springs, the Dry Creek Valley, and adjacent areas) at its completion.
Emergency Vehicle Access: Primary roads within the community will be designed to provide access for emergency vehicles. Provisions will be made for access by firefighting equipment and personnel from two (2) directions into each residential neighborhood. All roads will have a maximum gradient of ten percent (10%). Spurs that serve those areas occurring off the primary roads will terminate in cul-de-sacs, with adequate turnarounds for emergency vehicles. All roads will be maintained by Ada County highway district to its standards. Emergency access easements to residential perimeters and major open space areas will be provided at strategic locations, including ends of cul-de-sacs and between adjoining lots.
Site Planning: Careful site planning for fire protection at the perimeter of the residential neighborhoods as well as local protection for individual homesites is a critical function of the wildfire prevention program for Hidden Springs. As such, a comprehensive system of roads, trails, riparian greenways, and open preserves is an integral part of each neighborhood. This system provides strategic emergency access points and firebreaks at the neighborhood perimeters that allow firefighters to confine a fire to a small area. To reduce local exposure to hillside areas, the residential lots in each neighborhood will be low density, with a limited building envelope on the most level portion of the site. Also, setbacks will be required between all structures and adjacent slopes.
Noncombustible Construction Materials: Architectural design guidelines for the Hidden Springs project will require that noncombustible materials such as tile/slate, asphalt composition shingles, and standing seam metal be utilized for roofing materials. These guidelines will also require any highly combustible material used for exterior siding, paneling, fencing and other wood structures to be factory treated with an industry rated fire-retardant chemical.
Landscaping And Fuel Modification: The landscape planting guidelines for Hidden Springs will include provisions for wildfire prevention in conjunction with site planning, aesthetics, water requirements, native plants, and ongoing maintenance programs. The goal of these guideline provisions will be twofold. First, to implement a comprehensive landscape design that will reduce fuel volume in the common and perimeter areas, and second, to provide individual homesites with a framework for fuel modification. The guideline criteria for the fuel modification in the common areas and residential neighborhoods of Hidden Springs are: planting fire resistant plant materials; establishing irrigated landscape envelopes within each homesite; developing vegetation buffers that provide transition to adjacent native vegetation and establishing criteria for clearance between buildings and plantings within each site.
Following the wildfire on a portion of the Hidden Springs property in the summer of 1996, a revegetation effort is getting underway. In consultation with wildfire and vegetation experts, a mix of fire-resistant grasses and plants will be planted in several stages over the coming months.
Maintenance And Management: Ongoing maintenance, management and enforcement of the wildfire prevention program will be the responsibility of the community association and governed by the covenants, codes, and restrictions for the Hidden Springs community. The design guidelines for the project will be administered by a design review committee for site planning, architectural and landscape design compliance with the wildfire prevention program. Additionally, public information and education programs about wildfire prevention will be developed in cooperation with the North Ada fire and rescue district and the bureau of land management.
(Ord. 1002, 10-28-2025)
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Ada County, Idaho — United States
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Nearby Sections
8-13D-9-22: PHASING PLAN:8-13D-9-23: ROADS AND CIRCULATION:8-13D-9-24: TRAFFIC STRATEGY:8-13D-9-25: TRIP REDUCTION STRATEGY:8-13D-9-26: OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS STRATEGY:8-13D-9-27: WILDLIFE PREVENTION STRATEGY:8-13D-9-28: WILDLIFE STRATEGY:8-13D-9-29: WATER SUPPLY:8-13D-9-30: WATER SYSTEM:8-13D-9-31: WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT:8-13D-9-32: WATER CONSERVATION:8-13D-9-33: SEWER SYSTEM:8-13D-9-34: STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM:8-13D-9-35: SHERIFF, FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDIC8-13D-9-36: LANDSCAPE STRATEGY:
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