Developer would prefer to build in Hayden

Almost a month after the Hayden City Council denied a request to annex the proposed Hayden Canyon development into the city, developers of the twice-rejected project are still weighing their options for building on the site.

This is the second time that the city turned down Hayden LLC’s annexation request for the 618 acres just north of the Hayden city limits.

Developer Glen Lanker said he had hoped that the project would be approved this go-round since the city recently updated its comprehensive plan. Now he and his partners are considering whether they should reapply for annexation or move on to pursue developing the site under Kootenai County development regulations.

Lanker said his preference was to be annexed into Hayden.

“Even though there would have been more cost involved to be part of the city of Hayden with impact fees and taxes, we thought all the work the city of Hayden had done with the comprehensive plan and planning for growth was better for us,” he said.

Now there are many unknowns, Lanker said.

For instance Kootenai County is in the last stages of updating its own comprehensive plan, which could change the way Hayden LLC develops its property.

“It’s hard to say what a development approach would look like in the county,” Lanker said.

At one Hayden annexation hearing Lanker had hinted that Hayden LLC might scale back some of its open space plans if it developed as part of unincorporated Kootenai County.

Lanker said recently that one option would be to develop Hayden Canyon as a higher-end gated community where open space might end up being given up for larger lots for more expensive homes.

How development of the property could legally differ under county regulations as compared to Hayden’s is too complicated to completely analyze without a proposal, said Hayden Community Development Director and Kootenai County Hearing Examiner Lisa Key.

“It’s nearly impossible to answer that question,” Key said.

Hayden would have had more power to influence the development had it annexed the property, she added.

Meanwhile Hayden Canyon opposition group High Density Development Hurts is pausing to regroup, said member Philip Clements.

“We’re standing by in cruise mode now,” Clements said, adding that he believes the group’s efforts were instrumental in stopping the Hayden City Council from approving the annexation.

“We have an organization put together. We have a post office box and a checking account and there’s a few bucks left in it,” he said.

Lanker said he’s certain Hayden LLC will build homes on the property some day, whether it’s as part of Hayden or simply Kootenai County.

“We definitely have a responsibility to go ahead and develop the property,” he said. “The carrying costs are significant. It’s been 2 1/2 years between our first and second applications.”

Just as certain is that High Density Development Hurts will continue to fight a large-scale project on the property.

“There’s a lot of things that could be done,” Clements said, “but building a city out here in the suburbs isn’t one of them.”