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| Editorial: Blackhawk Sets the Bar for Other McCall Projects |
| 1/16/2007 |
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From The Star-News Editorial Opinion Column
It is easy for land developers to promise their buyers open space as an amenity for the future. Those developers will deventually go away, however, after which the future of the open space is thrown into doubt. The developers of Blackhawk, however, have decided to carve their pledge into stone, and they should be commended for it.
The Blackhawk development is now underway five miles south of McCall along a scenic stretch of the North Fork of the Payette River. In return for buying a lot or home, customers are promised a variety of "extras," such as an equestrian center, community lodge, hiking and biking trails, and groomed Nordic ski trails. Those are all well and good, but over time an equestrian center can fall into disrepair, a community center can be converted into a mansion and sold, and maintenance of trails can wither away due to neglect. These are the risks of buying into a so-called planned development, in that the maintenance of the amenities is largely up to the homeowners once the project sells out.
Not so with tbe Blackhawk Wildlife Preserve, which totals 152 acres of the project's 1551 acres total and stretches nearly two miles along the North Fork of the Payette River. The promise of leaving these acres as pristine habitat for wildlife is not made with fingers crossed, but in writing and in partnership with the Payette Land Trust. The Blackhawk developers have signed a legal and binding agreement with the trust placing the land into a conservation easement, which means there is nothing they or their successors can do to take it back.
Of course, the motivation to set aside the land for wildlife habitat is not entirely alturistic. Much of the land cannot be built upon due to wetlands and flood plains. And, the developers receive a substantial tax break for their action. Nevertheless, Blackhawk is the first large project in Valley County to draw a line around part of their land and declare it off-limits forever. It is a grand gesture and should serve as a challenge to those now building planned communities in the region and others who are contemplating such projects. |
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