The Hayden Planning and Zoning Commission will recommend that the City Council approve the preliminary plat for the proposed Sycamore Valley subdivision at the intersection of East Miles Avenue and North Maple Road. 

The plat calls for 37 single-family homes on the 13-acre property, with most lots significantly larger than the 8,250-square-foot minimum. Land use consultant Jeramie Terzulli noted that only about four lots would be smaller than 10,000 square feet. 

The property is surrounded by existing residential development, prompting some neighbors to respond.  

Maple Street resident Laurel Cardinas expressed concern that the subdivision would sharply increase housing density “in the heart of an already established community.” 

Most homes in the surrounding area sit on lots ranging from a fifth to a quarter of an acre.  

“To allow a developer to come in would be a travesty,” Cardinas said.  

Resident Kurt White said that while he acknowledges growth is inevitable, he is also wary of the increase in housing density.  

“I’m wondering — am I going to lose the one southern-facing exposure I have (on my property)?” White said. “Am I going to have people looking down into my backyard?” 

Terzulli later said the preliminary plat is “consistent with current development” in the area.  

“We are well under the density cap for an R1 (single-family residential use) subdivision,” he said.  

Before deciding on its recommendation to the council, the commission raised a number of questions about potential traffic impacts and the absence of a park in the preliminary plat.  

The number of vehicle trips taken through the area was not sufficient to trigger a full traffic impact analysis, said Donna Phillips, community development director.

However, commission chair Shawn Taylor expressed doubt that the intersection of Miles Avenue and Maple Road could support additional development. 

“That’s a dangerous intersection as it is — and even if one or two cars get backed up, you’re sitting there for at least five minutes,” Taylor said. “It is a failing intersection.”  

No improvements to either road are proposed in the preliminary plat, though a traffic light has been in the works at the intersection of Miles Avenue and Government Way. 

Commissioner Joel Johnson cast the lone dissenting vote after learning there are no current plans for a park in the area of the proposed subdivision. 

“I don’t believe it matches the neighborhood character, and I don’t like that there are no parks,” he said.  

Johnson also suggested leaving open space within the development instead of a park.  

“I do understand that growth is going to happen,” he said. “But I also think this could be done a bit better.” 

Phillips clarified that extensive discussions about parks, including a parcel adjoining the property, had taken place between the applicant, Olson Engineering, Inc., and the city. 

“(The city) decided to look at other opportunities, and that is what they’re continuing to do,” she said. 

The City Council is scheduled to review the preliminary plat for the Sycamore Valley subdivision March 24.