Garden City bike ban on Greenbelt OK

Garden City has the right to exclude bicycles from a strip of Greenbelt along the Boise River adjacent to the Riverside Village subdivision, the State Board of Land Commissioners said Friday.

"Greenbelt is defined as public access," said Deputy Attorney General Clive Strong. "The value judgement about what kind of use should be available is a local decision. We're not going to make that determination."

Bike riders had hoped the Land Board would decide in their favor, based on the state's 1980 agreement with the subdivision developer that required the construction of a bike path and the board's 1994 lawsuit over the developer's failure to build one.

"We're not happy with the decision," said Gary Segers of Citizens for an Open Greenbelt.

Garden City Mayor John Evans said he was not surprised with Friday's outcome.

"We had analyzed the legal aspects internally," Evans said. "It's a tough issue. There are a lot of competing interests."

The deed that transferred about 20 acres of state land to Garden City contained the special provision that the property be used "only for greenbelt and park purposes for the benefit of the public," or it would immediately revert back to its original owners.

The deed did not spell out any of the particulars of the lawsuit settlement or 1980 agreements.

During its investigation, Land Board commissioners also learned that two sections of the Greenbelt at either end of the subdivision had been conveyed to homeowners associations in violation of the 1980 agreement, which designated the land be conveyed to Garden City.

At a July 29, 1996, meeting where the settlement of the lawsuit was discussed, commissioners had raised concerns about future public access to the area in view of the efforts by the Riverside Village Homeowners Association to obtain title to land around the Greenbelt.

On Friday, Strong said the state's interest is in making sure there is public access to the Greenbelt into perpetuity. Garden City has 30 days to submit a plan to remedy the title problems.

"People think I should remember all those details, but I don't," Evans said. "It's a good opportunity to get it cleared up."

Evans was hired to manage the development of Riverside Village in the mid-1980s. He was appointed to the Garden City Planning and Zoning Commission in 1992. He served on the commission until 1995, when he was elected to City Council. In 2005, Evans was elected mayor.

"I think we achieved part of the objective of resolving the land dispute," said Judi Brawer, legal counsel for the bike group. "The part we disagree with is that Garden City is able to restrict bikes. (Commissioners) are using the 1980 agreement to say they can take the land back but not using it to enforce the bike path."

Bethann Stewart: 377-6393