Neighbors fight apartments, town houses that would alter one of Idaho’s oldest golf courses
A group of homeowners who live along the River Club golf course in Garden City, with patio views and a light breeze from the nearby Boise River, flooded City Hall to oppose a proposal for up to 750 town houses and apartments north of the historic golf course.
Dozens of residents, with even more writing letters to council members, opposed the development Monday night. They worried that the new housing units would take away the open space of the River Club, which is an 18-hole golf course, obstruct views of existing residents, reduce property values, add housing density to the area and increase traffic.
But the developer, Bob Taunton, of Texas-based Lincoln Property Co., said his development would “transform” the community along State Street. Lincoln Property Co. plans to reconfigure and improve the existing golf course while adding homes and commercial development to the northern portion. The new apartments and town houses would bring needed housing to a valley that is experiencing housing shortages and an affordability crisis.
Will Gustafson, the California developer who bought the River Club in 2018, told the Garden City Council at the public hearing that the development would “elevate and enhance all of Garden City.”
The project, called the Residences at River Club, would have no more than 750 residential units in the forms of apartments and town houses, developer representative Brian Perkins said. The apartment buildings would be four or five stories tall along State Street, Perkins said, but as the development merged with existing single-family homes, the buildings would drop to two-story town houses.
The project would also include an “active adult community” and businesses like restaurants and coffee shops.
But the development’s neighbors were not happy, even after years of negotiations.
Public testimony on the project took council members well past midnight. The Council scheduled their deliberations and vote for June 26.
This puts ‘a great number of residents’ in residents’ back yard
Residents who opposed the development hired David Leroy, a local attorney and former Idaho attorney general, to represent them at the council hearing.
Leroy said the residents opposed the development because it is too dense for their community.
“This puts 260 units in our immediate back yard and we are all together in the Plantation subdivision only 253,” Leroy said. “Our two-story homes and our lots are are large and enjoyable. Many of them are proximate to the golf course, almost all of them with some kind of vista.”
Leroy also said the walking and bike paths suggested throughout the development would add thousands of residents “trafficking either on foot or in bikes through our neighborhoods.”
“As my clients see it, we’re left with the burdens of this new development and Lincoln, it takes away the profits,” he said.
River Club-area resident Dan Hollar also opposed the development. He argued that the city’s comprehensive plan did not allow high-density development near the golf course. He argued that the proposal should be denied because it goes against the comprehensive plan and Garden City Code, which states that a development must “contribute to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the city.”
Proponents say development would protect golf course
Unlike her neighbors, Janelle Curtis, who lives in the neighboring Charleston Place subdivision, supported the application. She appreciated the concessions Lincoln made on project density and fitting it into the neighborhood, but most of all she feared that if it doesn’t pass she risks losing the golf course altogether.
“When we purchased our home, I wasn’t a golfer,” she said. “Now it is our lifestyle. We stand to lose the golf course if this project is not approved, and I’m sure that no other developer will want to retain our lifestyle or redeem the course.”
Jerome Schofield, a resident of the Plantation subdivision and avid golfer, agreed with Curtis. He believed that the development showed a commitment to maintaining and improving the golf course. In addition, he said improvements are needed along State Street.
“This is a good development of a part of State Street that desperately needs updated services and buildings,” Schofield said. “Garden City has shown that they can have sensible and high-quality development across the river. And I believe this will be another jump for the city.”
