Highlands Cove neighbors ask judge to block Boise Foothills project

The city of Boise didn't follow proper procedures when it approved Highlands Cove, a 57-home project that developer Dave Yorgason plans to build around the east end of the Crane Creek Golf Course in the Boise Foothills, plaintiffs claim in a document filed Wednesday in Ada County District Court.

Those failures include allowing new evidence at a City Council hearing on Yorgason's appeal of the Planning and Zoning Commission's September denial of the project and the city's acceptance of the developer's appeal before the commission had a chance to approve a list of reasons why it denied the project in the first place.

The plaintiffs in this case include the Highlands Neighborhood Association, several individual neighbors and Highland Cove Protection Association, a nonprofit established in July to raise money for the fight against Yorgason's project.

The first issue to settle in this case is whether the petition for judicial review — basically an appeal of the City Council's decision — was filed in time. The city of Boise is likely to argue the deadline for judicial review passed weeks ago. The plaintiffs are basing their calendar on the argument that the council didn't vote on a request for reconsideration when neighbors presented that request two weeks after the appeal hearing , so the decision not to reconsider wasn't official until two months later.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Highlands Cove neighbors ask judge to block Boise Foothills project."