HomeMy WebLinkAboutDevelopmentSolution-8A Highly Desirable Place to Live in Rexburg
(Exploring the development of vacant property, which is zoned rural residential,
while protecting the existing stable country neighborhood on Rexburg’s west side)
Description of the property:
• Approximately 67 acres of farmland (alfalfa field, horse pasture, and barley field).
• Eight (8) property owners aggregate their land into one logical development project.
• Located between U.S. Highway 20 and South 12th West Street in Rexburg, Idaho.
• Zoned Rural Residential (RR1 and RR2).
• It is part of a stable country neighborhood on both sides of South 12th West Street.
• City water and sewer, Rocky Mountain Power, and Intermountain Gas service lines are
adjacent to the property along South 12th West Street.
Problems with the property:
• The property is isolated by barriers:
o A freeway blocks the east side (U.S. Highway 20).
o An irrigation canal lateral along South 12th West Street blocks the west side.
o Rural residential homes along South 12th West Street block interior access.
o Rexburg’s main irrigation canal passes east and west through the middle.
o The rural residential Widdison neighborhood blocks the north side.
o The rural residential Willowbrook subdivision is on the south side.
o The narrow Meadows subdivision abuts the south side near the freeway.
• The property is lower in elevation than the canal lateral along South 12th West Street.
• The city wants to move or cover the canal lateral so it can widen South 12th West to “5
lanes of traffic.”
• A strip of land (393 South 12th West) was originally planned for a rural access lane, but it
is too narrow for today’s street standards.
Advantages of the property:
• The property’s isolation gives it a degree of seclusion.
• It is irrigated by canal water:
o The Rexburg main canal has a large diversion structure near the freeway.
o Irrigation ditches with headgates parallel the freeway.
o Land slopes gently downward from the freeway toward South 12th West Street.
• It is relatively flat, with no hills or gulleys.
• It is zoned rural residential. Thus, agriculture is a specific "permitted use" in the whole
neighborhood, allowing limited domestic livestock for small hobby-farm activities.
• It is part of a stable country neighborhood of rural residential families.
Development Strategy:
• Reject the notion of rezoning to put crowded, multi-family residences next to the
freeway (as was done in the narrow Meadows subdivision to the south).
• Recognize that agricultural production is a “permitted principal use” in rural residential
zones and is a treasured right for residents living in this stable country neighborhood.
• Make it worthy of premium prices for large-lot, rural residential homes.
• Put one-acre, canal-irrigated lots along the east side, next to the freeway:
o Use a dense row of trees and shrubs, parallel to the freeway, along the east side
of the existing irrigation ditch:
▪ To provide a visual barrier between the freeway and the neighborhood.
▪ To give freeway travelers a pleasant contrast to the nearby “tunnel” of
high-rise apartments and townhouses that are adjacent to the freeway.
o Use the west side of those acre lots for residential dwellings, thereby giving
some distance between homes and the tree-lined freeway.
o Use the east side of those canal-irrigated acre lots for agricultural activities,
including pasture for grazing animals.
• Put a bridge across the Rexburg main canal to permit a neighborhood street to run
parallel to the freeway on the west side of those canal-irrigated, acre-lots.
• Put a dense row of trees and shrubs along the neighborhood’s west side, just east of the
irrigation canal lateral which parallels the high-traffic South 12th West Street.
• Fill the residual interior of the 67 acres with half-acre lots (as per RR2 zoning).
• Build two neighborhood streets with bridges across the irrigation canal lateral to
provide access to the South 12th West Street.
• Maintain a “gated community” feel for this secluded country neighborhood.
The Ward Property:
• Rueland Ward bought about 8 acres from Eldon Steiner many decades ago. The Ward
property is now divided among his four (4) heirs.
• The property is zoned rural residential (RR1).
• The property has two residences along South 12th West Street (#355 and #375).
• The four (4) current owners of the Ward properties need to be enticed to allow their
properties to be included in the interior 67-acre development.
• If it is impossible for the narrow strip of land at 393 South 12th West to be used as an
access street for the interior 67-acre development, consider trading it to the adjacent
property owner on the north in exchange for allowing an eastern portion of her
property to be used as a logical part of the interior subdivision’s development.
See the attached concept and density study drawings:
November 2, 2022
Neighborhood Contact People:
Wanless Southwick 208-569-6095
Brent Harris 208-356-6387