Developer's plan delayed

FRUIT HEIGHTS — A heated City Council meeting Tuesday cooled down after council members tabled a developer's request to reconsider high-density housing in a new development. Earlier, the Planning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend the council deny part of The Springs development, a 60-acre project with a mix of $300,000-and-up homes and affordable condominiums.

Residents packed City Hall for the agenda item that would have had Garbett Homes explain why it wanted the council to approve its 154-unit condominium project as part of The Springs development.

Developer Bryson Garbett said after the meeting he was disappointed that information he believed would be helpful to the city and residents was not heard.

Mayor Rick Miller will form a committee by Friday made up of Planning Commission and City Council members and the city's legal counsel to begin discussions with Garbett and his partner in the development, a Boise company, to find common ground. The city hopes to have the issue settled by the end of the year, he said.

"This committee will work to iron out a compromise and I think it will," Miller said.

Councilman Dan Phelps, who was unhappy with Garbett's comments about the city's handling of affordable housing projects, said after the meeting he thought the city and the developer could reach a compromise.

Garbett said his goal is to avoid a lawsuit and he is hopeful one can be avoided. He brought two lawyers to the meeting to defend his company's rights, if necessary, he said.

Julie Fisher, member of a citizens committee, said there is "definitely room for some kind of agreement and we are willing to work with them, but not when they pull the race card." She and many residents who attended the meeting were unhappy with Garbett's criticism of the city for its lack of affordable housing and minority residents.

Ed Parker, whose home borders on the north end of the project, said i a compromise should be reached if there were a buffer near expensive homes.

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E-mail: lweist@desnews.com

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