POCATELLO — A Utah-based developer has plans to construct over 80 townhomes on about 10 acres near Ammon Park in Pocatello and some local residents are concerned about what the future will look like with so many new neighbors nearby.

The company behind the project, CMJ Holdings of Utah, and its engineering firm, Knudsen Engineering of Pocatello, are set to provide the Pocatello Planning & Zoning Commission as well as local residents with more information about the development project during a public hearing set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday inside the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 911 N. Seventh Ave.

The Idaho State Journal recently spoke to some local residents who voiced concerns about how the 80-plus townhomes will impact the Ammon Park area, specifically regarding the drainage system for stormwater and the increased risks of additional traffic. Moreover, residents voiced concerns about the city’s procedure to provide notice to affected homeowners — a process they described as poor and inadequate.

The Journal also spoke to Joel Dixon of Knudsen Engineering who is the project manager for the endeavor, which is known as the Park Place Townhomes development. Dixon said that he believes many of the issues raised by local residents are premature, that many questions and concerns will be addressed during the public hearing, and that he believes the development will greatly enhance the Ammon Park area.

Curt Whitaker, who lives on Homer Drive near the planned development, told the Idaho State Journal that he believes residents were not properly provided the required 15 days’ notice of the upcoming public hearing. Additionally, Whitaker says the signs the city erected to provide notice of the project were placed inconspicuously and didn’t provide any specific details.

“The signs the city put up are about 150 feet away from any of the nearby streets,” Whitaker said. “They’re on the side of a mountain and so far away that nobody driving on Ammon Street would ever be able to read it.”

Whitaker continued, “The signs are these tiny rectangles that say there is an upcoming public hearing with a phone number but provide no specifics of the project. To have a sign like that up for a project of 80-plus townhomes on 10 acres is just completely inadequate.”

The Journal also spoke to Tiffany Stringham, a resident of Ammon Street who helped to distribute some flyers that read, “Save Amon Park,” which shares what local residents believe to be negative impacts on that neighborhood and encourages local residents to attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“I was notified because I live close enough to the project but many people who live in that area weren’t because they were over 300 feet away from the boundaries of the project development,” she said. “Things are going to change significantly for people whether you live at the top or bottom of the hill and I think that signage advertising this project should have been placed in an accessible location, not clear back in the sagebrush where nobody ever goes.”

Another resident, Michele Holyoak echoed a similar sentiment. She also developed a digital flyer shared on social media encouraging residents to attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“I live within 1,000 feet of Ammon park,” she said. “My kids walk to that park through our backyard multiple times a week. I found out about this development project on Sunday through the grapevine. This concerns me as a citizen who lives so close to the project. Why was I not officially informed with plenty of time to ask questions and respond? As I researched to get more information I found other grassroots groups that were spontaneously organizing with the same purpose. My goal was to gather together with others to make the most impact.”

Assistant planner with the Pocatello Planning & Development Services Department told the Journal that the hearing was properly noticed, with both signs going up and legal notices published in the Journal on May 28.

“We use software that keeps track of everything for us and we put signs up for the Park Place (project) as well as signs for other items on Wednesday’s meeting agenda,” Flynn said. “The signs are placed on the parcels that are subject for development.”

Additionally, Flynn said the city follows its own code in terms of noticing development projects and that if individuals have additional suggestions as to how projects could be noticed better they should provide that feedback to the city.

Whitaker says he has voiced these concerns to the city for more than the past year, meeting personally with Planning & Development Services on more than one occasion only for his issues to apparently fall on deaf ears, he said.

Aside from the noticing issue, the development itself is concerning to Whitaker, Stringham, Holyoak and others. According to documents associated with the development, a new stormwater drainage system would need to be constructed, which would involve the addition of up to 18 drainage basins and four drainage ponds. Of those drainage ponds, the largest appears to be located at the southwest corner of Ammon Park near the gravel road entrance and would need to be adjusted from its current capacity of 8,000 cubic feet to 40,000 cubic feet.

“The location of this drainage pond at Ammon Park is not a pond, it’s more of a recession into the park that is covered in grass,” Whitaker said. “Going from 8,000 cubic feet to 40,000 cubic feet is pretty significant. That’s a lot of water that is just going to sit there. I’m concerned that water will just be sitting there at a public park and just become stagnant.”

On the flyer that Stringham helped to distribute, one of the concerns states, the “Pond will be standing water with potential safety issues for children, smells, unsightly (appearance) and added bugs to deal with.”

Holyoak added, “There is not a person that grew up here who did not either go sledding or ice blocking on those hills as a child. The hills may remain, but the addition of the runoff cesspool will forever change the accessibility and safety for future children as they attempt to create the memories that we all cherished as children. My littles sled safely on the shallow end where the cesspool will go.”

While noting that it’s normal for residents to have concerns with development projects like this one, Dixon said that some of the issues being raised with the pond are not accurate.

“Our contribution to this drainage pond is a small portion of what already exists,” Dixon said. “This is not going to be some pond that you see out in the forest. It’s a highly-regulated stormwater pond that will never have standing water. I mean, if it rains for five days straight it may take longer for the stormwater to drain, but the pond will be designed for any runoff to drain within 48 hours. It’s not designed nor intended to have standing water for any significant period of time.”

Whitaker also voiced the concern that the flair of the park will change, with the development set to include the addition of pickleball courts inside Ammon Park.

Dixon explained that the development has the open space to add the pickleball courts in the middle of the townhomes, but opted to instead include them in Ammon Park that way they would be accessible to the public, not just the residents of the townhomes.

“If the city is supportive of that aspect of the project we thought it would be better to improve an existing recreational area to provide more resources to the community,” Dixon said.

Lastly, one of the primary concerns among residents is the added traffic that the development could bring, with the informational flyer that Stringham distributed estimating that it could add as many as 600 additional round trips on a daily basis.

“I have young kids,” Stringham said. “I’m concerned because my childrens’ safety is going to be at risk. Ammon Street is a steep hill that kids ride their bikes down because it’s fast and fun. With this development, Ammon Street will be the through street linking up to 80-plus apartments.”

In response, Dixon explained that any development project will come with additional traffic and that he believes the addition of connecting streets to main arterial roadways will benefit the area.

“The park is not going away,” he said. “In fact, the biggest asset to this development is we are connecting two neighborhoods that surround the park but are isolated. We plan to construct walking trails down to the park with benches and places to let your dog off the leash.”

He added, “Any development comes with associated traffic no matter where you put it and residential additions have much fewer trips per day than industrial or commercial ones. While this will create additional traffic in the immediate area surrounding the park, by linking Lakeview Drive and the Grove Apartments with Ammon Street it will help to reduce traffic on the main arterial roads.”

Those interested in learning more about the development or voicing their concerns about the project are encouraged to attend Wednesday night’s meeting. While Dixon said he has no problem speaking to any resident about the project and answering their questions, the public hearing is the best venue for individuals to feel heard and to affect change.