Valley County holds public hearing on McCall area-of-impact boundary; decision continued to July 23

Cascade, Idaho — Valley County commissioners on July 7 heard extensive public testimony on a competing set of maps that would redraw the City of McCall’s area of impact (AOI), closing public comment and tabling final action until a July 23 meeting at 2:00 p.m.

Chairman Morelaff opened the hearing by describing the county’s process and the statutory framework in Idaho Code 67-65-26, noting the county had 90 days from the city’s May 16 request to reach a decision. "The purpose of today's meeting is to consider a request from the city of McCall to modify the current area of impact boundary," he said, and announced that the county would take testimony, then review the record before making a decision at the later date.

McCall’s mayor, identified in testimony as Mayor Bob, and City Manager Forrest Atkinson presented the city’s case first. Atkinson said the city’s proposed boundary was produced from a GIS-based suitability analysis incorporating 24 data layers tied to the five statutory criteria and designed “to comply with the law while preserving the successful model of regional planning that we have.” He told the board the county proposal represents about a “97% reduction” of the existing AOI — from “over 22,000 acres” to roughly “600 acres” in the county-drafted map — and…