Rezone wrong for Ag A land use

Dear editor:

Monday, June 15, was the last County commissioners meeting to decide whether to rezone approximately 1,200 acres of Ag A to heavy industrial M2 in rural Hammett. All they asked for from the previous meeting was some clarification and different interpretations of the Elmore County Comprehensive Plan. The plan was sent back to planning and zoning for a possible rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan, if they changed their previous four to two ruling against the zoning change.

Commissioner Cruser questioned whether this land in question was truly Ag A quality ground. Was a nuclear power plant heavy or light industrial? And how in the 1950s she debated, on the yes side, to construct dams in the Hells Canyon Area which helped create cheap electrical power for Idaho. How could we turn down a nuclear power plant that would produce more inexpensive power.

The land in question is owned by a dairyman and he grows only high quality alfalfa for optimum milk production. The land is definitely Ag A.

Besides the massive size of a 1,600 megawatt nuclear plant (cost estimates vary from $10-14 billion) the owners would have to sell electricity at an average of 15 cents per kilowatt hour to be financially successful. We live in Hammett and our last farm power bill was four cents per kilowatt hours. Idaho Power hasn't shown any interest in this high priced nuclear electricity and my guess is it would end up in some place like California.

The Elmore County Comprehensive Plan was rewritten in 2004 to specifically delineate where Ag A to heavy industrial are to be located. It mentions responsible economic and industrial growth in general terms, but is very specific when addressing the rural Hammett community. It states that only light industrial M1 businesses can be located there. The plan promotes and ensures the rural lifestyle and states that heavy industrial only be located in the Simco Road area. Anyone who was born in Hammett, farms in Hammett or moved to Hammett for its lifestyle never in their wildest dreams thought that they would have to fight the building of a huge heavy industrial plant in this beautiful rural setting. Two of the commissioners agreed that with the concepts and as stated by one commissioner the reason the Simco Road area was chosen for heavy industrial was its lightly populated desert location away from the aquifer and the Snake River should there be a spill or accident.

I hope that however planning and zoning returns this issue to the commissioners they stay the course and say no to heavy industry in a rural Ag A community.

Chase Robertson

Hammett