EAGLE, Idaho — As the midnight hour drew near Monday night at Eagle City Hall, the list of people signed up to testify about the proposed annexation of Avimor into the city, but hadn't spoken yet, was still several pages long. They'll get the chance to speak later this month.
Eagle City Council members and Mayor Jason Pierce heard nearly six hours of testimony before cutting off the meeting at midnight and voting to resume the hearing in a special meeting now scheduled for March 28.
Avimor currently has about 800 homes in the foothills north of Eagle; when the planned community is fully built out over the next 30 to 40 years, it's projected to have about 10,000 homes situated along Idaho highway 55 in an area that includes parts of Ada, Boise and Gem counties. If it were to become part of the city of Eagle, Avimor would increase the population by more than 20,000.
Among those who testified Monday night against annexation, many said it would lead to increased taxes for people who already live in Eagle and strain the city's public safety and public works resources in order to serve Avimor developers and the newcomers who would live in homes now miles away from the city.
Proponents of annexation argue it would give the City of Eagle more control over what happens in the development and on the foothills land that now sits north of the city limits, and that rejecting annexation would not prevent changes to Eagle such as increased traffic and other demands on the city's infrastructure.
Video of Monday night's entire hearing is available here.
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