UPDATE: Wednesday night residents from Blue Valley Mobile Homes were disappointed by the Design Review Committee's decision to allow R&L trucking to build a terminal, diesel fuel station, maintenance facility and room to house at least 100 trucks right next to their community.
6 On Your Side has been following the Blue Valley Mobile Homes story. Last night was filled with dozens of people standing before the council to express concerns, ask questions and raise awareness in their efforts to rid their community of yet another industrial addition.
Many Blue Valley residents expressed similar concerns about noise, air pollution, increased truck traffic and the overall safety and well-being for children.
After a four hour meeting, a final verdict was made and Blue Valley residents were given the answer they were hoping to avoid, the panel voted in favor of R&L trucking with the conditions that they update various terms such as providing additional height to the acoustic walls.
Although many residents were upset with the final ruling, Victoria Johnson, a member in the Blue Valley community was able to walk away with a silver lining, “I think we’re gonna come together as a community, um we did when we had the fires on the BLM land I met neighbors I had never seen before and we all just kind of came together and dealt with the situation and that’s what will happen now.”
Blue Valley Mobile Park has been around since 1970 and although the future of the park remains unknown, the community is focused on taking this new ruling one day at a time.
R&L Trucking, a company based out of Ohio is planning on building a trucking terminal with a fuel station, maintenance facility and enough room to provide a bay that could house 100 trucks.
However, this development will be located right next to the Blue Valley mobile home park that has been there since the 1970's, residents worry about noise, air pollution, increased truck traffic and the dangers that could cause for children.
They also worry that because the trailer park is surrounded by industrial companies that the land they lease, with the trailers they own, will be sold out from under them, Blue Valley is located off of Eisenman Road to the south of the Boise Factory Outlet Mall.
"I am because if somebody ends up buying this area, I don't know where I would go," said Susan Boozer who has lived in Blue Valley for five years. "I would have to move my own mobile home and I don't have the money to do that and a lot of people around here doesn't have the money to do that."
The City of Boise Design Review Board will meet on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, this will be the last time the public will be able to weigh in on the development.
The City of Boise also faces a challenge with having enough affordable housing, so the city is working with the developer to come up with a compromise.
"We are hoping that both sides can come together to find something that can be amenable to everybody," said Mike Journee. "We are doing everything we can to hold on to that affordable home stock and make sure those folks can stay where they are."
Journee also told us that the city can't zone Blue Valley as a residential zone because it falls within the airport overlay zone, which is a federal law.
The City is working to negotiate a sound wall and other safety measures that would help separate the trucking terminal from the residents of Blue Valley.
However, residents worry about the future of their homes amid the development that is happening all around them.
"We own our homes, but not the land," said Boozer. "We are kind of screwed on that so yeah it is going to be rough."
