Local News
Setting the Record Straight and Moving Forward
Harris Ranch residents and community members have raised questions about the source of Your Baber Valley, and we wish to clarify the source of this website. Your Barber Valley is a community resource provided by friends of Harris Ranch. We aim to respond to rumors and hollow rhetoric with simple facts that are credible and cited.
The Harris family has been exemplary citizens of Boise and the Barber Valley for some 70 years. For the last two years, the Harris Family, Barber Valley Development, and LeNir have endured false and defamatory accusations by the Harris Ranch Community Infrastructure District Taxpayers Association (HRCIDTA) and their efforts to cast a shadow over the development. We cannot allow a one-sided, false narrative to be perpetrated by a handful of misguided individuals.
It is not only our opinion that the HRCIDTA’s narrative is false; an Ada County Court judge dismissed 16 of 16 claims brought by Bill Doyle, Larry Crowley, and the HRCIDTA. Yet, after every claim they brought before the court and an attempt to retry the case were both denied, the HRCIDTA appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court, extending the earliest timeline to resolution at least into late 2024. Crucially, as the CID Board uses CID funds to pay for its legal defense, no matter which way the suit is settled, homeowners will have lost at least $700,000 from CID coffers that could have been spent in their neighborhood. Furthering the damage to homeowners, the costs that the HRCIDTA litigation has caused the CID to incur are accruing interest at 10.5%, wasting more homeowner dollars with every passing day.
We know the residents of Harris Ranch want to see the development completed, as laid out in the Harris Ranch Specific Plan nearly 20 years ago. Despite the continuous attempts to block progress in Harris Ranch, the project is moving forward. All entities involved with developing Harris Ranch are working with the City of Boise to resume planning and related pre-construction efforts on major amenities in Harris Ranch, including Alta Harris Park, Murray Ponds, and the Harris Ranch Town Center. Regarding Alta Harris Park, while the city of Boise owns the property and is responsible for building the park, Harris Ranch is voluntarily assisting with development and is in discussion to aid in financing to ensure Alta Harris Park has a path to completion.
Restarting planning efforts despite the ongoing litigation is a vote of confidence that the lawsuits surrounding the CID will be resolved and the projects brought to fruition. Resuming the planning process now ensures that when the HRCID litigation is resolved and funds are made available, construction can begin immediately.
Possible CID Settlement: HRCIDTA Ignored Offer to cut CID Taxes by 50%
In a previous article, we cited a BoiseDev story that alluded to a settlement offer it was looking into that would ostensibly end the litigation brought by the Harris Ranch CID Taxpayers’ Association against Barber Valley Development, the Harris Family Limited Partnership, and the Harris Ranch CID Board. While BoiseDev may not yet have received a response to its public records request, Your Barber Valley has confirmed the existence of that offer.
On Thursday, July 13, Barber Valley Development circulated a signed settlement offer that would reduce CID taxes for all residents in the Harris Ranch CID by ten percent per year for each of the next five years, resulting in a 50% yearly reduction in payments. The condition of the offer was that pending litigation be dropped and that approved and outstanding bonds be funded. The offer was contingent upon Harris Ranch CID Board approval, which would in turn require discussion at a public meeting of the HRCID. The offer was sent to Larry Crowley, President of the HRCIDTA, with a response requested by Tuesday, July 18.
The offer would have been a compromise that would allow progress in Harris Ranch to continue, funding amenities stalled by more than two years due to the litigation. Under the terms of the offer, progress could indeed have restarted, albeit at a slower pace with fewer dollars in CID coffers to fund improvements. (more…)
Millions of Dollars but No Sense: Legal Challenges to Harris Ranch CID Have Wasted Residents’ Tax Dollars
Litigation around the Harris Ranch Community Infrastructure District (HRCID) is poised to prolong its already lengthy timeline in the courts. On Thursday, May 11, Bill Doyle, Larry Crowley and the Harris Ranch Community Infrastructure District Taxpayers Association (HRCIDTA) filed a motion for a rehearing after an Ada County judge denied every one of their claims. Further, the group indicated in the media that they plan to appeal the ruling.
Residents hoping for their long-awaited amenities will have to wait longer as the court proceedings continue, but time isn’t the only thing wasted by the persistent litigation. More than $2 million in CID funds that were to be used to build community infrastructure, like green spaces, parks, roads, and more, have been lost due to the delays.
Barber Valley Development, Inc., the developer of Harris Ranch, had an economic report prepared in January 2023 by a third party to detail just how much the lawsuit was costing all parties involved. That report can be read here, and the addendum, prepared in March 2023, which updates the section related to damages incurred can be read here.
As detailed in the report, the CID funds, which are taxpayer dollars used to fund infrastructure projects in the community, have taken a major hit from the delay caused by the legal challenges. There are two primary reasons for the financial hit: interest accrued on delayed repayments (along with the impact of inflation) and legal fees to fight the lawsuit.
Inflation Related Losses
The report further details future losses in a reduction in buying power due to the rapid rise in inflation over the 19 months since the suit was filed. Even if the lawsuit had been ultimately resolved recently, homeowners in the CID would still suffer $1.6 million in damages as a reduction in buying power for their dollar. As appeals and additional suits are brought by the HRCIDTA, this number will continue to grow.
Interest Accrued
The lawsuits brought by the HRCIDTA have caused more than $11.5 million in approved reimbursements to the developer to be delayed. Though these payments are paused during litigation, the interest continues to accrue, meaning the longer the issues take to play out in court, the more funds from CID will be used for reimbursement of interest. This reduces the dollars able to be spent on improvements to the community. So far, the interest accrued on the sum to be reimbursed is about $2.5 million, which comes from the taxpayer funded CID coffers.
Not included in the report, but of further detriment to the HRCID’s accounts, is $700,000 appropriated by the City of Boise for attorney’s fees to defend the HRCID against Doyle, Crowley, and HRCIDTA’s claims. These funds will eventually be repaid to the City by the taxpayer-funded CID.
In total and at today’s rates, every month that the lawsuit drags on adds about $270,000 in damages.
Following the court’s complete denial of Doyle, Crowley and HRCIDTA’s claims, homeowners in the HRCID should consider whether the ongoing costs are worth the time, effort, and substantial loss in resources available to improve their neighborhood.
Clean Sweep: Judge Denies All 16 Legal Claims Brought against Harris Ranch by Private Interest Group
Harris Ranch is in the final stages of developing its multi-year plan, but highly anticipated amenities such as restaurants, parks, and retail have been delayed because of interference by a private interest group. For Harris Ranch residents who want these facilities and services in the neighborhood, a recent ruling by an Ada County judge may finally clear the path for their long-awaited amenities to take shape.
Construction of these final amenities, including the Village Center, which was in the preliminary design process in 2021, has stalled due to the recent legal challenges to the Harris Ranch Community Infrastructure District (HRCID). The ongoing delay is a direct result of litigation brought by the Harris Ranch Community Infrastructure District Taxpayers Association (HRCIDTA), a private interest group taking issue with the operations of the HRCID.
In 2022, HRICDTA sued the Harris Ranch CID Board, made up of three Boise City Council members that oversee HRCID operations. The Harris Family Limited Partnership (HFLP) intervened in the lawsuit. HRCIDTA brought many claims against the CID Board, including allegations that repayments for built projects were not within bounds of the law and even challenging the formation of the CID, which took place more than a decade ago.
On April 25, 2023, an Ada County judge ruled against all 16 HRCIDTA claims, affirming that the CID Board operated within the bounds of the law, without exception. The judge found no violation of the CID statute, no violation of the Idaho Constitution, and no violation of the United States Constitution.
Despite having been determined to be without merit, the delays caused by the legal action have added years to the original timeline for the Village Center, green spaces, and other planned amenities.
Residents in the neighborhood may be forced to wait even longer. On April 14, 2023, Bill Doyle, Larry Crowley, and the HRCIDTA filed a new appeal (judicial review) of the CID Board’s decisions on February 21, 2023. This is a separate legal filing from the case recently adjudicated; however, 16 of the 18 claims that were just denied are repeated in this new filing. Additionally, Bill Doyle, Larry Crowley and the HRCIDTA may appeal the Judge’s decisions in the original lawsuit, extending the legal battle even longer and further hindering progress in Harris Ranch. Until a final resolution is reached, residents will continue to wait for the restaurants, retail, and green spaces they expected to be closer to reality by 2023.
In the end, the misguided actions of the HRCIDTA are poised to achieve nothing but slowing progress in the very community they call home.