By Dan Frosch
STAR, Idaho -- When JT and Mary Jo Turnipseed moved to this
sleepy town of 6,000, they thought they had found the perfect place
to retire from the stress of Southern California. They loved the
smell of mint that drifted in from the farms, how neighbors knew
each other by name and the general store that reminded them of the
small Iowa town where they had both grown up.
That was six years ago.
Since then, Star, about 30 minutes west of Boise, has become the
fastest-growing city in Idaho -- one of the fastest-growing states
in the nation. Over the past nine years, Star's population has
doubled to more than 10,000. Most of the growth has come from
people like the Turnipseeds who uprooted from the West Coast to the
greater Boise area -- known as the Treasure Valley -- drawn by the
promise of less stressful and more affordable living. By 2040,
Star's population could surpass 35,000, according to city
projections.
Now Star is grappling with some of the same problems the
Turnipseeds left California to escape. The town's main drag, where
ranchers once drove their cattle, is clogged with traffic during
rush-hour commutes. Sprawling subdivisions have sprouted up around
farmland, as have new chain stores. The median home price has more
than doubled to nearly $400,000 since 2010.
"We're afraid that this will turn into what we left," said Ms.
Turnipseed, a retired college administrator.
Idaho was the fastest-growing state in the U.S. between July
2018 and July 2019, while the Boise metro area is among the 10
fastest-growing in the country, census figures show.
According to a September 2019 survey by Boise State University,
75% of Treasure Valley residents said that growth was occurring too
fast, up from 50% in 2016.
Most of Idaho's new residents hail from California, according to
the census. A recent University of California, Berkeley, poll
showed that half of the state's registered voters have considered
moving elsewhere because of the high cost of living. Three times as
many Republicans as Democrats have seriously considered moving,
with many citing the state's liberal political climate, the poll
said.
In Star, some transplants said the state's conservative politics
were a draw.
On a recent afternoon, Helen Collinson's wine bar, which she has
been running out of a converted 1930s-era house since 2004, was
jammed with customers. She said the past year has been one of her
best ever. Ms. Collinson has hired more employees, expanded her
inventory and is considering moving to a larger space.
"As a business owner, I like more people coming in," said Ms.
Collinson, who moved from Orange, Calif., in 2003. "As a resident,
it's kind of tough to see the landscape change so
dramatically."
The wave of transplants to Star, many of them retirees, has
prompted officials to begin overhauling the city's land-use codes
and update its long-term plan. It is considering designating land
for commercial development, hoping to attract needed services and
balance its property-tax base, which relies on residences. With
traffic surging, the Idaho transportation department plans to widen
two sections of a road to Star from three to five lanes.
Some residents argue Star must curb development before its
small-town sensibility is lost for good.
"The drum that I've been beating is that we need to slow down,
throttle back," said Gary Smith, a former city councilor. "The
growth is beyond what people can handle."
Mr. Smith, a marketing and sales consultant originally from
North Bellmore, Long Island, said he fell in love with Star 14
years ago because it reminded him of home. He has since grown
disenchanted with the vanishing farmland and wants a temporary
moratorium on growth in the region.
Trevor Chadwick, who was sworn in as Star's mayor this month
after defeating the incumbent with 73% of the vote, said managing
growth is his priority. But he said Mr. Smith's approach would
drive up home prices and property taxes because of increased
demand.
Median sales prices for new and existing homes in Star have
risen from $155,000 between January and November 2010 to $398,950
over the same period in 2019, according to the Boise Regional
Realtors. Residents' property taxes increased by an average of
between $200 and $400 this year, Mr. Chadwick said.
He said the city had no legal standing to impose a strict limit
on all development.
"I don't want to be the first to go put a moratorium on growth,
only to get sued and have to pay millions of dollars to a developer
because we did them wrong," he said.
The debate over Star's transformation mirrors the rest of the
region, as disputes in neighboring cities have erupted over whether
to approve major housing developments. A public meeting in Star
this week on a proposed apartment complex is expected to draw a
large crowd, officials said.
This year, the Turnipseeds made an offer on a home in Crouch,
Idaho. They thought the town of 180 about 50 miles northeast
resembled what Star had been. They didn't get it.
For now, the Turnipseeds don't go out during rush hour and take
back roads to get places so they can still drive through
farmland.
"People come here, and at some subconscious level, they want it
to be that way forever," said City Councilor Michael Keyes, himself
a California transplant. "But logically it can't."
Write to Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2020 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.