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'Vanishing Boise': Group fighting to hold on to city's identity

Members of the Vanishing Boise community say "explosive growth" is replacing the old with the new, as historical buildings, local institutions, small businesses, affordable housing and vast farmland disappear.

BOISE -- Growth is a theme in many of our stories here at KTVB, as Boise's skyline and surrounding areas changed rapidly over the last few years.

We reported on Thursday that Boise's population grew by more than 3 percent last year, landing us as number one on Forbes' fastest-growing cities list.

MORE: Forbes: Boise fastest-growing city in the U.S.

But with growth also comes growing pains. A group called Vanishing Boise organized to fight this rapid, "irresponsible" development.

Recently, they've spoken out on social media over the demolishing of iconic Boise business Smoky Davis, as well as other staples that are disappearing in the name of development. Smoky Davis has been around for 65 years, but it and neighboring businesses were torn down so Ada County Highway District can expand State Street and accommodate increasing traffic.

"I just think this whole area is pretty symbolic of what's going on in Boise," Vanishing Boise creator Lori Dicaire said.

Construction equipment and cranes are scenes popping up every day in the Treasure Valley. And they don't show signs of stopping.

"There's lot of benefits to growth. But we just have to be careful in the choices that we're making," Dicaire told KTVB.

Choices are being made that some Boiseans don't support. That's why Dicaire created the Vanishing Boise Facebook group last summer.

"There's a lot of people who are really upset about what's going on in Boise right now. But they don't have an organization or a way to collectively come together and have this voice so we're hoping Vanishing Boise can be that voice," Dicaire added.

As a collective voice the group now transcends social media, with people organizing demonstrations and speaking out at public meetings, asking city leaders and developers to be mindful and considerate.

"We have to get people to show up and voice their opinion. We understand it's difficult for people... with the pace of growth going on right now you could be at a meeting every single day," Dicaire said.

Dicaire says Vanishing Boise Facebook page came from a place of devastation, as she watched things Boiseans hold most dear disappear. In January, she posted a list to the Facebook page called '2017's Biggest Losses.'

"I didn't really have any other intentions but to have all this information in one place where people could kind of see it collectively," she said.

She also coined the term "sprawl refugees'" to refer to people migrating to Boise and fleeing their hometowns because they've become unlivable.

"The reason that they're moving here are the things that are being ruined about Boise as they move here," Dicaire said. "We just have to deal with the way that we're growing."

Dicaire and those a part of the Vanishing Boise community say "explosive growth" is replacing the old with the new, as historical buildings, local institutions, small businesses, affordable housing and vast farmland disappear.

"Just slow it down. We just cannot operate at this pace," Dicaire said. "Let's not just be hasty and approving everything."

They say they realize change and growth are inevitable, but they feel Boise's identity needs to be protected. To do that, Dicaire wants public policy change. They're fighting for better public meeting notification and don't feel the current signage for City of Boise hearings is adequate; it's small and flimsy and you must be right next to the notification in order to read it.

They would also like to change the required public hearing notification area; the city requires developers notify people within 300 feet of the meeting and proposed development, but the group says the impacted area is far larger.

"A lot of people don't know when something's happening in their neighborhood," Dicaire said. "There's just precious little land left. So I just feel like every decision that we make, every farmland we bulldoze, every wildlife habitat that we ruin, these all have impacts. Long term impacts on our quality of life."

Vanishing Boise is hosting a volunteer meeting at the Boise Public Library on Capitol Boulevard Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

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