Lot 99 and Greenbelt access

Alternate paths to the Greenbelt

  • On bike or foot: East (upstream) to W. Wylie Lane (map). Use the sidewalk on the south side of State St. A shortcut is to use Wylie Lane <-> Rowland Lane <-> ACHD access path (map) to State St & Collister Dr. If you need to cross State St., cross at one of: Collister Dr (protected traffic light),  W. Wylie Lane (use the lighted pedestrian crosswalk, or W. Bloom St. (protected traffic light).
  • Driving: West (downstream) at Glenwood Street and W. Marigold Street public parking lot. (map)  
  • Picnicking on the island: South at the end of E. Remington Street. (map)  

Greenbelt Maps

Ahem. Do not ask the property manager for the gate code. Do not send a code request via the web form below, either.
Please see the FAQ below for the gate code procedure.

Why oh Why Now?

Lot 99 is a private lot providing access to the Greenbelt for Investors Plantation on the River Homeowners Association (IPOTR) members.  In the spirit of community, IPOTR has permitted public access to the Greenbelt via Lot 99 for roughly 30 years. Recently, that policy of goodwill has been challenged by several developments:

Lincoln Property Company, an out of state developer, listed Lot 99 as a public easement in its development application (please see the FAQ).

Ada County Highway District (ACHD) erroneously designated the private path as a public "bikeway" (perhaps in response to Lincoln; we'll never know). Note that ACHD has since removed the designation and corrected some signage and the bike maps (but they still need to be reprinted).  We are thankful for ACHD's responsiveness so far.

Over time, Google and Apple maps added bike and pedestrian directions that route traffic through this path, perhaps relying on the ACHD designation.

The pathway is not public, is very narrow, and was clearly purpose built for our neighborhood, not for transporting altogether thousands of cyclists, electric scooters and bikes, runners, rafters, and partiers.

Motorcycles after exiting the path

The recent increase in traffic and parking has led to much bad behavior, including driving and riding in lawns, dumping trash, and harassing nearby homeowners.

Motor vehicles, including gas powered motorcycles(!) and golf carts have been using the path. Here are two motorcycles, photographed after exiting the path onto Plantation River Dr. after dark.

Increased bike traffic has led to bike-pedestrian collisions and near-misses, several at high speed. A collision between two bikes led to a young lady breaking her wrist, requiring a cast and surgery. 

Accordingly, the HOA is reducing access to reduce the negative impacts of the above developments.

See below, in Path FAQ, for more detailed explanations.

Path FAQ

The website is publicly accessible and we have no way to verify that the requester is in the Master Association area. Spoofing is a genuine problem.

First, check your email account, including junk mail. An instruction email was sent out from the Master Association (via the property manager) on Nov. 30, with instructions for requesting the code in the .pdf file attached to the email. This email process is how we determine who is in the Master Association area.  New emails will be sent when the gate code is eventually updated.

If you sent an request, and haven't heard back in three days, please check your info (especially the email address!), then try again.  If that doesn't work, then prod us using the contact form below.

If you didn't get the instruction email, the best we can say is to contact your sub-association. We're sorry, but we have no alternative way to reach out to Master Association homeowners. Do not ask the property manager for the code; although her patience with such requests is boundless, she will be unable to help you.

Do not send a request via the web form below. Alas, it will be automatically rejected, never to be seen by human eyes, an endless existence in a lonely trash folder.

This thoughtlessly smug rhetorical question comes courtesy of a Treasure Valley cycling board member, posed on public media. The problems listed above affect far more than the two houses directly next to the path, and it was the entire HOA that made the closure decision. In addition, the dramatic increase in problems is recent, and most of the homeowners nearby have lived there for a decade or more.

The homeowners voluntarily opened the path to public use for those decades, a fact seemingly lost on people like the cyclist above, and with little public thanks. In effect, we're being criticized for withdrawing a privilege that we were never obligated to extend.  The alternative route adds 3 minutes or less to cyclists (see the top of the page).

No, there is no express or prescriptive easement associated with Lot 99 or the path on it. Be aware that six attorneys living in the HOA and our retained outside counsel all agree on this. This may be the first time in history that seven attorneys agreed on anything.  A title company also agrees.

If you are referring to the notes in the plat submitted by the original developer, then you must read all the notes, including this one on the second page: "THE EASEMENTS AS SHOWN ON THIS PLAT ARE NOT DEDICATED TO THE PUBLIC.” Reading the document as a whole is particularly important to resolve ambiguities in text.  Lincoln Property Co. conveniently left this note out of their SAP submission.  Lincoln is from out of state, but not from North Korea; despite suspicions.

No. It is now, and always has been, private property. Note that Boise Parks and Recreation (BPR) does not claim our path, does not show it on the BPR maps (see the map link above) and the BPR vehicle barrier is on the Greenbelt end (not the Plantation River Dr. end). BPR does not maintain the Lot 99 path or remove snow from it. Garden City maps also do not show the path as part of the Greenbelt.

No.  Fences and gates are not "permanent structures" and are permitted on utility easements; otherwise, all the backyard fences in the entire Plantation subdivision would fail to comply.  There are no other express restrictions on fences or gates for Lot 99.

Google quit routing through the path in Nov. '23, although the path appears on the map.  It reappeared on Apple Maps, which still might be relying on aerial photos, or more recently, the ACHD designation as a bikeway.  We've made multiple requests to Apple to change the path to private / closed.

After considering several requests of this nature, we have determined that we cannot grant such access.  We suggest this alternative: from the State/Plantation River/Bloom intersection, use the sidewalk on the south side of State St. eastbound to N. Harbor Lane, just past Crunch Fitness.  This route adds no additional distance if you're continuing eastbound (upstream), and less than .2 miles (4 minutes walk) extra if you're westbound (downstream). Prior to ACHD erroneously redrawing the bike maps, N. Harbor Lane to Lakeharbor Lane was shown as the preferred route.

No, the HOA maintains it, at our expense.

We like the creepy vibe.  Seriously, there is no need if you keep your speed down and yield to pedestrians.  Dismount if you need to.

What didn't happen years ago is immaterial - it is recent events that are the problem. Just because you're not seeing it now, doesn't mean it's not happening. There is a name for this reasoning: the hasty generalization fallacy, reaching an inductive conclusion on insufficient evidence. It takes about 30 seconds to walk the path. A round trip is 1 minute.  You're observing 1 minute; the path neighbors are observing 24 hours, as events are happening at night, and some nighttime events are really scary.  Even discounting to say, 18 hours, that is a 1:1000 ratio. You're also not seeing the bad behavior related to lawns and trash down the street, in areas away from where you walk. 

Not at all. NIMBYs attempt to restrict the use of other people's property, typically adjacent development.  In contrast, this is about the use of our own property.  The HOA extended a privilege, permitting the public to use its private property, for 30 years.  Sadly, we now find we must withdraw that privilege. It is unreasonable for someone to believe that they are entitled to use other people's private property without bearing the cost of it.  We're not denying anyone use of the Greenbelt - there are several nearby access points that are far better set up to handle the traffic.

About IPOTR HOA & Lot 99

Investors Plantation on the River Homeowner's Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation formed under the laws of the State of Idaho. Lot 99 is owned by the HOA.

Write Us a Message

Please check whether your questions have been answered above.
Do not ask for the gate code here - it will be automatically discarded.
Many of you have sent in thoughtful suggestions and messages of support.  Thank you!
Messages that are ranting, disparaging, denigrating, rude, rude, or redundant, will be ignored or ruthlessly mocked at our weekly beer session.

Disclaimer: The content on this website is for general information only and is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Information on this site does not constitute legal opinions and may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this site are hereby expressly disclaimed. 

© Copyright Extensible Labs LLC. All Rights Reserved. Hosted as a public service by Extensible Labs LLC.