Recall is not necessary

Former City Council member Jack Corrock was a developer and contractor before he retired. He knows that driving nails with a sledgehammer when a nail gun will do is not a great idea. Instead of building a sturdy wall, it’s likely to knock it down.

Chalk up his announcement that he will seek the recall of the Ketchum City Council if members don’t change their minds about an ordinance as a similarly bad idea.

Corrock is upset that the council opened the door to higher density housing developments within the Limited Residential Zone where he lives. He wants to stop a high-density development on Warm Springs Road that would get a density bonus from the city for providing affordable housing.

Corrock was out of town last winter when the council held hearings on changes to the Planned Unit Development Ordinance. He said when he returned he was appalled to find the council had approved the ordinance.

There are many ironies in his opposition. The two-acre 44-unit development is proposed next door to the Four Seasons Condominiums, which have a similar number of units per acre. It is down the street from the high-density Limelight Condominiums that Corrock built. He was a member of the Ketchum City Council when it first allowed PUDs. The idea was that the city should be able to waive requirements in exchange for developments that meet specified public needs.

The proposed development would include 17 units of housing to be sold to local employees with incomes that would allow them to purchase $140,000 units. The rest would be sold on the open market.

Corrock says affordable housing efforts should be confined to the city’s commercial district where densities are higher, or be located somewhere down valley where land is cheaper.

He’s entitled to his opinion, but it didn’t carry the day with the council, despite the fact that it was well represented by many people who testified.

Idaho law makes recalling elected officials difficult. It takes hundreds of verified signatures and a special election. It’s not something to be undertaken lightly. For good reason.

As Ketchum learned in 1992 when voters recalled three of four members of the council, the process is painful even when it’s necessary. In this case, it’s not necessary.

The council is not out of control. It operated in the open. It provided full and timely information, with full and open hearings within the law.

Corrock would be better off participating in the public process and working to change the ordinance—or getting new candidates elected in the next election--than to plunge the city into a full-blown recall.