Board wants housing at McHanville

The Ketchum Housing Commission resolved to send a letter to the Ketchum City Council Tuesday night asking that the McHanville area be zoned to continue providing affordable or somewhat affordable housing.

The housing commission’s meeting followed a Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Monday in which Wood River Medical Center CEO John Moses requested that the P&Z look into creating an overlay zone for McHanville to allow office development and uses that are associated with the hospital. The area is currently zoned by Blaine County as R-.4, medium residential.

The county’s zoning ordinance permits such uses as multi-family homes at one unit per four-tenths acre, mobile homes and mobile home subdivisions, public facilities, group day-care facilities, outdoor recreational facilities and guest houses.

Questions have arisen about land use in the area in light of the St. Luke’s Hospital construction. Because McHanville is in Ketchum’s area of city impact, Blaine County asked for the city’s opinion on how to plan for the area’s growth.

"The focus is on the 12 properties between the highway and the hospital site," explained housing director Steve Amsbaugh. "Any revised land use action could provide for a loss of those affordable units."

Amsbaugh said one of the ideas currently being entertained is annexation of the area by Ketchum. Commissioner Darryl McMillan said it "sounds like a natural site for annexation."

Annexation would provide the city with more land-use control of the area, but would necessitate police and fire provision from the city, as well as utilities and street improvements.

The commissioners talked about the possibility of requiring affordable residential development in McHanville were it annexed, though the means by which that could be accomplished are still undecided.

"But it might not be annexed for some time, if it’s ever annexed," Amsbaugh said.

The letter the commission sent to the council expressed its members’ concerns:

"Re-development of any or all of these parcels could reduce the current supply of moderate and affordable housing units. The 1997 Housing Needs Assessment showed that we currently need over 500 additional affordably priced housing units in the valley. This need would be amplified by the loss of existing affordable homes.

"In addition, new commercial and industrial uses will create new jobs, thus creating a demand for additional affordable housing units."

The commission asked the city council to maintain the existing moderate and affordable homes in the McHanville area.