Elkhorn parcel to
stay open
Owner warns of a taking of property rights
Barry Luboviski, attorney for the Sagewillow Homeowners Association,
argued that the P&Z simply made a mistake in 1994 when it designated the Bluff Parcel
as residential on the land-use map.
By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer
The Sun Valley City Council on Thursday made it nearly impossible for
Johns-Manville Co. to sell the Bluff Parcel for top dollar to a developer for residential
use. The Denver-based company was a pioneer developer of the Elkhorn area.
Council members unanimously approved an application by the Sagewillow
Homeowners Association to change the propertys land-use designation from residential
to agricultural and recreational.
The Bluff Parcel is a 2.87-acre property located inside the curve of
Horseshoe Road in Elkhorn. It is to the west of Sagewillow homeowners and to the north of
the Bluff Condominiums.
A public dispute over allowed use of the land began at an Aug. 22 meeting
of the citys planning and zoning commission.
At that meeting, it became apparent that although the Bluff Parcel was
zoned Outdoor Recreational, the land-use map designation included potential residential
use.
With that potential in mind, Johns-Manville found someone who would buy
the property if it could be given one of the citys several residential zoning
designations. Johns-Manville attorney John Hohnhorst told council members that depending
on allowed density, the buyer would pay Johns-Manville between $800,000 and $1.5 million.
The P&Z, however, made Johns-Manvilles rezone application moot
by sending the city council a recommendation to change the Bluff Parcels land-use
map designation to conform with its zoning.
Hohnhorst called the redesignation a "taking of land," a legal
term meaning the owners would suffer a substantial reduction in market value for which the
municipality could be liable.
"Youre buying a view corridor for these property owners,"
Hohnhorst contended.
Barry Luboviski, attorney for the Sagewillow Homeowners Association,
argued that the P&Z simply made a mistake in 1994 when it designated the Bluff Parcel
as residential on the land-use map.
"Its a ridgeline with 20 percent slopes on all sides,"
Luboviski said, making it "unsuitable" for development. Furthermore, he
contended, the land was originally "all open space," and it was always supposed
to be open he said.
In their comments, several homeowners implied that they relied on that
when they bought their properties.