Ketchum is in a delicate condition. It’s pregnant with the
possibility of delivering handsome buildings into the arms of a lively town.
However, without careful handling, the nascent Design Review ordinance
could stop the heart of the town.
A final draft of the ordinance is before the Ketchum City Council. In the
crowd that packed city hall for a hearing Monday night, there was plenty of fear to go
around.
The ordinance is far from ready for prime time, but it’s a good
start.
The ordinance could stop monolithic buildings and force developers to be
as concerned with how the town works and how it looks as with their own bottom lines.
It could also be the first major move in the city’s history toward a
real solution to the housing shortage.
However, if the city doesn’t sweat the details, it could bring
development to a halt, cause drastic drops in property values, make the housing shortage
worse and create a single-use community that is deserted except during business hours.
The city council’s unenviable job is to prevent the latter and
achieve the former.
In Monday’s hearing, members of an ordinance steering committee
complained that the final draft of the ordinance had been rushed in an effort to meet a
deadline imposed by the city council. They said city staff had not acted upon committee
recommendations.
Downtown property owners and developers charged that the city hadn’t
analyzed either the physical or economic effects of reduced building sizes, requirements
for underground parking and size bonuses for affordable housing.
They’re right.
The city needs to conduct architectural and economic crash tests before it
unleashes new downtown development standards that will have far-reaching effects.
A little computer modeling could help the city avoid the creation of
unintended consequences--putting small businesses out of business or sending commercial
sprawl down the highway, for example.
At the same time, the city should stay the course outlined in the
ordinance to produce affordable housing within city boundaries by making it part of
commercial developments. No one has yet found a better place for the burden of providing
housing than the broad shoulders of the marketplace.
With some give and take between the city and developers, Ketchum could
become an extraordinary place--beautiful, livable and lively. That’s a goal worthy of
plenty of time, study and patience.
