P&Z changes marks on citys measuring stick
FAR calculations revised
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
In the midst of revising maximum building sizes for future downtown
commercial projects, Ketchum city planners discovered they havent consistently
measured building sizes in the past, resulting in variances of up to 200 square feet.
At issue is the method the city uses to calculate building bulk, called
the floor-area ratio (FAR). At a Monday evening meeting, the Ketchum Planning and Zoning
Commission voted unanimously, with Commissioner Baird Gourlay absent, to clarify the
methods the city will use to calculate FARs.
A FAR, in its simplest explanation, is a buildings floor area
divided by its lot size.
The clarification will consist of an amendment to Ketchums zoning
ordinance, dictating that elevator shafts and stairwells will be counted toward a
buildings total FAR. Also included will be atrium space that is at least 18 feet
over ground level, calculated at half the square footage it occupies.
At Mondays meeting, Commissioner Peter Gray pointed out that the
areas affected "contribute to the visual mass, bulk and scale of the building."
Ketchum planning administrator Lisa Howowitz called the existing ordinance
vague.
The ordinance states: "Gross floor area means the sum of the
horizontal area of the building
including each floor level
"
Horowitz said different planners, as well as different architects, have
been calculating FARs in different ways, based on their interpretation of the ordinance.
Some have included stairway and elevator space on all of a buildings floors. Others
counted that space only on ground floors.
Atrium space has not previously been included in FAR calculations.
Horowitz said planners inconsistent measurements could have resulted
in discrepancies of as much as 200 square feet in some buildingsan amount she called
fairly insignificant in an interview yesterday.
"Were talking about 200 (square) feet of a 20,000 square foot
building," she said. "Its good to get it squared away, but the degree of
variance within the department was so small."
The amendment comes at an awkward time, however. The Ketchum City Council
is poised to adopt new design review regulations that set smaller FARs citywide. Inclusion
of stairwells, elevator shafts and atrium space in FAR calculations, where they were
previously not included, would itself result in slightly smaller building sizes.
Local architect Derek Ryan cautioned the P&Z that reductions in
allowed FARs under the proposed ordinance were based on the appearances of buildings that
may have been allowed under more liberal methods of calculation.
"If we change the rules, then we should factor that into the FAR that
we target [in the revised design review ordinance]," he told the P&Z.
Horowitz said whether that happens or not will be up to the P&Z and
the city council.
The P&Z also discussed the possibility of including underground
parking entryways as part of the FAR calculations, but decided to first examine the impact
of such a move on developers willingness to build underground parking.
Including underground parking entryways could have a significant impact on
a buildings total FAR, Horowitz said.
The P&Z is merely a recommending body on ordinance changes; the issue
will go before the Ketchum City Council sometime in November.