For the week of January 23 - 29, 2002

Triumph Springs partners sue SV for ‘illegal taking’

---

By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer

The city of Sun Valley was hit with a $10 million dollar lawsuit Jan. 16 in a continuation of the dispute over the proposed development of Triumph Springs. The city council voted in November against the developers’ plan to place seven large-scale luxury homes on the slopes overlooking the entrance to the resort town.

City attorney Rand Peebles said it was the largest suit he has seen since he started work with the city in 1980.

The suit, filed by Lane Ranch Partnership in Fifth District Court, claims the city, in denying the partnership’s applications for a rezone and subdivision "was arbitrary, capricious and constituted an abuse of discretion."

In short, Peebles said, the plaintiff is alleging a "taking" of its property and that the city therefore owes the partnership $10 million.

The partnership consists of CASCEA Associates Inc., O’Neill Enterprises L.L.C. and O’Neill Family Limited Partnership, and the disputed property is called Triumph Springs.

Peter O’Neill, one of the partners and the spokesman for the partnership, sent a written statement to the Mountain Express.

"We very much regret that we have had to initiate litigation to protect out legitimate interests related to the proposed development of the Triumph Springs property. The city’s interpretation of the long legal and land use history of the project has unfortunately left us no choice but to seek a legal determination," O’Neill wrote.

"We have gone to extraordinary lengths in the planning of Triumph Springs to ensure minimal environmental and visual impact.

"While we regret the need for litigation, we are confident that we have the facts on our side and those facts will come out in due course. We are eager for an early and fair resolution."

The 166-acre property is located north of the Lane Ranch and west of Weyyakin at the intersection of Elkhorn Road and Highway 75.

The Sun Valley City Council voted Nov. 15 to deny all three of the partnership’s applications.

The first application was for a comprehensive plan amendment to change the land use map from agricultural/recreational to residential.

The second was for a zone boundary amendment to change the property’s zoning from outdoor recreational to rural and ranch estate, a residential designation.

The third was for a preliminary plat to create seven single family lots.

The suit makes claims for declaratory relief, for judicial review, for judicial review through an inverse condemnation action, for damages for the uncompensated taking of private property, for deprivation of civil rights and for deprivation of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The venue for the suit is Blaine County, but the partnership is reserving the right to litigate its claims in the U.S. District Court.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.