County proposes
McHanville rezone
Ketchum to
investigate proposal
By GREG
STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum
City Council members Monday expressed their surprise at a proposed
county rezoning of the McHanville area that would allow further
development of "medically related uses" as well as affordable
housing.
Ketchum
officials dissented when Blaine County approved St. Luke’s Wood River
Medical Center’s medical office building, now nearing completion.
Ketchum said the building would draw doctors and medically related
businesses away from Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue.
Their
concerns with the proposed Urban Residential and Health Services
District amendment mirror prior concerns with the medical office
building that allowing businesses to locate in McHanville will detract
from the vibrancy of the Wood River Valley’s cities.
Also,
pointed out Councilman Randy Hall, businesses and housing in the
McHanville area will probably require Ketchum services.
McHanville
is in Ketchum’s area of city impact, which means Ketchum officials
have declared an official interest in planning issues there.
The
McHanville area is zoned R-4, medium density residential.
The
rezone would create a district, "which favors high density
residential uses…provides for limited medically related uses…provides
for a developer of non-residential development to satisfy community
housing obligations" and allows existing non-conforming uses to
continue. The rezoning would affect a large lot owned by St. Luke’s
and neighboring existing facilities and the island of properties between
Highway 75 and Hospital Drive.
A list of
uses that would be permitted in the new zone is dominated by the medical
industry: hospital additions, medical ambulance facility, medical office
building, day care facility, assisted living facility, extended care
facility and adult care facility and residential uses.
The
change would "encourage the combining of smaller lots with larger
lots to create a more efficient use of the land" and "reduce
certain setbacks to allow greater flexibility in site design to achieve
higher density and community housing goals," according to a draft
of the change.
"The
impacts to the city (of Ketchum) would be tremendous," Ketchum’s
acting planning administrator, Harold Moniz, said. "They’re
proposing to allow more medical offices. To me, that’s ludicrous. They’re
going to start pulling doctors away from the core here."
The
Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider
the Urban Residential and Health Services District Text Amendment on
Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Old County Courthouse.
The
Ketchum City Council scheduled a visit to McHanville for Friday at 2
p.m. and another meeting on the topic for Oct. 16 at noon at Ketchum
City Hall.
"From
that, I’m sure we’ll draft a formal response," Moniz said.
Blaine
County Planning Administrator Linda Haavik was not available for comment
Tuesday afternoon.