Public raps Elkhorn condo
proposal
P&Z to review Sun
Villas plan Jan. 28
By GREGORY
FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
In a brief but
telling public hearing Tuesday, a contingent of attorneys and Elkhorn residents
told Sun Valley Planning and Zoning commissioners they are staunchly opposed to
a planned 111-unit condominium complex in Elkhorn Village.
The comments came
during the panel’s consideration of an application by New York City-based
Elkhorn Resort LLC for permission to build four condominium buildings on the
"Sunshine Parcel." a 4.25-acre site adjacent to Elkhorn Resort.
Elkhorn Resort
LLC in October submitted an application to the city for Preliminary Plat and
Design Review approval to divide the parcel into four lots that would each be
the site of an approximately 90,000 square-foot, multiple-story condominium
structure.
The parcel—which
is located uphill along Village Way from the Elkhorn Hotel, east of the Indian
Springs condominiums and south of the Sunburst condominiums—is currently
vacant.
The proposed
complex would be named Sun Villas.
Ketchum-based
attorney Barry Luboviski, representing residents of Sunburst, The Ridge and
Fairway Nine condominium complexes, said he believed the proposed development
did not comply with the city’s zoning ordinance.
He noted that
because the proposed project would be located in one of the city’s two
commercial-zoned districts, it should not be permitted as a plan that has no
provisions for commercial business.
"It is a
special zone," he said.
Luboviski added
that the proposed 64-foot height limit of the project—the maximum allowed in
the Commercial Core district—should not be applicable to residential
developments.
"You don’t
need 64 feet if all you’re going to build is condos," he said.
The attorney said
he believed the proposed complex was not compatible with the surrounding
properties.
He said the
Sunshine parcel should be re-zoned specifically for residential uses or should
be used to accommodate a project that proposes a mix of commercial and
residential uses.
Elkhorn resident
Rich Boddie expressed similar concerns. "I think it would be really stupid
not to have any commercial (activity) left in our core," he said.
Indian Springs
resident Darrell Scott said the project would block views and sunshine from
certain Indian Springs units. "I think it’s too dense and too high,"
he noted.
Attorney Jim
Phillips, representing the residents of Indian Springs, said he believes the Sun
Villas project would have a "substantial negative impact" on the
Indian Springs development.
"This
project towers over, and is clearly not compatible with the residential
developments around it," he said.
Tuesday’s
public hearing was continued from a Nov. 12 meeting of the P&Z.
Ketchum-based
architect Michael Doty at that meeting proposed to construct four five-level
residential buildings in two phases.
The first phase
of construction—proposed to occur from March 2003 to November 2004—would
include construction of two approximately 94,000-square-foot buildings at the
north end of the site.
The second phase
would include the construction of two additional buildings on the south end of
the site from February 2005 until October 2006.
All of the
structures would offer approximately 50,000 square feet of livable space, plus a
lobby area, parking and various amenities.
The Sun Villas
project is not directly related to a proposal by CG-Elkhorn Hotel LLC to
redevelop Elkhorn Resort.
The Tuesday
hearing was continued to Jan. 28, primarily because of time constraints.