Sun Valley halts new
commercial developments
Declares 120-day
moratorium
to review zoning
By GREGORY
FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Sun Valley City
Council members Thursday approved a 120-day moratorium on the processing of new
applications for development projects in Elkhorn Village and Sun Valley Village.
The emergency
ordinance received unanimous support from council members, despite objections
from an attorney representing developer CG-Elkhorn, which is planning to
commence redevelopment of the defunct Elkhorn Resort in early 2003.
The moratorium
proposal was put forth Thursday by city staff in an effort to buy time for the
city to review the land-use regulations that govern land parcels in the city’s
Commercial Core zoning districts. The CC districts in Sun Valley generally
encompass the village centers of Sun Valley and Elkhorn.
Jack Cloud, Sun
Valley community development director, told council members that the ordinance
was drafted in response to a potential surge in development applications for
CC-zoned lands that propose only residential uses—rather than the intended mix
of residential and commercial uses.
Cloud noted that
one such application—for a 111-unit condominium complex called Sun Villas—has
already been filed, and another from CG-Elkhorn is anticipated in the near
future.
Cloud said the
language in the regulations governing permission for projects in the CC
districts is outdated and needs to be revised and clarified. "Right now it’s
pretty wide open," he said.
The approval of
the moratorium by the council followed a move by the city’s Planning and
Zoning Commission Tuesday, Dec. 17, to approve a resolution declaring that
P&Z members would like to review the zoning regulations for the CC districts
"in light of potential changes to the two commercial villages in the City
of Sun Valley."
The P&Z
resolution notes that the proposal for the Sun Villas development in Elkhorn
calls for no commercial use of the CC-zoned site, and that CG-Elkhorn has
proposed to demolish Elkhorn Resort and redevelop that site as an essentially
residential project.
The resolution
also notes that "the Sun Valley Company has hired a planning consultant to
master plan its property, which includes the other commercial village in the
city of Sun Valley."
Council members
Thursday agreed that the P&Z should immediately commence a review of the
language governing the zoning district. Council members told Cloud that city
staff could hire a professional planning consultant to assist in the review
process, if it is deemed necessary.
The emergency
ordinance declaring the 120-day moratorium states: "a moratorium on the
issuance of subdivision or other land use permits within the CC districts is
necessary to enable the city to review and analyze the appropriate mix of
residential and commercial use, as well as to study the height, density and
building bulk restrictions appropriate to the CC districts."
The ordinance
issues a mandate to the P&Z to conduct the review, and to hold a public
hearing on the matter within 60 days.
Mayor David
Wilson called for swift action by the P&Z. "I don’t want this dragged
out past 120 days," he said.
Ned Williamson,
attorney for CG-Elkhorn, objected to the proposed moratorium ordinance.
"It’s very
broad," he said.
He said
CG-Elkhorn has drafted new plans to redevelop the Elkhorn Resort site with a
"lower density" project with "lower building heights" and
"some commercial uses."
In a reference to
the Sun Villas project, he added: "The real issue at hand is what’s going
on with another parcel."
Indeed, the Sun
Villas project has alarmed some Elkhorn residents and city planners because it
proposes to take advantage of the maximum height and density criteria of the CC
district without providing any commercial services or other community benefits.
In addition, city
officials in recent months have expressed concern that an overall loss of
commercial services in Sun Valley—particularly in Elkhorn—could result in a
loss of local option tax revenues derived from certain commercial activities.
Despite the
unanimous vote in support of the moratorium, not all council members agreed that
Elkhorn can be restored as a viable commercial center.
"I’m not
so sure (Elkhorn) needs to be a commercial core," Councilman Kevin Laird
said, noting that he thought the village had become a "white
elephant."
Realtor Toni Lash
disagreed with Laird. "If people would stop saying, ‘It’s a white
elephant. It sucks,’ then it might not suck," she said.
The moratorium
will not affect project applications that have already been formally submitted
to the city, including that for the Sun Villas project, Cloud said.
Cloud noted that
the ordinance—which took effect immediately upon its approval—would not have
any bearing on residential remodeling projects in the CC districts.