Heidelberg Inn proposal gets mixed
review
Some P&Z members,
public say it’s too dense
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
A proposal by a California-based
development group to raze the Heidelberg Inn and redevelop the site with 33
townhouse units received a lukewarm reception before the Ketchum Planning and
Zoning Commission Monday, May 12.
In a pre-application review of the
proposal, commissioners issued a mix of reactions, with comments focused
primarily on the proposed density of the project.
"To me this thing falls way short of
anything, in clear conscience, that I could approve," said Commissioner Rod
Sievers. "It’s way too dense."
However, P&Z Chairman Peter Ripsom said he
believes densely developed projects are not inherently good or bad for the
community, but believes their value is largely dependent on the design and
layout of the buildings included.
At issue is a proposal by Wareham
Development, the developer of the Thunder Spring complex on Saddle Road, to
build eight separate residential buildings on the Heidelberg Inn site. The
approximately 1.9-acre parcel is located at 1908 Warm Springs Road.
The company and its architect, Calthorpe
Associates, in April filed a design-review preapplication asking the city to
review and give feedback on a set of preliminary plans for the project.
The preliminary proposal calls for 33,
two- and three-bedroom townhouses ranging from approximately 1,350 square feet
to 1,650 square feet. The new development would comprise approximately 50,000
square feet of new buildings on the site.
The application, if forwarded as proposed,
would require approval as a planned-unit development, city planners have noted.
A planned-unit development typically offers developers a special allowance—such
as increased density—in exchange for a public benefit, such as open space or
community housing.
Joey Scanga, representative for Calthorpe,
told commissioners and an audience of 35 area residents that the density of the
proposed development would be just under 17 units per acre. He said the
developers believe the project would have less impact on the surrounding
environment than the site’s existing 50 hotel rooms--which have been used over
the last two years to house workers building the Thunder Spring project.
"The idea was not to fit the most units,
but a comfortable number of units on this site," he said.
The parcel’s Limited Residential zoning
allows approximately five units to be developed on each acre of land.
Scanga said the proposed project would be
built at a density that is similar to the Four Seasons and The Fields
developments on neighboring properties.
A PUD for the site would ultimately need
the approval of the Ketchum City Council and would mandate that a specific
percentage of the development be allocated for affordable housing.
Scanga said an affordable housing
component would be included in plans for the site but had not yet been
designated for specific units.
Sievers was the first to comment on the
proposal, noting that he believes any project that "approaches the density of
The Fields and the Four Seasons" would be too dense for the site.
Commissioner Harold Johnson noted that the
snow storage included in the plans appeared inadequate.
Several members of the public voiced
concerns about the plan.
Ketchum resident Mickey Garcia said the
project would be beneficial because it offered affordable housing. "The cities
are where the densities are supposed to go," he said.
Four Seasons resident Tina Fabiano said
she thinks the developers could devise a better plan that would have less impact
on neighboring properties. "I feel like what you’re doing is the worst-case
scenario," she said.