For the week of December 10 - 16, 2003

Sun Villas decision
postponed after
rough review

P&Z to reconsider 97-unit
project on Jan. 27

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley Planning and Zoning commissioners on Tuesday, Dec. 9, opted to delay a vote on a revised proposal to construct four multi-story residential buildings on the so-called "Sunshine Parcel" in Elkhorn.

After a 90-minute review of plans to build 97 condominium units as part of a project called Sun Villas, commissioners decided to reconsider the application Tuesday, Jan. 27.

The meeting Tuesday was the first on a revised plan by New York City-based Blackacre Capital Management to develop the Sunshine Parcel. The group in 2002 first proposed a 111-unit Sun Villas development, which was reduced to 105 units before it was rejected by the P&Z in April.

After Sun Villas representatives appealed the P&Z decision to the Sun Valley City Council, that panel voted unanimously last June to remand the development proposal back to the P&Z, despite numerous objections from Elkhorn residents.

The project site—a vacant 4.26-acre commercial-zoned parcel—is located immediately north of the former Elkhorn Resort.

Similar to the original application for Sun Villas, the revised application proposes four multi-story buildings with underground parking, each of which would be located on a subdivided lot approximately one acre in size.

Two, five-story buildings on the north side of the site are proposed to be essentially the same as in the plan rejected by the P&Z last spring. However, project architects have made numerous changes to the two buildings proposed for the south end of the Sunshine Parcel.

Project architect Michael Doty proposed that the two buildings on the south end of the site reach heights of approximately 53 feet and 55 feet, respectively, well shy of the 64-foot height limit in the city’s Commercial Center zoning district. The two south-end structures are proposed to include four stories.

Doty noted that the new proposal includes significant amounts of additional landscaping, but acknowledged that no changes were made to the two buildings proposed for the north end of the site. The two north-end buildings would respectively reach heights of approximately 64 feet and 60 feet.

Several neighbors of the project site spoke out against the revised Sun Villas plan Tuesday.

Darrell Scott, a resident of the adjacent Indian Springs residential complex, said he is dissatisfied with the changes made to the plans. "I’d say many of the concerns that were expressed in the past are still there," he said.

Barry Luboviski, an attorney representing the residents of the neighboring Sunburst and Village condominium complexes, urged commissioners to reject the new plan immediately. "It’s too damn big for this property and it doesn’t meet your design review ordinance," he said.

Commissioner Nils Ribi said the applicants inadequately addressed previous requests from members of the P&Z and City Council to reduce the size and bulk of the project. "You failed miserably on the north end," Ribi said.

 

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