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Wednesday — January 28, 2004

News

If approved, the Timbers Townhouses project would be located at 500 S. Main St. on the south entrance to Ketchum. Graphic courtesy of Sawtooth Development

 

Devil’s Bedstead project meets opposition

P&Z delays decision on 24-unit plan


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

After hearing several protests from the public, Ketchum Planning and Zoning commissioners on Monday, Jan. 26, postponed voting on a proposal to construct 24 residential units near the city’s southern entrance.

In reviewing an application to redevelop the site of the Devil’s Bedstead retail and office building—located at 500 S. Main St.—commissioners heard from numerous neighbors that the proposed project could bring an array of negative impacts.

Representatives for Washington-based Sawtooth Development proposed Monday to remove the Devil’s Bedstead building and develop the approximately 60,000-square-foot site with five residential buildings. The four primary buildings would include two- and three-story elements, with the highest points reaching 35 feet.

The project is called The Timbers.

Richard Schaefer, project architect from Ketchum-based Michael Doty Associates, issued plans to build 24 units on the site. The plans call for a 47,000-square-foot development with a courtyard in the center of the project, underground parking and a swimming pool.

The proposed project would include 22 for-sale condominium units and two deed-restricted community housing units.

As part of the application, the developers are requesting that approximately one-third of the property be rezoned as part of a formal development agreement with the city. Currently, approximately two-thirds of the Devil’s Bedstead parcel is included in the city’s Tourist zoning district, while the eastern third of the site is in the Limited Residential district.

Sawtooth Development has sought a rezone of the parcel to include it in the city’s General Residential-High Density zoning district.

Harold Moniz, Ketchum planning director, determined that the developer could build 21 residential units on the site under the existing zoning configuration, including two single-family houses with accessory dwelling units on the LR-zoned portion.

Several neighbors of the Devil’s Bedstead parcel raised concerns that the project could increase local traffic and change the character of the residential areas surrounding the site.

"It’s a monstrous three-story eyesore," said Gary Goldberg, a Jade Street resident.

Attorney Fritz Haemmerle, a neighborhood resident, said he saw no reason to approve the project other than to "put money in the developers’ pockets."

Haemmerle added that he and other neighbors would "challenge" a decision to approve the proposed rezone.

Commissioners ultimately opted to continue a review of the application at their Feb. 23 meeting.

 

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