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.