Elkhorn Springs
plan inches ahead
City to review public access to
golf course
"My observation is that the
last few meetings you’ve been treading a lot of water. I urge you to let
this development go on."
— PEGGY TIERNEY, Sun Valley
resident
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
A proposed master plan to
redevelop the 11-acre core of Elkhorn Village with a mixture of
residential, recreational and commercial structures is inching forward,
despite getting caught in a whirlwind of debate among Sun Valley
Planning and Zoning commissioners.
In a presentation Tuesday,
March 9, of a set of revised plans for a proposed new clubhouse for
the Elkhorn Golf Club, CG-Elkhorn planner Doug Clemens discusses his
decision to move the structure closer to Elkhorn Village. Express
photo by Willy Cook
In their third look Tuesday, March
9, at a set of proposals put forth by development group CG-Elkhorn, P&Z
members expressed general support for plans that include 140 residential
units and a new clubhouse for the Elkhorn Golf Club.
However, commissioners ultimately
determined that no votes could be cast on a set of three associated
CG-Elkhorn applications until the details of the proposals are more
closely examined.
The roundabout deliberations over
the proposals caused frustration among some members of the public.
"My observation is that the last
few meetings you’ve been treading a lot of water," said Sun Valley
resident Peggy Tierney. "I urge you to let this development go on."
At issue is a proposed master plan
submitted by CG-Elkhorn to develop 128 market-rate condominiums, 12
community-housing units, two commercial buildings and a sales office on
the meandering site of the defunct Elkhorn Resort. The project is called
Elkhorn Springs.
CG-Elkhorn has owned approximately
11 acres of commercial-zoned property in the village, as well as the
Elkhorn golf course, since late 2001.
To commence the phased Elkhorn
Springs project, the development group on Feb. 10 formally requested
city permission to build and operate an approximately 15,000-square-foot
golf clubhouse on the eastern side of the village.
The clubhouse is proposed to
include a restaurant, lounge, pro shop and various administrative
facilities, all designed to serve members and guests of a newly
privatized Elkhorn Golf Club.
Led by acting Chairman Nils
Ribi, center-left, members of the Sun Valley Planning and Zoning
Commission review a set of improvements and modifications being made to
the Elkhorn Golf Course. Express photo by Willy Cook
Because the city does not have an
established process to review and approve master development plans,
CG-Elkhorn submitted its conceptual plan with a request that it be
endorsed as a condition of approval for the proposed clubhouse.
Commissioners have expressed
support for the clubhouse project but have declined to approve it
without further examination and discussion of the master plan.
P&Z commissioners technically
could not approve the proposed clubhouse Tuesday because CG-Elkhorn
planners had not formally submitted drafts of a revised plan to shift
the structure 30 feet west of its originally proposed location. The
shift was proposed to move the building out of the direct view of
residents of the Summit condominium complex.
In addition, some members of the
P&Z said they are reluctant to approve the clubhouse and master plan
without first solidifying a plan to ensure the public will have an
acceptable level of access to the Elkhorn Golf Club’s 18-hole course.
"I find myself just fundamentally
wanting to oppose this ‘Private Idaho’ concept for this golf course,"
said Commissioner John Gaeddert.
David Hennessy, a Ketchum-based
partner in CG-Elkhorn, said the development group plans to guarantee
limited public access to the course. Hennessy noted that he had issued
to Mayor Jon Thorson a proposal for the public to gain access to the
golf course but declined to discuss the details of the proposal with the
P&Z.
"We have presented a proposal to
the mayor but have not heard back yet," Hennessy said, adding that an
immediate discussion of the access plan would effectively force the
developers to "negotiate with ourselves."
Early in the proceedings,
Commissioner Virginia Egger said she also wants to see details on what
golf-course rights the public will have.
"It’s hard for me to make a
decision on a clubhouse not knowing whether it’s going to serve public
or private needs," Egger said.
After a long discussion of whether
they should seek to approve the clubhouse without deliberating at length
over the master plan, commissioners ultimately voted to conduct a March
23 public hearing on the CG-Elkhorn plans.
Commissioners also informally
agreed to strive for casting a decisive vote at their March 23 meeting
on the clubhouse proposal.