The City of Sun Valley has begun the process of drafting a new law to boost its inventory of affordable housing, but it appears that city leaders might have conflicting views about how it should read.
In a special meeting Wednesday, Feb. 2, Sun Valley City Council members commenced discussions about how the city should offset its share of an affordable-housing deficit that looms over the entire Wood River Valley.
The discussion came pursuant to a December decision by the council to enact a 99-day moratorium on the processing of new development applications, with a directive that city officials use the time to write a new ordinance mandating that deed-restricted housing be included in certain categories of land-use projects.
The city Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to work on the draft legislation in the coming weeks. City staff plans to bring two corresponding ordinances to the council for approval on March 24.
The planned affordable-housing ordinance, city officials have said, is aimed at ensuring that new developments—excluding single-family houses—include some measure of deed-restricted "community housing." The city now requires community housing to be included in new developments in commercial areas but not other zones.
Despite approving the moratorium, council members now appear to be shy about imposing community-housing requirements on new developments in the city.
Much of the discussion Wednesday focused on determining how much community housing Sun Valley should seek to provide towards the needs of the entire Wood River Valley. In 2002, research indicated that the region had a deficit of 665 deed-restricted community housing units, a figure that is accepted to be higher today.
Michael David, executive director of the Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority, which promotes and allocates community housing, has said some 400 deed-restricted community housing units could be made available to qualified applicants in the coming years.
However, the figure is based on a best-case scenario that is all but certain not to be realized, Michael said this week.
Currently, the authority oversees only 22 community-housing units, although 40 for-sale units are now under construction in Sun Valley and other parts of Blaine County.
Mayor Jon Thorson—who requested the moratorium and new legislation—said Wednesday that city officials should focus on the big picture, without getting bogged down in details concerning whether various municipalities are doing their part.
"We have a shortfall. We have a need," Thorson said.
True, council members conceded, but they nonetheless questioned whether a substantial part of the burden should rest with Sun Valley.
Councilman Lud Renick argued that Sun Valley's only major employer, Sun Valley Co., already provides housing for a many of its employees.
Councilman Kevin Laird asked if the city of Ketchum is developing a plan to cooperate on tackling the problem.
Later, council members suggested individually that the city should research alternatives to putting the burden on developers who build in Sun Valley.
Councilman Blair Boand said the city could possibly buy land and construct community housing through a development partnership.
Laird—who maintains that the city's primary concern should be ensuring housing is available for city staff and emergency workers—said some homeowners' accessory-dwelling units might be made available for city workforce housing.
Laird added that he is not convinced that all of the Wood River Valley workers who commute north from more affordable areas—some from as far south as Twin Falls—want to live where they work.
"A lot of these people don't want to live here," Laird said.
Renick said the city might be able to develop manufactured housing at an affordable cost, if affordable land was available.
"We can create housing," he said. "We need land."
Virginia Egger, city administrator, said Sun Valley should find ways to integrate a meaningful amount of community housing into the city, in part because other communities do not want to be a "dumping ground" for workforce housing.
Thorson said keeping some workers in the northern Wood River Valley is imperative.
"If you can't service the community, the community somewhere along the line is going to go downhill."
Finding housing
The Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority is accepting applications for community housing. Those who apply will be put on a list and evaluated to determine their level of eligibility. For more information, call 788-6102.
