Friday, April 8, 2005

P&Z considers rezone for Park and Ride lot


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

Anticipating a major influx of activity if a new YMCA facility is built, Ketchum city officials this week discussed a change of zoning for the now-vacant and only occasionally used Park and Ride lot.

During a special meeting Wednesday, April 6, the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission discussed rezoning options for the 5.7-acre stretch of land at Warm Springs and Saddle roads.

Without making any formal recommendations, commissioners considered a variety of options for accommodating a conceptual plan for the city to develop areas of the site that would not be occupied by the proposed Wood River Community YMCA.

On March 7, the City Council informally endorsed a master plan for the lot that includes 20 to 30 community-housing units, an outdoor public pool, a two-tiered parking structure and a small complex of historic buildings.

Council members then sent the conceptual plan to the P&Z with a directive to rezone the land from General Residential-Low Density to Tourist. A Tourist designation would better allow for the wide variety of uses city officials are planning for the site.

"What is the best zoning for that project with the least amount of tweaking?" Commissioner Ron Parsons posited. "That's really the goal."

Leaving room for tweaking without anticipating future City Council decisions is proving to be a tough balancing act. Much of the discussion Wednesday was devoted to a debate among commissioners over whether they should rezone the entire parcel without knowing what all of the future uses might be.

Commissioner Jack Rutherford said he wanted to include historical sites in the language of a proposed rezone agreement, making it easier for the historic Congregational church known as "Louie's" to take up residence on the lot. But he expressed concern about putting too many restrictions on the agreement.

"I see some advantage in leaving some flexibility for the city in the future because we don't know what the demands will be," Rutherford said.

City Planning Director Harold Moniz told commissioners they don't need to focus on specific future developments, but only need to rezone the site in a fashion that would accommodate the uses in the council's conceptual plan.

"We don't know what's going to be applied for (later)," Moniz said.

The idea of rezoning the Park and Ride lot arose after Ketchum voters approved leasing a quarter of the lot to the Ketchum-based YMCA group. When numerous proposals for using the remainder of the property were brought forth, the council decided to plan for developing the entire site.

"The City Council uses being proposed are not generally low density," Moniz said. "They see this as a higher-intensity site."

In March, the City Council approved a 99-year lease that gives control to the YMCA of approximately 2.7 acres of city-owned land. The P&Z is currently reviewing an application by the YMCA to build an 84,000-square-foot recreation complex as part of a planned unit development.

The purpose of a PUD is to allow for flexibility—including waivers of setbacks and height restrictions—in large developments, said YMCA representative Dick Fosbury, who often serves as a contracted city engineer.

"For that, you get some benefits for the community," Fosbury said.

The P&Z also discussed whether to subdivide the Park and Ride lot and give each parcel different zones, but Fosbury reminded commissioners that the City Council has never requested such a move.

Additionally, subdividing the lot would reduce the flexibility in developing the site, Moniz said.

City staff did not notify property owners within 300 feet of the lot before Wednesday's special meeting, so a public hearing on the plan was postponed. Once nearby property owners are notified, the P&Z will hold a public hearing before recommending a rezone proposal to the City Council.




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