With a tennis racket in one hand and a picket sign in the other, 14-year-old Garrett Allen stood outside the American Legion Hall in Ketchum Thursday evening.
"I'm here to help the cause," he said. "I'm here to support the recreation area."
Allen and other supporters of the Warm Springs Golf Course rallied outside the Legion Hall before the Ketchum City Council's special public hearing July 7 on the proposed Warm Springs Ranch redevelopment.
As part of development group Sun Valley Ventures' plan, the golf course is slated to be decommissioned, thus taking away an affordable recreational opportunity enjoyed by thousands of residents and visitors over the years.
During the hearing, which drew more than 100 people, golf lovers came out swinging.
Protesters set aside picket signs and placards bearing photos and slogans of support, and took to the podium.
Some echoed Allen's preferred scenario that Warm Springs Ranch, located northwest of downtown Ketchum, stay exactly as it is.
But change is on developers' agenda, and the applications under consideration by the City Council—which propose to annex the 77-acre site and redevelop it with a combination of commercial structures, condominiums and public recreational facilities—have already been approved by the Ketchum Planning & Zoning Commission.
Specifically, Sun Valley Ventures' plans include 75 condominiums and townhouses, 30 affordable housing units, a new restaurant, a boutique hotel, a seven-figure restoration of Warm Springs Creek, a 37-acre public nature reserve deeded to the Wood River Land Trust, six public tennis courts and $7,500 per year to fund a youth golf program.
Nearly 66 acres of the 77-acre site would have to be annexed into Ketchum.
During the P&Z review process, public access to affordable tennis and control of the courts were points of contention.
This round, golf is on the minds of many valley residents.
The hope of keeping the existing nine-hole golf course, however, was addressed head-on by project manager Henry Dean.
"There cannot, will not be a golf course," Dean said in his opening remarks to the council. "If you feel it's in the best interest for the community to deny annexation (based on that), so be it. We will not carry the liability and expense. The hotel is the economic driver that drives a $200 million resort. Without the hotel, we have no resort. Without the hotel, we have to go to Plan B."
"Plan B," Dean has said, would include subdividing the golf course acreage and selling off the parcels as individual home sites in Blaine County, likely with no public access to the area. In that scenario, the area around the Warm Springs Ranch Restaurant—which is already zoned in Ketchum's Tourist zoning district, could still be developed with housing, hotels, restaurants or a combination of such facilities.
During the first half of the meeting, developers and project representatives discussed details of their plan, pointing to maps, posters and drawings of the proposed development. They touted the economic benefits of the project, including an injection of money into city coffers that could amount to 15 percent of Ketchum's budget over the next 10 years, according to economist John Church, who serves as a consultant to Sun Valley Ventures.
As members of the public began to address the council, developers' placards were replaced by enlarged photos of children learning and playing golf on the Warm Springs course.
Ketchum resident Tara Martin proposed developers create a three-hole executive course or a hitting or putting range.
"There could be some sort of amelioration for the golf course," she said.
Others noted that with land values as high as they are, the loss of a public golf course will never be reversed.
Land value was also on the mind of nature preserve representatives, who invoked the same argument as a reason to support the project.
Open spaces already exist in abundance in the Wood River Valley, many residents countered.
"We are surrounded by open space," said Terry Hogue. "What we don't have is affordable golf."
Ketchum resident Mickey Garcia said the golf course should not be the public's main concern.
"I see much more passion for affordable golf than affordable housing. Why is that?" he asked.
The size of the project, its footprint and the height of the buildings continue to create anxiety among some residents.
"Please consider what 60 feet looks like from Bald Mountain Road," said Sharon de Beauregard.
Although more people spoke in opposition to at least some aspects of the project than those in favor of it, many people said they were conflicted—encouraged by what they saw as public benefits but concerned about other aspects, especially increased traffic.
"There are many good things about this," said Wayne Spector. But, "Warm Springs at 5 o'clock ... it's starting to get like Main Street. "I think this project is going to put it over the top."
Despite the sometimes acrimonious dialogue that has taken place over the months of public hearings, teacher Char Roth found something good in the process itself.
"I really appreciate the community and their involvement ... and (their) speaking about what we love about this area," she said.
The public hearing will continue at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28.
More than 100 people attended a public hearing Thursday on the Warm Springs Ranch development plan. While many voiced support for the project, other people said they were unhappy about the proposed loss of the golf course, traffic impacts and building size. Photo by David N. Seelig
