Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Carey P&Z to discuss affordable housing plan


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

First, the city of Sun Valley passed an ordinance mandating developers include a certain percentage of affordable, deed-restricted housing in all new developments. Then, Hailey passed a similar ordinance.

Now, the growing city of Carey is preparing to take its turn.

At a public meeting in Carey at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission will begin considering a draft "inclusionary zoning" ordinance.

The news will certainly come as a surprise to many longtime Blaine County residents who have come to regard outlying communities like Carey as "de facto" affordable housing.

"We know we want to think ahead, and that's what we're doing," said Sara Mecham, Carey's P&Z administrator.

The draft ordinance Carey commissioners will be reviewing was borrowed from Hailey's recently passed ordinance, Mecham said.

The Hailey ordinance will be used as a starting point to begin discussing the issue, she said. The next step will be to decide how to adapt it to meet Carey's needs, Mecham said.

The current draft ordinance states that 20 percent of new developments must be deed-restricted community housing units.

Attending the meeting will be Blaine County Commission Chair Sarah Michael; Michael David, executive director of the Blaine Ketchum Housing Authority, and Hailey Planning Director Kathy Grotto.

The amount of interest and applications for developments in Carey during the past six months to a year has convinced city leaders that it's the right time to begin discussing the need for affordable housing, Mecham said.

"We're trying to keep our heads above water now rather than later," she said.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.