The affordable housing cause in Blaine County scored a major victory Tuesday when county commissioners unanimously approved the Quail Creek subdivision, a residential development planned for a site about two miles south of Ketchum on the east side of state Highway 75.
The development will include 126 housing units—87 free-market units and 39 deed-restricted residences for community housing—spread across 23 acres near The Meadows mobile-home park.
There are currently just 48 deed-restricted community housing units in all of Blaine County. Construction at Quail Creek is slated to begin this spring and could last five years.
Quail Creek is the first community-housing-specific development to be approved in Blaine County, which is intensifying efforts to address what is perceived as a serious shortage of affordable housing.
The feat became possible after the county approved a community housing overlay district ordinance in May 2004. That ordinance allowed developers to request higher developable densities if they propose to build deed-restricted community housing.
The developers of Quail Creek—a Ketchum-based group called Clear Creek LLC—are promising that the development will be one of the most progressively planned and environmentally sound housing developments in the Wood River Valley.
The development will include a north, south and middle neighborhood nestled between Cold Springs Road to the south, Broadway Run to the east, Highway 75 to the west, and the junction of Starlite Court and Broadway Run to the north. Some of the perks include common space, a community center, local mail delivery, access to the valley bike path, and public transportation.
The subdivision will comprise 76 single-family homes and 50 duplexes ranging in size from 1,320 to 2,240 square feet.
None of the units have been sold yet, and according to Ed Lawson, an attorney representing Clear Creek LLC, marketing efforts will likely begin soon.
County commissioners spent more than two hours Tuesday discussing the project's details, including safety issues with the bike path and the re-paving of Broadway Run.
Another concern surrounded the placement of the community housing units—seven will be located in the north neighborhood, 15 in the south, and 17 in the middle. If the developers wish to relocate any of the affordable housing units, they must first receive permission from county commissioners.
Nineteen of the community housing units will be offered to families in income category 2, and 10 each will be offered to categories 3 and 4.
