Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Quail Creek suffers legal blow

County's first community-housing-specific development in limbo


By STEVE BENSON
Express Staff Writer

The first community-housing-specific development ever to be approved in Blaine County hit a snag after a Ketchum man filed an appeal May 8 against the County Commission.

The Quail Creek subdivision, to be located near The Meadows mobile-home park about two miles south of Ketchum, was slated to offer 87 free-market units and 39 community housing units across 23 acres. It was approved by the county commissioners in March.

But Deane F. Johnson, who owns about two acres of property immediately adjacent to the Quail Creek site, claims the commissioner's approval violated several laws.

In a copy of the petition, Johnson's attorney, Fritz Haemmerle, referred to his client as an "aggrieved and affected" person. Haemmerle said Johnson presented his concerns to the commission during the public review process, but they were ignored. Haemmerle cited 10 issues in the petition as reasons for the appeal. Summarized, they're as follows:

· The applicant, Clear Creek LLC, did not satisfy applicable standards of evaluation for approving a community housing planned unit development.

· The development violates the local land use planning act, and constitutes an illegal spot zone.

· The decision granting the development did not comply with the community housing overlay (CHO) district regulations.

· The development does not include a water and sewer district, allow for minimum fire protection standards, and does not provide for minimum setbacks as required under the CHO and other laws.

· The roads within the development do not conform to the county's ordinances.

Over the past couple years the county commissioners have intensified efforts to boost the county's affordable housing, which is in short supply.

In May 2004, they approved a community housing overlay district ordinance that allows developers to request higher developable densities if they propose to build deed-restricted community housing.

That ordinance paved the way for Quail Creek, which was scored as a major victory for affordable housing.

The appeal could also spell trouble for the Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority, which was relying on the development's fees to fulfill their 2006-2007 budget.

The Housing Authority's preliminary budget was slated for $300,000 in expenses and $300,000 in revenue—the first two phases of Quail Creek were expected to produce $177,000 in revenue.

"It would certainly effect us," Michael David, the Housing Authority's executive director, said about the appeal. "But I don't want to imply at all that this appeal is (going to succeed). As far as I know, everything is still on schedule. Our hope was to get units on the ground this fall."

A court date for the appeal has not been set and is likely months away, said Tim Graves, the county's chief deputy prosecuting attorney.




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