After a two-year interruption, the Sun Valley City Council will reconsider a long-contested application to build a private road accessing the Triumph Springs property in Sun Valley. The 5th District Court in Hailey ruled May 26 that the city must review the application it denied in 2004.
The case went before 5th District Court Judge Robert Elgee after the landowner, developer Lane Ranch Partnership, appealed the city's decision to reject a road construction permit for the hillside property. The site at issue is located immediately north of Elkhorn Road across from Lane Ranch subdivision.
The court decided last month that the city improperly required a design-review or subdivision development approval prior to the construction of the road. The court declared that construction of a road does not necessitate the city's design-review process. In addition, the court refuted the city's assertion that a subdivision application may be required, as the proposed road is not currently associated with a subdivision development.
The remand comes after council members denied an appeal from Lane Ranch Partnership to permit a private access road to its Outdoor-Recreation zoned land on the southwest side of Dollar Mountain. In 2004, the council declared its firm opposition to the proposed road with a 4-0 vote against the plan. The council cited opposition to building a road without first knowing what purpose it would serve and opposed the potentially large degree of hillside cuts.
The debate over the Triumph Springs property has endured for some five years, starting with a 2001 application by Lane Ranch Partnership to rezone a portion of the 166-acre site.
The 2001 application was made to accommodate the development of a new Triumph Springs subdivision, which would have included seven new residential lots. It also included a proposal to build an access road into the area.
After the city denied the application, attorneys for Lane Ranch in January 2002 filed an application to build a road that was similar to the first road proposed. City planners eventually deemed the Lane Ranch road application deficient.
In October 2003, attorneys for Lane Ranch Partnership renewed their road request. Evan Robertson, an attorney for Lane Ranch, submitted an application to the city for construction plan approval and a construction permit. Robertson stated in a letter to the city that the partnership desired vehicular access to pursue non-residential development of the property, possibly for cross-country skiing facilities or a commercial equestrian facility.
Former Sun Valley Community Development Director Jack Cloud determined the developers should first gain approval of an appropriate development application before being allowed to build an access road.
The Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council upheld Cloud's determination.
In response, Lane Ranch Partnership challenged the city's decision.
A determination on payment of attorney fees is under advisement.
