Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Plans progress for Sun Valley church

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By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer

Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church hopes to construct a 12,000-square-foot building that would include a ground-level sanctuary and basement offices. Rendering courtesy of Jim McLaughlin, architect

Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church has passed its first administrative hurdle toward construction of a new stone-and-glass building that would replace the existing church. The new building would be smaller in footprint but about 9 feet taller than the existing one.

Though it appears to be on the eastern edge of Ketchum on Sun Valley Road, the church is actually within the city limits of Sun Valley. On Tuesday, June 27, the Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a rezone of the property, from Outdoor Recreational to Public Institutional. The commission also approved a conditional-use permit to allow construction of a 44-foot-tall building. Maximum allowed height in the PI zone, without a conditional-use permit, is 35 feet.

The rezone, which was recommended by the city's planning staff on the grounds that it is more appropriate to the uses in the area, must be approved by the City Council. The council will probably address the issue in late July.

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Few objections were raised at the P&Z meeting to the church's plans. However, Alison Rosen, a resident of the adjacent Val d'Sol condominiums, objected to the new church's proposed height.

"If the church goes too high, it totally blocks our view of Dollar Mountain," she said.

Commissioner David Brown responded that the objection of only one person should not be enough to block construction of the church.

"If we had 15 or 20 people from Val d'Sol in here upset about the height, I would consider it more of an issue," he said.

Teresa Gregory, parish life director for the church, said in an interview that she hopes to begin construction of the new building late this summer. According to P&Z documents, part of the existing church will be demolished, leaving part to still be used, while the new church is built.