A Ketchum city planner's departure this week will leave three of five planning department positions vacant at a time when the city is undergoing changes to zoning codes, an increase in building projects and the implementation of a downtown master plan.
Stefanie Webster, who has been with the city for four years, will depart Friday to take a job as a Blaine County planner.
She said she counts her time in Ketchum as rewarding—due both to projects and people.
"I've enjoyed the diversity of projects I've been able to work on, from current development to long-term (issues like) floodplain ordinance revision and historic preservation. In Ketchum, we have so many sophisticated developments. The challenge about this community also makes it really exciting to work in. There's a lot at stake."
Webster also served as floodplain coordinator, a job with increased significance during this spring's flood, as well as liaison to the Ketchum Historic Preservation Commission.
"What's hard about historic preservation is people wonder why we can't stop demolition," she said. "There's so many different layers, being on the National Register (of Historic Places) or in a local, state or regional one. You have to have many pieces put together before you enact an ordinance (to preserve). It has to be very specific, and a lot of homes in Ketchum don't meet that. We're working as hard as we can with what's left."
Ketchum Planning Director Harold Moniz said Webster will be missed.
"Stefanie was an expert in permit processing," he said. "She worked well with developers and architects to achieve common goals. We'll miss her personality and hard work, and the bridges she built to the community."
Webster cited a desire for new challenges as reason for the move.
"The county is at a very pivotal point in their history with the 2025 plan and there's a lot of opportunity with that for me to grow as a professional," she said. "A lot of projects the county sees deal with large-scale parcels of land and natural resources issues that we see in Ketchum on a smaller scale."
The three vacant budgeted positions are associate planner, planning technician and administrative assistant.
Ketchum City Planner Stefanie Webster will be leaving her position Friday to take a job with the Blaine County Planning Department. Express photo by Rebecca Meany.
