Wednesday, December 20, 2006

City approves controversial Weyyakin plan

Final phase gets green light from Sun Valley City Council


By TREVOR SCHUBERT
Express Staff Writer

Lud Renick

A long-standing dispute over a city of Sun Valley development proposal has come to a close.

By a 3-1 vote Thursday, Dec. 14, the Sun Valley City Council endorsed the fourth and final phase of the Weyyakin subdivision, which has been tied up in municipal and judicial review since December 2005.

Council members Lud Renick, Blair Boand and Ann Agnew voted in favor of the approval, and Councilman Nils Ribi voted against it.

"It seems to me (the developer) has gone a long way to meet the needs of the community," Renick said. "I just think the developer has the right to move on."

Councilwoman Ann Agnew agreed, saying "although I am very sympathetic to the homeowners who made their concerns heard, the only thing they can hang their hat on is the variance from the (1980) master plan."

The packed meeting included a charged atmosphere. The debate centered on the last remaining development rights in Weyyakin, which are on an 8.8-acre parcel on the southeast portion of the existing subdivision.

Weyyakin is just north of Elkhorn Road and east of state Highway 75.

The parcel is set to hold 19 single-family homes. The new homes will be clustered in three separate cul-de-sacs. The Thursday debate centered on the degree of deviation between the final plan and the original 1980 master plan, as well as on the proposed mass and scale of the proposed homes.

It comes down to finding the delicate balance "between the property rights of the developer and the property rights of all homeowners," said Weyyakin developer Robert Smelick, of California-based Stilwyn Inc.

The project is steeped in complicated approval process that began late in 2005.

The P&Z originally recommended approval of the project on Feb. 14, 2006. On March 16, however, the City Council remanded the application back to the P&Z with eight directives that dealt largely with the mass and scale of the project. Following the remand, representatives of the applicant, the city and impacted neighbors entered into a judicial mediation to attempt to resolve the remaining project issues. On Sept. 21, 2006, the city voted to reject the proposed mediation agreement and rescind the earlier remand to the P&Z. In a nutshell, that's how the application arrived—largely unchanged—in council chambers last Thursday.

Attorney Ned Williamson, representing six neighboring homeowners who oppose the development, argued that the plan's deviation from the master plan violates the rights of homeowners who have already bought or sold in the neighborhood.

"You can't change the deal. A deal is a deal," Williamson said. "And now he (the developer) is asking for a major deviation from the plan."

The argument is that the master plan is designed to give current and prospective homeowners an idea of what future development, density, and a general layout of roads will look and feel like.

Following discussions held in regular meeting on Feb. 14, 2006, the P&Z voted to recommend approval of the preliminary plat application to the City Council. The commission's recommendation stated that the deviation in design varies slightly from the original concept but that "the degree of variation is at a level consistent with the conceptual nature of the master plan drawings."

Smelick's attorney, James Lasky of Ketchum, agreed that there has been deviation from the master plan in all phases of the development.

Smelick also argued that the mass and scale of the Phase 4 homes would, in fact, be smaller than those built in the subdivision's third phase. The average footprint for Phase 3 homes was roughly 4,300 square feet while Phase 4 homes averaged less than 4,000 square feet.

Ribi, however, countered, "when you have less space to build on and larger houses you have a problem."

Ribi said the new development has 27 percent less land and 40 percent larger buildings, and "all that adding up doesn't fit."

Current Weyyakin homeowners and neighbors in adjacent homes were given the floor during open meeting to lend their support or voice their grievances.

Mary Anne Pinkerton, a 24-year, full-time Weyyakin resident, lent her full support to the endeavor, saying the developer "bent over backwards to accommodate the requests of the homeowners."

Pinkerton described a proxy vote at a special meeting of the homeowner's association in which 54 votes were cast in favor of allowing Phase 4 to go forward, with only 11 votes against.

Weyyakin resident Bob Holland had previously presented concerns about the final phase of construction but has rescinded his complaints.

"They addressed all of our concerns and satisfied us completely," he said.

Still, not everyone had been appeased.

"I don't want an urban view corridor," Weyyakin resident Linda Potter said. "This represents a huge departure in the design of our community. We need to have Weyyakin look like Weyyakin."

Weyyakin resident Nancy Zanes agreed: "There is a very wonderful fabric to the Weyyakin community, and this new proposal does not fit."

Richard Fassino lives in a home adjacent to Phase 4. He said the new construction does not "preserve the natural and scenic resources that brought us all to Sun Valley in the first place."

The final say was given to the city.

"I've heard the presentation. I heard its been approved by everyone its come before," said Sun Valley Mayor Jon Thorson.

Renick cited the 80 percent approval from Weyyakin homeowners association and the P&Z's approval as reasons for the council to give the project a thumbs up.

"I can't make the nexus that we are bound with the master plan," Boand said. "I think we are hanging our hat on the wrong thing."




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.