Wednesday, February 7, 2007

City Council likes look of TDRs


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

A transformation of Ketchum's transfer of development rights system is close to complete, and property owners in the city could begin taking advantage of the program by spring.

The City Council debated Monday the latest refinements to the TDR system, which designates certain areas of town as "sending areas" that can sell development rights and others as "receiving areas" that can buy them. Properties in receiving areas could buy up to one additional floor of height beyond the currently allowable three-floor maximum.

Under the proposed plan, the city would create a "receiving area" overlay in the Commercial Core zoning district.

"It establishes the eligibility," City Planner Beth Robrahn said Tuesday.

Property owners in the overlay would still have to apply to become a receiving area. Then they would look for TDRs to buy from sending area properties.

The Historic Preservation Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission identified specific lots for the sending and receiving area map, but City Attorney Ben Worst said creating an overlay with specific designation criteria would protect the city from "spot zoning" claims.

The downside of that is "you do lose a measure of control ... over individual sites," Worst said.

Not all sites in the overlay would be eligible to become receiving areas. Those eligible include downtown properties on streets that are 80 or 100 feet wide (which are Walnut Avenue, East Avenue, Main Street, First Avenue and Second Avenue). The other criteria is location within the retail core sub-district, which is roughly bound by Spruce, Sun Valley Road, the east side of Main Street and Sixth Street.

Exempted from becoming receiving areas, however, are lots on the east side of Main Street between Second and Fourth streets and the west side of Main Street between Second and Third streets.

Council members want to prevent those areas from "receiving" more density because they are hoping to preserve existing buildings on those blocks. The Sawtooth Club, the Pioneer Saloon and the Casino are some of the buildings that fall into this exempt category.

That doesn't prevent property owners from tearing down those buildings, though. It just means they are subject to the current three-story cap instead of being able to "receive" an additional floor through TDR purchase.

The council also selected 29 properties as "sending" sites. Owners of those properties, which are a combination of historic and small-scale buildings, could put their development rights up for sale. Development rights are the difference between what is built on the site and the maximum allowed under city code. For example, a two-story building has one floor of development rights to sell.

"We'll have the ability for somebody to come in and ask to be sending," said Councilman Baird Gourlay.

The theory of the system, which is voluntary, is to offer incentives for the preservation of historic or "heritage" properties. In exchange, greater density is allowed elsewhere as a trade-off.

TDRs are seen by the city as the best way to encourage owners of historic buildings to save them as-is, rather than use the property for more lucrative development.

The council is scheduled to review the final ordinance at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 20. In order to get the system in place for the building season, the council could waive the three readings typically required for ordinance revisions and approve the TDR system that night.




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