Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ketchum plans new TDR law

City hopes process will help with litigation


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

The Ketchum City Council gave the first reading of a new transfer-of-development-rights ordinance at its meeting on Monday, Feb.4, a move that could help the city in a lawsuit brought against it last year.

City Attorney Ben Worst said that while some smaller changes were made from the TDR ordinance passed at the beginning of 2007, one of the major reasons for "restating" the ordinance was to fix an alleged failure to follow due process.

The lawsuit, brought against the city by KGF Development, owner of the Copper Ridge building on Washington Avenue, contends that the city's TDR ordinance violates city and state laws.

If the litigation is successful, KGF would prevent the Justen Co., a Seattle-based development firm, from building a proposed mixed-use building at 260 First Ave. N., which sits directly to the west of Copper Ridge. By purchasing TDRs, the Justen Co. would be able to add a fourth floor, which could block views of Bald Mountain from the high-end Copper Ridge condominiums.

Worst said the court has decided to postpone a decision in the lawsuit against the city until a building permit has been issued for the project, as that is the only property causing conflict.

Worst said that to his knowledge, no TDRs had been sold yet, and that this issue would likely take some time to resolve.

At the meeting, Barry Luboviski, an attorney representing KGF Development, said the ordinance, like the one that preceded it, is illegal because its aim of preserving historic structures is not included in the state law that allows for such ordinances.

However, Worst countered that the uses in the state code, which focus on preserving open space and wildlife habitats, are not an exclusive list, and contended that Ketchum's goal of maintaining its historic character is legal.

As Mayor Randy Hall and Councilman Baird Gourlay were both absent from the meeting, Councilman Ron Parsons suggested only doing the first reading, rather than waiving all three, to get additional input on the issue at the next council meeting on Feb. 19.




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