Since it was first introduced to the public last year, the proposed Warm Springs Ranch Resort has proved one of the most controversial issues for Ketchum in recent memory.
Battle lines have seemingly been drawn, with proponents espousing the necessity for such an economic infusion to keep the city healthy, while opponents have voiced concern regarding the scale of the project, including the height and square-footage of the hotel.
And after seven months of meetings and public hearings, the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission is set to make its recommendation to the City Council on Thursday, June 19.
In anticipation of this decision, three consecutive public hearings were scheduled for the applicant this week, with the first, an in-depth presentation of the proposal by Park City-based development company DDRM Greatplace, held on Tuesday.
Today's meeting will begin at the Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood, from which buses will provide transportation to the proposed 78-acre resort site at 5:30 p.m. This site visit, which will last approximately one hour, will be followed by a presentation from the Ketchum planning staff and public comments and questions for the commission and applicant.
The final meeting of the week will take place Thursday at the Presbyterian Church at 5:30 p.m. as well, and will feature deliberations between the commission members.
These meetings and the commission's decision are not on the actual design of the project, but to establish through the planned unit development process the overall envelope of the site and define what the developer can construct.
In a preview of what's likely to come, members of the public filled the Ketchum council chamber on Thursday, June 5, for an open house highlighting the architectural and transportation aspects of the project, as well as a question and answer session with the applicant.
Representatives of the development team were on hand to discuss the latest changes to the resort design, designated as Scheme 10, the most significant of which are the removal of the top floor of the main hotel building and the relocation of the workforce housing.
The hotel, which would be located approximately around the site of the former Warm Springs Restaurant, would be over 500,000 square feet including parking, with five floors of guest rooms and amenities on top of a two story parking structure.
Without the top floor, a reduction of nine feet for a total height of 84 feet for the core hotel building, the developers have proposed a new four- or five-story wing on the east side of the hotel that would be built during a separate phase and attached by a bridge.
As with the previous scheme, the hotel would contain 75 traditional guestrooms and 30 fractional units. An additional condominium suite would be included for a total of 46 units, and four more residences would be added for a total of 39.
In all, the new design would mean the addition of one "hot" unit, as the condominium unit would be part of the hotel's rental pool, and four "cold" residential units. However, the total number of "cold" units would be reduced with the subtraction of nine townhomes.
The new design would see the elimination of three attached townhomes to the west of the Warm Springs Restaurant, reducing the total number of townhomes from 27 to 18.
The other major alteration to the plan is the relocation of the workforce housing from the west side of the hotel, adjacent to Warm Springs Road, to the east side, between the hotel and Townhouse Lane.
Just over 30,000 square feet would house 71 resort employees in one- and two-bedroom units, as well as a number of "co-housing" units. This will provide accommodation for just under half of the 152 estimated employees required for a hotel this size. To accommodate residents in this housing, 53 parking spots would be included in the hotel's parking structure.
Plans for other features, such as a nine-hole golf course, wellness center and 3,400-square-foot events house, remain unchanged from the previous design.
At Thursday's meeting, the new scheme drew some criticism, as the reduced building height corresponded to increased volume in other areas.
Brent Hall, representing the developer, said that if the scale of the design were reduced significantly it would be difficult to make the project pencil out financially.
Tonight's site visit will give members of the public the opportunity to get a better understanding of the main hotel, as trees in the vicinity will be marked to show heights.
Without a doubt, the evening will be filled with debate weighing the positive effect on the valley's economy and the impact such a development could have on a vast tract of open space.
"I think that question and debate are healthy and necessary to good development," said local real estate agent Rick Diorio.
Dale Bates, a Ketchum-based architect working with the Warm Springs Ranch Resort development team, center, unveils the first incarnation of the plans in June 2007. Efforts to gain city approval for the hotel-residential project are entering their second year. Photo by Mountain Express
