Friday, June 27, 2008

Can council bridge the divide?

Ketchum leaders to review controversial affordable housing project


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Courtesy graphic The Ketchum City Council will consider a rezone application for a proposed 19-unit affordable housing development between the southern end of the Bigwood Golf Course and the Ketchum Cemetery. The project has created plenty of vocal support and opposition in the weeks leading up to this decision.

Without a doubt, Ketchum city officials are earning their salaries as of late, having to make tough decisions on issues that have completely polarized much of the community.

Over the course of the past month the Planning and Zoning Commission has met nearly half a dozen times to discuss and deliberate on the proposed Warm Springs Ranch Resort.

Next up—on Monday, June 30—the City Council will take on a rezone application for an affordable housing subdivision that has seen an exponential increase in both support and opposition since it was first introduced to the P&Z in April.

The special meeting will be held at the Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood in Ketchum at 5:30 p.m. It is sure to bring plenty of public comment for and against the project.

As proposed by Ketchum-based Valley Properties Inc., developers of the Residences at Thunder Spring, a portion of the 19-unit project would be a delayed substitute for housing commitments made as part of the original Thunder Spring planned-unit development.

In addition, this construction would fulfill the balance of the housing requirement not provided on-site at the Residences at Thunder Spring, an approved new project of 24 fractional units scheduled for completion in about two years.

The proposed location of the project, a four-acre spit of land between the southern end of the Bigwood Golf Course and the Ketchum Cemetery, has incited a torrent of vitriol, especially from residents of the Bigwood subdivision and homeowners on nearby Stirrup Lane.

The vocal opposition has ramped up considerably since the commission's recommendation to the council in April to allow the rezone of the four-acre parcel from Rural to Low-Density Residential.

In addition to the council meeting next week, the commission is slated to make a decision on the project's design review application on July 7, a continuation of a meeting earlier this month.

As currently proposed, the project would be split into two parts, totaling 15 single-family homes and two duplexes, with the nine-unit first phase being built by the developers of the Residences at Thunder Springs.

Dave Hutchinson, president of Valley Properties Inc., said completion of the 10-unit Phase 2 would depend on other developers, perhaps those looking to fulfill community housing requirements offsite.

However, he said they would have to follow the overall master plan for the property to ensure a consistent design throughout.

The two- and three-bedroom, wood-sided cottages would use the same materials as the buildings already on the neighboring cemetery property. Each unit would have a covered parking space in one of the communal carports, which would also include storage space, a change in the design resulting from concerns voiced by the commission during April's meeting.

While no one has argued against affordable housing in general, those in opposition have provided a slew of complaints, ranging from accusations of political impropriety to the potential disturbance to golfers and visitors to the cemetery.

In addition, one of the primary objections raised is the fact that the original Thunder Spring plat note mandated that the piece of land in question remain open space in perpetuity, with the one exception being an expansion of the golf course.

However, attorney Stephanie Bonney, a land-use specialist retained by the city for this project, said that this open space was never dedicated, meaning that the owner has the legal right to develop the land.

Bonney said that the plat note regarding the open space could be changed with an amendment to the development agreement, as long as both the city and the owner approve.

And from the comments at the previous commission meetings, that approval would stem from the city's urgent need for affordable housing.

In an economic comparative analysis of Blaine County released in March by the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau in March, it showed the significant discrepancy of deed restricted workforce housing in relation to five other Western counties that are host to major ski resorts.

In comparison to communities similar in population to Blaine County's 21,560, Jackson Hole's Teton County, with 20,002 people, and Steamboat Springs' Routt County, at 22,382, have 850 and 263 affordable housing units, respectively. Blaine County has 68 deed restricted unit, according to the chamber report.

Of these, few are in the north valley, and as the cost of fuel continues to rise, this could have an economic impact on a community where a large portion of the workforce, as well as emergency response personnel, are forced to commute by car.

For full coverage of Monday's council meeting, see the Mountain Express on Wednesday, July 2.




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