The Ketchum Planning & Zoning commissioners can enjoy at least a moment's respite after holding five intense public meetings on the proposed Warm Springs Ranch Resort over the course of the past month.
At a special meeting on Tuesday at the Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the planned unit development application for the 78-acre project that could include a five-star hotel, townhomes and a golf course if the City Council concurs with this decision.
Since presenting the project to the public last year, the developers, Park City-based DDRM Greatplace, have created approximately 10 alterations to the design, finally introducing a "tent concept" to provide flexibility heading into the design review process.
This concept would set maximum height limits for different sections of the core hotel building, giving the developer's lead architect, Mark Philp, a codified framework within which to work.
A set of restrictions was created by the city planning staff in mid-June, which would govern the allowable height, floor area and individual façades in order to ensure that the building does not appear as one solid mass.
Any portion of the hotel between 80 feet and the 93-foot maximum would be limited to 15 percent of the building's total footprint of 130,000 square feet. This would mean that the top floor would be limited to approximately 19,000 square feet.
To help move the commission on with its decision, the developers agreed to lower the portions of the building closest to Warm Springs Road and Townhouse Lane from 80 feet to 65 in response to commission comment at the last meeting in late June.
In the approved concept, the floor area of the core hotel could reach a maximum of just under 450,000 square feet.
Along with the height, this aspect of the project had received the most criticism during the public hearing process, in granting the necessary waivers the commission members found the overall benefits to be greater than the negative impacts.
"I know it's a controversial project and will continue to be so, but it's not injurious to anyone," Commissioner Steve Cook said. "For sure, it's not 100 percent in harmony with the closest neighbors, but the community is lucky to have this site that will minimize the impact."
The commission made it clear, however, that the job was far from over and that the details would come under extensive scrutiny during the design review process.
"I expect the design to be exceptional. Not pretty good or great," Cook said to the development team at the meeting. "Personally, I'm glad this PUD is nearly behind us because the proof will be in the pudding and I want to see your best shot."
In addition to the hotel, which could have up to eight stories, including two floors of underground parking, the project would include 25 villas, 18 townhouses and two estate lots, along with an events house, a nine-hole golf course and a reincarnation of the Warm Springs Restaurant.
Without a doubt, a major reason behind the commission's decision was the projected economic benefit that could accompany the addition of 121 hotel rooms that would be in the short-term rental pool, considered "hot beds," and an additional 30 fractional units considered "warm beds."
"I feel that there has been so much give and take throughout this process," said Commission Co-Chair Debbie Burns. "But we can have a five-star resort in Ketchum for the first time in our lives, which will identify us to the rest of the world ... I can't imagine letting this project go and seeing what would happen."
However, one certainty is that it will be some time before Ketchum sees anything new at the site.
Stan Castleton, CEO of DDRM, said that the original estimated 2009 start date is no longer a realistic timeline.
"There's no way we're going to be able to meet that schedule," Castleton said to the commission on Tuesday. "This process has already taken longer than we expected."
However, Castleton said that he would provide a revised schedule before the findings of fact come before the commission later this month. The previous schedule had four phases, with completion of the entire project slated for 2013.
"We are committed to constructing the hotel first, which is the most difficult part to finance," Castleton said.
Like the construction schedule, the issue of the contribution for tennis courts also remains somewhat undecided.
While looking at the recreation facilities, the commission members made it clear that a $500,000 requirement plus a $7,500 per year endowment was an unfair request.
Rather than set a price, the commission recommended that the developer give a bid for six courts, which would likely fall in that range of $300,000 to $500,000. The council will make the final decision on the requirement.
Community and Economic Development Director Lisa Horowitz said that the council is tentatively scheduled to hold its first workshop on the project, at which any necessary additional information would be requested, on August 21.
Horowitz said that it was her belief that the developer would wait until the council had made its decision on the PUD application before moving ahead with the design review process.
Commission Chair angered by petition
Ketchum Planning and Zoning Co-Chair Debbie Burns took a quick diversion from the deliberations on Tuesday evening to castigate members of the audience who were circulating a petition to recall Mayor Randy Hall.
"It's not illegal, but I'm outraged that a recall petition is being passed around at a city-sponsored meeting," Burns said.
Former commissioner Anne Corrock, the author of the petition, was seated in the back of the meeting room holding the petition during Burns' remarks.
In an interview the following day, Burns said that with the Ketchum already in the midst of a housing crisis, there was no need to divide the city with the threat of a recall.
Corrock, who cited a number of reasons for recalling Hall, including fiscal irresponsibility, would need 418 signatures of registered voters by Sept. 19. The number is based on a percentage of the number of citizens who participated in the last city election.
Hall is out of town attending to family matters and has been unavailable for comment.
If the recall makes it to the ballot, there would need to be as many or more votes in support of the recall than originally were cast for Hall back in 2005 when he was elected. This means that at least 503 votes for the recall would be needed. A majority of the ballots cast in the recall vote would also be required.
An original petition with 24 signatures, enough to allow Corrock to take the next step is the process, was handed into the city last week, but was rejected because of a minor technical error.
Anne Corrock
