Wednesday, August 5, 2009

City clears air on workforce housing

Ketchum leaders vow to limit how in-lieu housing funds are used


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

The Ketchum City Council passed a resolution Monday restricting any money transferred from the city's in-lieu housing fund to the Urban Renewal Agency to use only for affordable community housing projects, including the purchase of land.

This brings a partial conclusion to a concern raised by Ketchum resident James Donoval, who found fault with the city's use of $1.5 million to help purchase a piece of property on the corner of Washington Avenue and First Street and the former Mountain West Bank building on Sun Valley Road. These two properties were immediately transferred to the URA, which was a problem for Donoval because he couldn't find any indication of public input on the transfer.

According to Donoval, if affordable housing is not built on those sites, then the $1.5 million should be paid back to the city with interest.

However, more than past procedural questions, Donoval, former president of an affordable housing charity in Illinois before he moved to Ketchum in October, voiced concerns about future actions. Donoval's wife is Sun Valley city administrator Sharon Hammer.

"The ordinance is not bad, but it does not define how affordable housing will be built, when it has to be built or how many units have to be built," Donoval told the council. "It doesn't say how much bang for the buck."

The council argued that the property purchases were, and continue to be, for future use as affordable community housing, as soon as the city can afford to build the units.

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"We can't build housing without land," Council President Baird Gourlay said. "The intention has always been to use the land for housing."

Councilman Larry Helzel added that it would be difficult for the city to incorporate Donoval's suggestions about stricter language for use of the city's in-lieu housing funds.

"Your intention is to get the city to put its money where its mouth is, and I'm with you," Helzel said to Donoval. "But I'm concerned about binding a future council to numeric requirements in a volatile environment."

In the end, the council unanimously approved the resolution, but noted that the language could be worked on in the future.

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com




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