Despite concerns about its bulk, the design for the proposed five-story Bald Mountain Lodge narrowly won approval from Ketchum's Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday.
The P&Z's recommendation for approval will go before the City Council for a final decision.
Since the last design-review meeting on Jan. 11, lodge designers have made numerous exterior aesthetic changes—at the P&Z's request—to streamline the hotel's appearance. Large wood beams have been replaced by slender, blackened steel, and a tower has been added at the southeastern corner as a welcoming element to people entering town from the south. Materials for the building, planned for a lot along Main Street between First and River streets, have come to include light-colored stone, off-white stucco and wood siding.
All five commissioners agreed that the proposed 68-foot-tall hotel has greatly evolved for the better since the first design-review meeting in December, when the P&Z waived the city's setback requirement. But Commissioners Michael Doty and Steve Cook, who voted against design approval, still expressed discomfort about the hotel's bulk.
"It's not about overall height," Doty said, "but where the height is located."
The top two floors, he said, are overwhelming.
However, City Attorney Susan Buxton said the P&Z couldn't now take back that setback waiver.
"If a decision was made in the PUD, it can't be changed here," she said.
Only Doty voted against the waiver in December.
Ketchum code allows a 68-foot-tall building at the lodge's location, but requires fourth and fifth floors bordering streets to be set back from the property line by a minimum of 10 feet, with an average of 15 feet per street side.
Lodge designer Gary Wakatsuki argued that the top two floors both step back 8 feet, just 2 feet shy of the minimum, but Doty said that's not how it will appear from the ground, which is what matters. Wakatsuki's 8-foot setback refers to the glass doors leading to the balconies, but Doty said the balcony floors would extend out from the glass doors, only setting back 4 feet from the property line and sidewalk. No one on the sidewalk would ever see the glass doors.
And even if the balconies weren't there, Doty said, the roof would make the building setbacks obsolete because it overhangs about 6 feet.
"The building reads as a sheer surface," Doty said, later adding that he's not against a hotel at this location but wants it to be done differently.
Wakatsuki argued that the property owner, Mike Kerby, can't set back the top two floors any more because those floors would make up the 26 residential units for sale and Kerby needs that interior space to get the largest return on investment.
"It's not just an aesthetic component," Wakatsuki said, "but also a business decision."
Commissioner Sam Williams said city code is not in place to achieve the greatest profit for developers but to protect residents and neighbors.
The US Bank building directly to the north would stand 24 feet shorter than the lodge. Setbacks are designed to settle the lodge into place despite its height.
"Business decisions are made by the developer," Williams said, "and are not an issue of the city."
Only Commissioner Deborah Burns said the setbacks weren't a tipping point for her.
"I will not deny the building based on that," she said.
Commissioner Rich Fabiano said he "struggled" with the lack of setbacks from the "get-go." However, he said he "nodded yes earlier ... and it's hard for me to say no at this stage."
And, he added, "No project is ever 100 percent."
That was also the same message of Williams, who voted in favor of the design but still questioned why the P&Z passed it.
"I feel like Sandra Bullock," he said, referring to her acceptance speech the night before at the Academy Awards presentations for her first Oscar. "Are we awarding you this because of your merits or because you've worn us down?"
Public opinion at Monday's meeting was overwhelmingly in favor of the lodge, even though a few people expressed concerns about the building's mass. Even Wally Huffman, director of resort development for Sun Valley Co., said the area needs more hotel rooms and expressed support for the lodge.
Even with P&Z approval, Bald Mountain Lodge developers don't have a golden statue in their hands yet. They still have the City Council ahead. If that approval comes, the developer would have four years to start construction. Kerby has said the lodge would take 22 months to build.
He said that with financing, he has the "capability" to see the project through. He said he's spent $10 million over the past five years.
"I'm looking forward to moving on to the next step," he said.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
This rendering shows the tower planned for the corner of the Bald Mountain Lodge, at the intersection of River and Main Streets. The Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission requested a “welcoming” element at this corner since the building is located at the southern end of town along state Highway 75. Designers presented the tower at Monday’s meeting but still underwent P&Z scrutiny over the fourth and fifth floors’ not stepping back enough, which would make the 68-foot-tall building seem less immense. Courtesy graphic
