Friday, April 16, 2010

River Run plan met head on

City Council and resort discuss debated details of base village


By TREVON MILLIARD
Express Staff Writer

Draft plans for Sun Valley Co.’s development at the River Run base of Bald Mountain include general outlines of where buildings would go but not specific designs of the buildings.Courtesy graphic

When would Sun Valley Resort build its 110-foot-tall hotel at River Run, if it's approved? Will Ketchum require the resort to provide a three-acre park within its 138-acre base village? Where will the city store all its snow? How much affordable community housing will come of the development?

Those are several of the looming questions that have hung in the faces of the Ketchum City Council this year as it has considered annexing 138 acres of Sun Valley Resort land into the city to build a base village in the shadow of Bald Mountain. For the first time, the council tackled these questions Tuesday and attempted to answer them one by one to get a clearer view of the road lying ahead.

They heard an earful the previous day from about 30 area residents with varying demands for the resort company. The council can choose to exercise these demands in allowing the annexation, but must decide what's worth risking. If the resort company doesn't want to play along with the council's demands, it could just decide to retract its annexation request.

"While I'd like to give everyone everything they want, it's not possible," said Wally Huffman, Sun Valley's director of resort development. "If we don't annex into the city of Ketchum, nothing will be built there."

The council also needs to approve a "planned-unit development" for a 19-acre hotel core within the larger development, where—on the east bank of Big Wood River—the 110-foot-tall hotel, parking garages, a restaurant and retail space would be located.

Timing of the hotel's construction was the first concern the council addressed. Sun Valley claimed in its fiscal impact analysis presented Feb. 11 that the hotel's 180 rooms would be done and open for business by 2014.

Since then, Huffman has backpedaled and admitted the hotel's construction timeline is "optimistic." He has said that if certain "triggers" of an improved economy don't take place in the next year or two, construction may be stalled eight to 10 years.

Mayor Randy Hall, with council members Baird Gourlay and Nina Jonas, said Tuesday that the city should provide "incentives" to Sun Valley to build the hotel first. They said the city also needs some reassurance that the hotel will come early on in the development. Jonas said the hotel, not the associated 520 condos and townhouses, has been the selling point of the development from the get-go and is the reason locals support it. Hall pointed out that the city already has more than 200 empty condos.

Carol Waller, director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, spoke to that issue at a public hearing the previous day. She said the city had lost 25 percent of its hotel rooms during the past decade, and the last hotel was built 16 years ago. Waller said she has spoken to many business owners and they're all in agreement about the ski-in, ski-out hotel.

"The business community needs this," she said.

The valley's economy relies on tourists. For that reason, Gourlay said, the city should only waive the $3 million annexation fee if the hotel comes first because the hotel would benefit Ketchum. Building condos first wouldn't. The resort company has asked to be relieved of the fee.

Councilmen Curtis Kemp and Larry Helzel disagreed, and said the timeline should be up to Sun Valley, which knows what's best for its project.

"I'm not nearly concerned about wish lists as realities," Helzel said. "There's nothing the government can do to ensure completion of this project."

Huffman said Tuesday that he couldn't commit to any timeline for building the $200 million hotel but understands that many people see it as a "salvation." He said the primary purpose of the annexation isn't a hotel but getting the property into Ketchum so the resort can develop it "when the time is right."

Huffman was also resistant to being required to provide a three-acre public park, saying the resort has already proposed 55 acres of open space, though it's not suitable for playing soccer and other things.

As it was on the hotel timeline, the council was also split on the park. Gourlay said the park is of "vital importance."

"I disagree with you, Wally," Gourlay said. "I think it would be a great place to have a field. But I don't think you should have to pay for it."

He said the city should buy the land, an idea to which Kemp was receptive. Helzel wasn't for the park either way.

Tuesday wasn't enough time to pick at every question of the development or reach a consensus on what was discussed. Community housing was touched on, as was a snow removal site for the city—which stores snow in the area. But compromises are far from imminent. Ketchum Planning Manager Stefanie Leif said in an interview that scheduled April 21 and 22 meetings, at 5:30 p.m., probably won't end in votes on the annexation or the hotel core's PUD.

Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com




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