Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Resort tweaks vision for open land

Suggests more multi-family development near Dollar Mountain


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

The area in Sun Valley across the road from Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge could see more multi-family homes than originally envisioned if Sun Valley Co.'s request is approved by the city.

Sun Valley Co. is requesting revisions to the text of the 2005 comprehensive plan update and the land-use designations of the future land-use map as they apply to the company's land.

Among requested amendments are changes to the proportion of multi-family to single-family homes as outlined in the comp plan.

Sun Valley Planning & Zoning commissioners opted at their June 9 meeting to make a site visit to the parcel of land on Elkhorn Road, above city hall, called Prospector Hill, before making a recommendation to the City Council about whether more density should be allowed.

The area currently is zoned OR-1 (outdoor recreation), although it is widely perceived as being zoned as open space because it is not developed.

The current vision as laid out in the comp plan identifies three uses for that area: multi-family, single-family, and open space. Sun Valley Co.'s proposal would increase the proportion of multi-family to single-family homes.

"From a planning point of view, it certainly makes some kind of sense to have multi-family, have some density around Dollar Mountain," said Commission Chair Ken Herich.

Wally Huffman, development director for Sun Valley Co., said future demand might dictate more development to single-family homes instead.

"Who knows, in the next iteration of the comp plan, we may come back and say, well, the market is suggesting single-family is more important than the multi-family," he said.

After a series of meetings over the past four weeks to discuss Sun Valley Co.'s application, commissioners were close to voting on recommended amendments last week.

Commissioners, however, agreed to postpone that action so they could visit the site to see if or how more multi-family homes would impact the area.

P&Z members could not visit the site during the June 9 meeting because the meeting was not noticed for that purpose. The visit can't take place until the 15-day public notice requirement is met.

The P&Z canceled its June 23 meeting but has scheduled a special meeting for the site visit, on June 30.

Rebecca Meany: rmeany@mtexpress.com




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