Idaho Mountain Express: The conflict continues

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Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The conflict continues

Decision pending on controversial affordable housing project

Doug Aanestad, representing the homeowners in the Bigwood subdivision said the land proposed for use in the project was dedicated to the Bigwood homeowners in the original land-use plan. Photo by Willy Cook

Who ever thought a four-acre parcel of landfill and sagebrush could be the cause of heated legal wrangling and political controversy?

The Ketchum City Council listened to about three hours of public testimony at a special meeting Monday night as part of a rezone and development application for a proposed 19-unit affordable housing project.

The Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood's meeting room was filled beyond fire capacity since, somewhat surprisingly, more members of the public were in attendance than at hearings last month to consider the proposed Warm Springs Ranch Resort, a hotel and housing project still under review.

The Planning & Zoning Commission made a recommendation in April to allow the proposed rezone from Rural zoning to Low-Density Residential, as well as the subdivision of the lot, on a four-acre parcel between the southern end of the Bigwood Golf Course and the Ketchum Cemetery. The approval resulted in enough vocal opposition to lead City Council President Baird Gourlay to open the meeting Monday by responding to recent criticisms of the plan.

"There have been questions of integrity and backdoor dealing. Well, I know my retirement fund hasn't received a bump," Gourlay said, referring to insinuations that the council was helping project developer Dave Hutchinson, president of Valley Properties Inc., because Hutchinson once served on the council.

"We have been looking at every piece of land for a project because affordable housing is no longer a problem, it's a crisis," said Gourlay, running the meeting in the absence of Mayor Randy Hall, who was responding to a death in his family.

As proposed by Hutchinson, the project would be split into two parts, totaling 15 single-family homes and two duplexes, with the nine-unit first phase being built as a delayed substitute for housing commitments made as part of the original Thunder Spring planned-unit development, on the north end of the city.

The original PUD for Thunder Spring called for 4,800 square feet of community housing and 5,000 square feet of office space for nonprofit organizations. However, Hutchinson said 2,500 square feet of housing was proposed in place of the office space.

The fact that this requirement was never enforced drew the ire of many members of the public, despite the fact that this oversight began with a previous owner and city administration.

The construction would fulfill the balance of the housing requirement not provided onsite at the Residences at Thunder Spring, an approved new project of 24 fractional units scheduled for completion in about two years.

The portion being built in accordance with the requirement from this new high-end housing project would include three units, with another four units of employee housing built onsite at the residences.

Hutchinson said completion of the 10-unit Phase 2 would depend on other developers, perhaps those looking to fulfill community housing requirements offsite.

The two- and three-bedroom, wood-sided cottages would use the same materials as the buildings already on the neighboring cemetery property.

While many critics agree that affordable housing is needed in Ketchum, this particular location has proved to be very controversial, in part because of two words: "in perpetuity."

An original Thunder Spring plat note mandated that the piece of land in question remain open space in perpetuity, with the one exception being an expansion of the golf course.

This has led attorneys for Bigwood subdivision homeowners to claim that it would be illegal to use the property for any other purpose, adding that homeowners in the Bigwood subdivision also have a right to the land.

But attorney Stephanie Bonney, a land-use specialist retained by the city for this project, said the language in the covenants, conditions and restrictions for the site gives the owner the legal right to develop the land.

"There has to be clear and unequivocal intent to dedicate the property, and in this case the (development) agreement and the CC&Rs clearly contradict each other," Bonney said. "In perpetuity is not legally binding unless it was in a deed restriction. The words create a political issue, not a legal issue."

It seems likely that if the City Council approves the application, opponents of the project would take the matter to court.

According to Bonney, however, the dispute would be between the homeowners, Thunder Spring LLC, and the actual owner of the land, Bigwood Golf LLC, and might not include the city.

In the end, Gourlay made one more impassioned plea.

"If you truly, truly feel you are for affordable housing, ask yourself: Would this decision affect you so badly? Please think about it because this is something we're struggling with mightily."

Because Hall and Councilman Ron Parsons were unable to attend Monday's meeting, the remaining council members decided to continue the matter until July 21.

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haileyresident

07/07/08 - 17:13

I'm appalled that the original owners/ developers of Thunder Sprigns were allowed to get away with not building the agreed upon affordable housing.

In future, I suggest that for any project, if the affordable units have not been built by the time the first unit is available for sale, that the city be allowed to place a lien against the sale of individual condos within the development. Upon the sale of each unit, a significant portion of the receipts would go into a trust fund, payable to the developer only upon completion of ALL the agreed upon affordable units. And if the units were not completed by a reasonable time, then the funds would be payable to the Blaine County housing authority or some such entity. Is that kind of oversight so difficult to orchestrate?

mickey garcia – ketchum Idaho

07/06/08 - 14:37

Hey Doc,
Ive been having nightmares lately. The most recent one was a doozy. I think it happened in a church! I was sitting there and the place was invaded by a bunch of vile, miserly, Rumpelstiltskin like gremlins, throwing golf balls and smashing everyone present with baseball bats. They were especially attacking the few young people present. Occasionally, some young person would hand the old geezers a social security check and ask if they could live nearby. The gremlins would respond by hurling golf balls labeled "perpetuity" and bashing the young people with baseball bats labeled "NIMBY". The Rumpelstiltskins screamed that they didn't want anyone so young and poor and disgusting living anywhere nearby. The old gremlins threw up a thick fog of smoke coming from their mouths to disguise their true nature. So Doc? Whaddayou think? Do I need medication? Maybe a change of scenery? A vacation in Zimbabwe on a folding bicycle carrying a sign that reads "FREE ZIMBABWE" perhaps? What do you think?
Mickey Garcia

Gary Hoffman, M.D. – Ketchum

07/02/08 - 10:41

Gentlemen: I'm the guy who owns the 55 units of affordable housing known as the Sun Valley Trailer Parks. The following BCHA guidelines are those that I was unable to finish addressing at the City Council meeting last evening; numbers 1,3,4, and 5 would all be compromised by this project. Number 2 specifically calls for very careful attention to the other 4 lest in the heated atmosphere of "crisis", we are tempted to approve flawed developments in order to put numbers on the books.

1) It is important to note that any community-targeted housing programs must be balanced with the aesthetic, environmental, and tourism-related values of the community. In addition, the costs of providing Community Housing should not be borne disproportionately by any one sector of the community.

2) The BKHA remains flexible in its approach to providing affordable and employee housing; however, this flexibility should not be taken to mean that the listed priorities should be ignored or not given due consideration.

3) Sites that are adjacent to or that are zoned for residential use shall be prioritized.

4) Projects shall be compatible with present land use and zoning codes

5) Sites should ideally have relatively easy access to existing arterial and collector routes and systems.

It's all well and good for Jerry Seifert to wave pom poms now (June, 2008) for this project while glossing over important matters of
public trust...what was Jerry doing back in 1974-1987 during his 13 year tenure as mayor to put together a solid and enduring
affordable housing program with long-term vision? The Mayor and the City Council are now riding a groundswell of support for
formulating a comprehensive master plan to begin the long-overdue development of systematic affordable housing. Please don't
squander this momentum by irritating large numbers of influential citizens in this town and dragging this into protracted litigation. Use it rather to show verve and initiative in LEADING your constituents. One way to do it is to insist on total transparency and full accountability in all municipal matters, especially those involving development, salaries and budget. It was obvious last evening that this has not been the case in years past; this lends support to the naysayers in the community who constantly suspect shady dealings and unscrupulous behavior between elected officials and their "pals" outside of government. What were Ben Worst's opinions on this matter and why were limited Ketchum funds expended to hire outside counsel? This was a great expense that we can ill afford and further fuels the suspicions of, at best, city government incompetency and, at worst, chicanery in high places. Among other seeming improprieties that fueled fears of "ol' boy cronyism" in City Hall was the poor notification (during slack!) of the original P&Z hearing and the shutting down of due process discussion that occurred...couple that with their incredibly speedy approval and the resulting stink began wafting like 3 day dead roadkill. No wonder critics are so skeptical of your integrity; our government must be like Caesar's wife: above suspicion.

Let's work on integrating affordable housing into the community; let's stop thinking of "Ghettoization" of this housing. For starters, let's rescind in lieu fees in place of meeting affordable housing requirements except in the rare instance where it is an EXTREME hardship...and then stick to it!
My last comment will deal with the laughable attempts by Hutchinson to pass this golf course redesign off as a golfer improvement for hole number 8. Bigwood is a public 9 hole course that caters to many beginning and mediocre players; I know, I'm one of them. While the Masters and U.S. Open are constantly tightening fairways among other efforts to challenge the Tiger Woods of the world to play to their maximum abilities, it is ridiculous to make the same claim for Bigwood. The public is not so naive as to buy into this totally self-serving argument but the P&Z commissioners sure did on April 10, 2008 in their rush to approve.

Sincerely, Gary Hoffman, M.D.