ISSUE #56: Ketchum Council's Comprehensive Plan For Aspen
Look Who Wrote It: The general public's input has been minimized, while developer input drives it
Have you seen the draft Comp Plan? You can find it here: https://www.projectketchum.org/cohesive-ketchum/
I have spent over twenty hours this week reading the document and am left with a profound sadness.
Sadness that this is what our Council wants for our community.
Sadness that this is the process they are going about to bypass the wishes of Ketchum’s residents.
Sadness that we can do nothing about it as
longas Bradshaw/ Breen/ Hamilton remain on the Council and control Ketchum’s future.
We are screwed.
Classic Ketchum Council Jam Job
Did you have any input into it? Why do you think that is?
The City is taking comments on it until January 17th. Did you know about that? Have you been able to comment on it? Doesn’t commenting seem difficult? Why do you think this is?
Even the Mountain Express has expressed concern about how this process is being managed. On December 20th, they published an editorial about it.
In my opinion, there is a reason why public input has been minimized. This plan is not about the community vision for Ketchum. It is about how the Troika of Bradshaw/Breen/Hamilton and the interests they represent plan to close the gap between Ketchum and Aspen while pretending to preserve the soul of Ketchum. Just look around town and see what a great job they are doing.
Want to know who helped write the Comp Plan? They are listed on page i (picture above). It is an interesting list. It includes many people responsible for the citification of Ketchum, including the architect of Bluebird and the team developing the Washington Parking lot into a massive housing project. Some are relatives of Council members. Several don’t live in Ketchum. Yet their input was valued more than yours.
This is terrible governance.
What The Plan Says It Wants To Achieve
The number one theme in the Plan is telling—to conform the Comp Plan with the plans that the Bradshaw administration has adopted. That is ass-backward. A Comp Plan is supposed to be the strategic plan for the City. All other plans are supposed to derive their legitimacy from the Comp Plan and work to achieve the goals of the Comp Plan. Not in Ketchum!
The plan's second theme is “addressing community housing needs.” I infer that this is code for building more Bluebirds.
Number three is to diversify Ketchum’s economy. If you read the plan, this seems like a bad joke. Most of it is concerned with maximizing tourism density and promoting more growth in the tourism industry.
it calls for airport expansion (E-3.4)
it calls for further subsidization of for-profit tourism activities at taxpayer expense
it puts the quality of visitor experience at the same priority level as the quality of life for residents
Preserving community character is number four; it was number one in the previous Plan. Like that plan, this Plan does not have accountability mechanisms for the Council to achieve the goal. Just look around at what a good job they have been doing.
Five is clarifying how the Land Use Plan will be used. When you read those sections, the focus is on where they can build more housing.
Six is incorporating sustainability and resilience. If you double down on tourism, one of the most cyclical and least sustainable industries, is this greenwashing or hypocrisy (both?)?
Seven: expand historic preservation. We have had a Historic Preservation Commission for four years. In four years, they have approved the demolition of Formula Sports, issued a handbook, prevented the moving of a historic structure to Hailey, and let the Taste of Thai building get subsumed into an architectural monstrosity. That’s it.
Eight: Strengthen regional partnerships. Ironically, no jurisdiction will collaborate with Ketchum on its Housing Action Plan, one of the document's most frequently referred to plans.
Nine: identify who is responsible for implementing the plan. This section guarantees non-accountability. While they note which City department owns which policies, there are no time frames for accomplishing anything, no metrics of success—none of the things you would see in a private sector plan. This makes it easy for them not to achieve what they don’t want to work on.
Note: Nothing on this list is about improving the quality of life for the residents of Ketchum. NOTHING.
Because that is not what this Plan is about.
Glaring Omissions of Big Things
The Plan ignores significant issues that could affect our long-term future:
The master plan adopted by Sun Valley Co. and approved by the City of Sun Valley will bring up to 800 more workers without housing to the north valley.
The potential sale of Sun Valley Co and its implications
The potential impact of a future pandemic—nothing has been more impactful on Ketchum in the past five years
The potential for relocation of SUN—the dual path is core to SUN’s future.
The Plan forecasts up to a >50% increase in population—but doesn’t deal with the implications of that.
The implications of building out each lot to its maximum permitted use
The hotelization of Ketchum via the use of residential properties as Airbnbs is ignored
The Plan does not address the massive demographic shift over the past decade, which has seen families flee Ketchum, replaced by retirees and low-paid tourism industry workers.
What is Not In There: Accountability Measures for the Council to Achieve Plan Goals
The accountability mechanisms for achieving the policy goals of the plan are woefully inadequate. They lack specificity around time frames and costs. Many policies conflict, yet there is no conflict resolution mechanism. There are no metrics of success.
The plan does not include fiscal responsibility mechanisms. Indeed, it calls for finding more revenue sources to achieve its goals—more taxes. The plan does not mention the millions of dollars Ketchum spends on corporate welfare and the hundreds of thousands of dollars it spends outside of Ketchum on things like the Blaine County Housing Authority, which no other WRV city funds.
Note: There are multiple references to maps of land use. Most of those maps are not in the Plan.
What You Can Do
Sadly, not much.
I encourage you to read and comment on the Plan in the tool. That way, you will know what is in store for us over the next decade.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below—especially where you think I am off base.
The public comment process is required, so they are doing it, but as the Mountain Express notes, this is a jam job. Bradshaw, Breen, and Hamilton control the adoption of the Plan. If you think you can influence them to make changes that benefit Ketchum residents, give it your best shot.
Next year, you can vote for (hopefully) better officials who will work for the people of Ketchum. I hope the next council will conduct a do-over of the Comp Plan in a process that incorporates the voices of all Ketchum residents and provides accountability mechanisms for the Council to achieve the goals of those who live here rather than those who seek to exploit it.
Better yet—run for office yourself. We get the government that we let them do to us. We need to stop being passive about it and take back our town.
DELAY DELAY DELAY. Get the community to set up a Go Fund ME to pay and hire a kick ass attorney to represent the community with a lawsuit that opposes the proposed Comprehensive Plan. An attorney who can continue to keep the lawsuit going thru constant DELAY DELAY DELAY until new elections rid us of Bradshaw and his favored council woman and developers.
Annie
I wish I had a better answer. Wrote letters to the newspaper? Meet with Bradshaw Breen Hamilton? Their response to you that council meetings are sparsely attended is specious—in contrast to other cities, this Mayoir won’t allow members of the public to address the council unless it is legally required. BCHA has followed his lead.
I agree with Julie that people need to be making comments on the comp plan. The more the better!