Comprehensive Plan Update

Comprehensive Plan update

The City’s current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2014. When the drafting of the plan began in 2011, Ketchum was experiencing the impacts of the Great Recession locally with a decrease in employment, construction activity, property values, and city revenue. While the overarching vision established by the plan still reflects the prevailing sentiment of the community, Ketchum has undergone significant change over the past decade, marked by a substantial increase in its population and new development. These trends have escalated issues identified in the 2014 Comprehensive Plan and the ongoing workforce housing crisis. Concerns about long-term downtown vibrancy and worries surrounding the city’s vitality and viability have spurred community discussions about growth and the future vision of Ketchum.

This Comprehensive Plan update will be targeted in scope and not a “start-from-scratch” effort. The approach will be built upon the existing plan’s strengths and will address specific issues or changes that have arisen since the plan was adopted in 2014. While the entirety of the existing plan will be refreshed to reflect existing conditions, align with more recent city plan studies, and improve usability, the update will include a more concentrated focus on the goals and objectives related to land use, housing, multimodal transportation, historic preservation, sustainability, and community character. A key focus of the plan update will be to facilitate a broader community conversation about the future land use plan, its role in shaping the ultimate buildout of Ketchum, and its relationship to other community priorities.

2014 Comprehensive Plan

The 2014 Comprehensive Plan was the product of a one-and-a-half-year effort involving over 750 Ketchum residents and visitors. During a well-attended kick-off event of over 200 people, held in October 2011, the community identified key issues that needed to be addressed in the plan, including strengthening the economy, attracting and retaining young people, building tourism opportunities, improving mobility through multi-modal transportation, becoming a greener community, increasing housing diversity, preserving small-town character, and enhancing downtown vibrancy. The 2014 plan is organized into five major sections:

• Community Vision and Core Values: Chapter 1 of the 2014 plan describes the values of Ketchum citizens and how these values shaped their vision of future growth.
• Policy Framework: Chapters 2 through 11 outline the framework for future community development. These chapters identify the community’s goals and guiding policies on a variety of interrelated topics, ranging from economics and housing to arts and culture.
• Future Land Use Plan: Chapter 12 contains the future land use plan that identifies logical locations for various land uses. The future land use map applies the overall policy framework to the ground by describing areas where the community sees the greatest opportunity for positive change and specific actions to achieve the recommendations.
• Implementation: Chapter 13 outlines a strategy for implementing the key Comprehensive Plan recommendations and monitoring the plan over time.
• Appendices: The Community Profile is included as Appendix A and provides demographic, economic, housing, education, utilities, parks, historical, transportation, and environmental data. Appendix B describes the plan’s compliance with Idaho law, with respect to the protection of property rights. Appendix C provides a glossary of terms, with definitions for planning terms used in the Comprehensive Plan.

Community Vision and Core Values

Chapter 1 of the 2014 Comprehensive Plan describes the values of Ketchum citizens and how these values shape their vision for future growth.

Community Vision: “We aspire to be an authentic mountain community with world-class character, yet small-town feel. We see our community as one with a high quality of life for a local, year-round population and a visiting population. We will be successful by creating, marketing, and delivering distinctive choices for jobs, learning, health, outdoor adventure, and arts and culture. We value a strong sense of community. Furthermore, we wish to be a place with a strong economy, a vibrant downtown, diverse options for housing, and a varied demographic of people who live, work, and visit here. We will be responsible stewards of our environment, work for a dynamic economy, and maintain our special way of life for generations to come.”

Ten core values in the 2014 plan broadly address important considerations in making decisions about the community’s future and form the basis for the future land use plan and the underlying goals and policies.

Core Community Values:

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What is the Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan is a visionary document that details the community’s vision for the future and provides goals and policies to achieve this future vision. It is intended to create a high-level policy framework that guides and informs the development of the built environment and acts as a foundation for more detailed planning for housing, mobility, sustainability, and the provision of municipal services such as utilities, parks, and emergency services. The plan provides a basis for updating zoning and subdivision regulations and determining whether the regulations support the community’s desired future.  

Why update the Comprehensive Plan now?

The city’s current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2014. When the drafting of the plan began in 2011, Ketchum was experiencing the impacts of the Great Recession locally, with a decrease in employment, construction activity, property values, and city revenue. While the overarching vision established by the plan (see below) is presumed to reflect the prevailing sentiment of the community, Ketchum has undergone significant change over the past decade, marked by a substantial increase in its population and new development. These trends have escalated issues identified in the 2014 Comprehensive Plan, spurring community discussions around:

• the ongoing workforce housing crisis;  
• concerns about long-term downtown vibrancy; and 
• worries surrounding the city’s long-term vitality and viability.

How does the city use the Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan is the leading policy document that the City of Ketchum uses to guide future growth and day-to-day decision-making. It provides a strategy to achieve the community’s vision for the future of Ketchum, establishes goals and policies for long-term growth, and is actively used as a guide for land use decisions within the city. The plan provides a basis for updating zoning and subdivision regulations and determining whether the regulations support the community’s desired future.

What topic areas does the Comprehensive Plan cover?

LLUPA requires that the Comprehensive Plan address:

• Property rights
• Population
• School facilities and transportation
• Economic development
• Land use (including a land use map)
• Natural resources
• Hazardous areas
• Public services, facilities, and utilities
• Transportation
• Recreation
• Special areas or sites
• Housing
• Community design
• Implementation  

Ketchum’s 2014 Comprehensive Plan establishes policies and goals related to a range of topics, including:  

• Arts and Culture
• Community Design and Neighborhoods 
• Community Health and Wellness 
• Economic Vitality
• Growth and Development 
• Housing 
• Land Use 
• Mobility 
• Natural Resource Stewardship
• Parks, Recreation, and Open Space
• Public Safety and Utilities  

How will the Comprehensive Plan update affect growth and land use in Ketchum?

Ketchum has undergone significant change over the past decade, marked by a substantial increase in its population and new development. These trends have escalated issues identified in the 2014 Comprehensive Plan. The ongoing workforce housing crisis, concerns about long-term downtown vibrancy, and worries surrounding the city’s vitality and viability have spurred community discussions about growth and the future vision of Ketchum. A key focus of the Comprehensive Plan update will be to facilitate a broader community conversation about the future land use plan, its role in shaping the ultimate buildout of Ketchum, and its relationship to other community priorities. This conversation will include the identification of areas with the potential to support future growth and the exploration of growth parameters for different locations (e.g., density, mix of uses, housing types, and site planning/design characteristics).

What is the future land use plan?

The future land use plan is included in Chapter 12 of the 2014 Comprehensive Plan. The chapter describes the desired future land-use types and patterns for the Ketchum area. It includes recommendations for specific application and location of land uses, with descriptions of uses and activities in each land-use classification and location. The future land use plan also identifies a series of goals and policies that represent the community’s vision for the efficient use of land. The policies provide direction for property owners, elected and appointed leaders, and city staff and administrators in making decisions regarding the location, rate, and design of development within the city and the area of city impact.  

What is the community profile?

In order to create the best plan for the future, it is important to understand what conditions and trends exist in Ketchum today. The community profile provides a summary of current conditions in Ketchum and a discussion of key issues and trends. The community profile includes demographic, economic, housing, education, utilities, parks, historical, transportation, and environmental data. The project team is currently working on updating the community profile to reflect existing conditions in the city. The updated profile will provide context for goals and policies.

• 2014 Comprehensive Plan
• 2014 Plan Audit
• Phase 2 Scope of Work: Part 1. Targeted Comprehensive Plan Update