**The Ketchum Business Advisory Coalition is not, has not, and will not solicit donations. The donation button below is for the change.org platform. Any donations made on this site go to change.org and NOT the Advisory Coalition**

The recent construction and subsequent loss of 27 parking spots on Main Street in Ketchum, ID,  has been a wake-up call illustrating how important convenient parking is to our residents, to the tourists visiting our community, and to our small businesses and their employees.

The Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency (KURA) and the City of Ketchum propose a 66 residence housing development on the Washington St. parking lot (located behind Nourish Me). If development at the corner of First and Washington is approved, an additional approximately 60 parking spots will be removed, and will permanently diminish the charm and soul of our town, as visitors and residents alike "find it too difficult to park" when they want to enjoy our community and support local businesses. The loss of parking on Main Street this summer has directly negatively impacted surrounding businesses. The loss of an additional 60 parking spots, without a realistic parking management plan, will put our town at risk of losing local businesses and employees.  

The City does not currently have a plan for:
-Winter parking. The Washington St. lot is currently used as an overnight parking lot to keep cars off the street during winter snow removal. There is no current plan from the City to replace this loss of overnight winter parking. How will this impact snow removal in the downtown core? How will this impact residents of the housing development? 
-The housing development will have approximately 66 units, and approximately 48 parking spots for residents. There is no plan from the City to make up for the minimum of 18 additional spots that are needed for residents, and there is no plan for the needs of employee/business customer parking.
-With the loss of parking on Main Street, and approximately 10 spots on 2nd and Washington Streets due to widening sidewalks, and the potential loss of parking at the Washington St lot, there would be a loss of over 120 parking spaces within a 3 block area, with no specific plans by the the City to replace these parking spaces, or meet the needs of residents, employees, and business customers.

An overview of the Washington St. development can be found here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e00b1604a5d349e6b5c139551ac5df6b

KBAC is supportive of the creation of workforce housing, and applauds municipalities, non-profits, and organizations working hard every day to create housing solutions for our community. This is vital and important work for the future of Ketchum. What is also critical is that all proposed housing developments include sufficient parking access for residents, while not removing existing parking for employees, business customers, and the community at large. 

The August 13th P&Z meeting is available to watch online. Commissioner's comments start at about 1:20.

The August 19th KURA meeting is available to watch online. 

Update: There is a tentative joint City Council/KURA meeting scheduled for October 21st in which parking options for the Washington St. lot will be presented to the KURA and the Ketchum City Council. It is assumed this will be a time for the Board and Council t listen and learn about the options, and that no vote will be taken at this meeting. Once a time has been set, we will let you know. It will be incredibly impactful to have as many people as possible at this meeting. 

Additional ways to get involved:
Please consider:
1. Providing public comment to the KURA via info@ketchumura.org 
2. Providing public comment to the City via participate@ketchumidaho.org
3. KURA has heard the need for parking, and has asked the public for ideas and input on how to create additional parking and manage parking both at this site and around town. Share your ideas for parking solutions with both the KURA and City at the above email addresses. How can all of us-the potential residents of the proposed housing development, employees and customers of surrounding businesses, and the community-all be set up for success with parking management at this site?

The undersigned are requesting that the KURA put a “pause” on any
development currently proposed for the Washington Street parking lot (behind ‘Sushi On Second’ and ‘Nourish Me’) until the new comprehensive plan and new zoning ordinances, which are currently in process, are completed and approved by Planning & Zoning and Ketchum City Council.

This petition was created by the Ketchum Business Advisory Coalition, a group of Ketchum business owners with the goal of creating positive, collaborative partnership with the City of Ketchum, and to advise the City on needs and support of Ketchum's small business community. 

**The Ketchum Business Advisory Coalition is not, has not, and will not solicit donations. The donation button below is for the change.org platform. Any donations made on this site go to change.org and not the Advisory Coalition**