This is important to me, so much so that I am willing to put myself out there and possibly take a professional risk in so doing. I also feel that it should be important to all of us.
As the friend and Realtor that helped Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker, I am appalled by the responses of the people named in the article, many of whom I know. The fact that those individuals, and others, have commented negatively on and fought against the creation of this home, and others like it, that the working class can afford to buy or rent in our Valley, shows only how short-sighted and myopic those individuals can be.
The rental Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker were living in was sold, and then the acquisition of a condo they were trying to buy fell through; they were forced into a situation where they were living out of their camp trailer for two months with a 16-month-old baby. During that time, I worked very hard to help them find and purchase the house [recently moved to the Agave Place affordable housing development at Buttercup Road and Highway 75] they now call home – the home that is now the subject of some controversy.
While there may be issues with whether or not ARCH and the BCHA honored their commitment to the county and the attendees of the planning meetings, those issues have nothing to do with Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker, and should have been addressed with ARCH and the BCHA while the home was under construction – not after it was completed and sold, and certainly not with the family that purchased the home. The aesthetics of the home is a subjective issue. The home violates no county ordinances and is not subject to any CC&Rs.
The only truly relevant thing about this house is the people that are living in it. Tara, Dillon and Bella are amazing people. For four generations – and now a fifth generation, with Bella – they and their families have been the core of the foundation upon which this Valley was built, and that has helped to make this Valley what it is today: a place that many love and desire to live their lives in, but which few can actually afford.
In my opinion, without Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker, our Valley would be greatly diminished and so much less than what it is. Anyone that lives here – be they full-time or seasonal residents – would be fortunate to have Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker as their neighbors. And, were it not for the BCHA and ARCH, that privilege would not be possible for a large number of people. We are all better off – this Valley is better off – with Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker here.
Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker could only dream of finding an opportunity like the one their new home represents in our Valley – and, fortunately, this dream, their dream, was able to become a reality. It was not an easy journey for them to make, and certainly not one without its risks and pitfalls. They have paid the price of admission, and now that they have arrived, please allow them to enjoy the place that they were raised, and in which they will raise a fifth generation Idahoan, in peace, and with love and support. If you are not happy with what ARCH and the BCHA did, then take it up with those entities and the county; but leave Tara, Dillon, Bella and Tucker out of it.
Let’s keep our focus on what is really important here, and be grateful for the good fortune that all of us living here get to share in.
Welcome back, Tara and Dillon! Me and my family, to name just a few, are very excited to have you and your family here!
Jay R. Emmer
Realtor, Sun Valley Sotheby’s International Realty and Ketchum resident