Bowing to the wishes of Chapel Valley neighbors, the Rapid City planning commission on Thursday morning rejected the initial development plan of a 75-unit resort hotel proposed for the west shore of Canyon Lake.

"This is a great project - but in the wrong place," said Bill Keck, a Chapel Valley resident. Keck told the commission more than 250 people have signed a petition opposing the resort.

The hotel, proposed by Mike Derby, who along with his wife, Carmen, and partner Carrie Cisle would expand their Canyon Lake Resort (formerly the Chophouse) catering-restaurant operation. The proposal called for replacing its 11-room motel, cabins and laundromat with a new hotel, a 3,246-square-foot space for receptions, and a 233-space parking lot to the south of the chophouse.

The four-story structure was designed as a "condo hotel," with units sold to individuals who could live there for a maximum of 30 days per year and then treated as a hotel the rest of the time.

A large contingent of Chapel Valley residents expressed concern about the resort's impact on traffic and safety, especially during a fire or flood. Only one bridge across Rapid Creek exists for the more than 500 residents there; the prospect of additional resort patrons and vehicles would only add to the chaos, neighbors said.

City fire code and the street design manual recommend a second access when an area has more than 30 or 40 residential dwelling units.

However, according to building code, the proposed condo/hotel complex doesn't meet the definition of a dwelling unit because the units don't have cooking facilities - something that drew jeers from the crowd.

"There are many people who live there, many housing units. It's really a high-density area," Willis Sutliff, a 31-year resident, said. "Adding 75 condominiums, which through a loophole are not called condominiums, just doesn't make it."

Resident Tom Keane said traffic already clogs the Jackson Boulevard intersection every morning as people try to get to work. He believes the additional clientele from the resort would create even more problems during an emergency.

Karen Paugh said the proposed business is not consistent with the character of the neighborhood and that one of the reasons she moved in two years ago was because of the "rural feel" of the neighborhood.

"It just doesn't fit in," she said.

Jeanette Keck said the city rejected two applications to build more housing in Chapel Valley in 1999, citing the already dense population and the single access route. She said Chapel Valley currently has 543 housing units with only a single way out.

"We do understand that commercial property is not evaluated by the same standards as residential property. However, the intent of the law is to guard the safety of citizens in densely populated areas. Adding a huge resort to this area will definitely endanger many lives," she said.

Public safety appeared to factor strongly in the commission's decision.

Commissioner Tom Hennies said that although he supports economic development projects in general, he could not support the resort, largely due to past experiences, especially the 1972 flood.

Hennies said on that night, he sent one of his reserve police officers, Danny Wickard, across the bridge to warn people in houses right against the creek about the rising waters and to inform them that they needed to leave.

"We found Danny Wickard dead the next day," Hennies said. "There were three firemen that went into that area, and we found them dead the next couple of days."

Hennies said he knows what the creek can do and the history of the area. He also recalled the chaos during the 1988 Westberry Trails fire in trying to evacuate that area. As a result, Hennies said, he is very concerned about safety in that area.

Derby, a member of planning commission, recused himself from the discussion Thursday morning and did not sit on the dais with other commissioners as the item was discussed.

The commission's decision can be appealed to the Rapid City Council. When contacted, Derby said an appeal is one option he is considering but will take some time before making any decision about where to go from here.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com