A local developer is asking Jim Thorpe Borough for permission to start construction on his 270-home subdivision off Flagstaff Road in an effort to help neighboring business owners.

Jake Arner, manager of Canyon Rim Estates LLC, said Catherine Jaindl-Leuthe and Tom Romanchik, owners of the former Flagstaff Ballroom property, asked him to allow fill from his stormwater ponds to be excavated and used to level their parking lot.

“The Flagstaff project will benefit because the fill needed to level its parking lot will be transported a shorter distance to the site using less fuel, labor and trucking, which will result in reduced transportation costs and result in less traffic on Route 209 and Flagstaff Road,” Arner said in his letter. “Canyon Rim will benefit because its development and stormwater ponds will begin construction. The borough will benefit because constructing the stormwater pond will both retain and infiltrate stormwater into the aquifer and will reduce the amount of stormwater that flows downhill to Route 209 in Jim Thorpe.”

Approved plans for Canyon Rim Estates call for 270 homes, which Arner said will expand the tax base without adding many children to the schools because of how he plans to use them.

“We plan for many of the homes to be short-term rentals,” he said. “They don’t put children in the schools and they put tourists on top of the mountain in an organized matter. We can all win together and allowing us to start construction hurts nobody.”

Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said short-term rentals are permitted in the zoning district where Canyon Rim is located by special exception.

Arner spoke earlier this year about why short-term rentals are the focus of both Canyon Rim and his planned Sierra Vista Estates development in Mahoning Township.

“Short-term rentals makes sense because there is a shortage of accommodations in Jim Thorpe and surrounding areas, including Blue Mountain Ski Area, simply not enough hotels, B&Bs and short-term rentals,” he said following a Mahoning Township meeting. “For that reason, many people would like to come to our area and stay a couple of days or a week, but they’re sending those people home after a day because there’s no place to stay.”

Based on a projection of 2,030-square-foot homes, the Carbon County Tax Assessment Office gave Arner an estimate of $8,096 in taxes generated per home per year. That would equate to a total of $2.18 million in property taxes per year if the development is fully built out.

“The borough would receive about $474,322 in new taxes,” Arner said in the letter. “The sooner Canyon Rim can start construction, the faster homes can be constructed and the faster borough, school district and county will receive the additional property taxes that will help reduce the taxes of other homeowners.”

Asked about Arner’s request, Council President Greg Strubinger said it would be forwarded to the borough’s stormwater engineers and to its attorney for review.

“The stormwater ponds and the construction is already approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,” Arner said. “Canyon Rim’s (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit is current with DEP and it allows for the construction of the development.”

Arner said he also plans to keep a previous commitment to provide $260,000 from startup sales to help upgrade Flagstaff Road.

“Canyon Rim received an estimate from a local contractor that this Flagstaff Road contribution amount could pave all of the road in the borough with 1.5 inches of asphalt,” Arner said.