Town gets official look at annexation

Public invited to Monday meeting

The town of Crested Butte has received an official annexation proposal to develop the land north of town toward Moon Ridge Lane.

The proponents, Fairways GH Paradise, LLC, would like the town to annex 68 acres of land east of Gothic Road that wraps around the cemetery. The council will get its first look at the complete annexation proposal this week, and will then meet with the proponents on Monday, July 28.
The development plan, known as the Foothills of Crested Butte, is split into two main parcels divided by the Slate River. It includes trails, pocket parks and a variety of housing sites.
The plan outlines more than 200 building sites accommodating up to 352 housing units with the additional capacity for 185 auxiliary housing units (accessory dwellings) that would be available for rental.
Building sites are proposed for single-family homes, high-density multi-family units, duplexes and some possible commercial space.
Lot sizes range from so-called “micro” lots as small as 2,000 square feet (about twice the size of the Crested Butte Town Council meeting room) to 22,458 square feet for a single-family residence lot. Town planner John Hess said a regular building lot in Crested Butte is 6,250 square feet.
Developers Cliff Goss and Kent Hill have also drawn up two other “variations” of the plan to show the council the impact of the Crested Butte “Area Plan” on the development. One variation has as few as 38 building sites. “The variations are show-and-tell documents,” explained Goss.
“They are meant to show a frame of reference,” added Hill. “The plan we are proposing is an outgrowth of two years of planning after talking to the community. One of the fundamental issues for us is that Crested Butte is unique. We understand that people live here or buy here because they like Crested Butte. It would be self defeating to try to change the town. We want this to be an extension of town.”
The application summary submitted by Goss and Hill states, “The unique culture and environment of Crested Butte should be protected. This development should not change Crested Butte, but should expand the number and types of homes available.”
The summary goes on to say, “Foothills should pay its own way in terms of costs associated with water, sewer, police, fire, etc. Additionally, the project can contribute towards other public benefits such as recreation facilities, a fire station, schools and open space. The economic viability of this project and the resulting funds available to be spent by Foothills depends on the density and number of units approved by the Town Council.”
Based on a map given the town by the proponents, several of the homesites appear to be located in high-quality wetlands or the 100-year floodplain. The map also shows a space for a potential 54,667-square-foot recreation facility.
But that space is not on the developer’s property, but rather on Crested Butte Town property at the current site of the Town Shops. In fact, several homesites proposed by the developer appear to be located on Town property.
“We included those sites on the map because it is the natural extension of town and a lot of that property is currently sitting vacant,” said Hill. “It’s for planning purposes only. It’s the area that is the natural extension of town toward this project and it is there to be a part of the plan. It is something the council can look at and decide what they want to do.”
According to the Site Map Summary Sheet submitted to the town, affordable housing would be distributed throughout the annexation. The applicant has indicated they could build some of the affordable units to be made available for rental.
As pointed out by the developers in their application summary, “Colorado annexation is, at its core, a negotiation process.” Negotiations are slated to start Monday, July 28 when a meeting between the Town Council and developers has been scheduled for 6 p.m. That meeting is open to the public.