The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
As much as five acres could be sold
A Gunnison County decision on whether or not to allow the Crested Butte Land Trust to carve out a section of land and sell it on the open market won’t come until at least next month, when the exact size of the lot is determined and public comments have been reviewed.
At a public hearing before the Planning Commission on Friday, December 5, Land Trust executive director Ann Johnston told the commissioners for a second time about plans to sell the lot from the 36.77-acre parcel that was purchased from the Niccoli Ranch near Crested Butte South.
Because the Land Trust hasn’t determined the exact size of the proposed subdivision, the final decision on the subdivision application won’t come from the Planning Commission until at least January 23.
The parcel was purchased by the Land Trust for around $2.6 million in 2006. The funding for the full purchase price has been raised through donations and grants, according to the Land Trust. But the organization is still saddled with more than $1 million in debt from other projects.
“The Land Trust used some of its reserve funds for general open space to purchase the property, and the funds generated by a sale would go toward reestablishing those reserves,” said Johnston.
If the subdivision were approved, a buyer for the property would find restrictions on the size and type of buildings that could be built on the property, Johnston said.
The buyer’s contract would protect the homestead building that sits on the lot from demolition and limit construction to a home and a barn or garage, which would have less total square footage than all of the buildings currently have.
“The current square footage, with the Quonset hut, is 2,800 square feet and the largest new construction could only be around 2,500 square feet, so there would be a visual shrink. There could be one residence and a barn; each could be a certain square footage and the cumulative square footage would be smaller than what is there now,” said Johnston.
Future development would also have height limitations, which the Land Trust hopes will preserve the view corridor from the highway to Cement Creek. Although the covenants that would govern development haven’t been finalized, according to Johnston, the maximum building height should be around 20 feet.
But despite the restrictions placed on the development, Bob Niccoli, the property’s previous owner, told the Planning Commission he doesn’t think selling five acres for profit meshes with the agreement that was made at the time of the sale.
When the property now owned by the Land Trust was first put up for sale, it was two parcels: one 35-acre pasture and a second 1.77-acre site where the homestead, shed, cabin and a Quonset hut are located.
The land was purchased by the land trust as one 36.77-acre parcel, with no division mentioned in the contract. When the land was designated as a conservation easement, five acres were set aside for possible future sale.
“The homestead is not included in the conservation easement and when the money was applied for the money from Great Outdoors Colorado and others, it was clearly represented to them that the homestead site would be split,” said Johnston.
Niccoli told the commission he didn’t feel those plans were relayed to him at the time of the sale.
“My primary reason for selling that property was to preserve things as much as possible—not to build new homes, not to build new barns not to build new park-and-rides or anything else. It was pounded into me that this was going to be kept as a view corridor,” Niccoli said.
Niccoli said he would have no problem if the Land Trust wanted to subdivide the 1.77-acre lot for sale, just as he had intended to do when the property was first put on the market.
The Land Trust maintains that the impact of development on the property will be less after the property is sold, because the covenants are so restrictive. Even the remainder of the property that is undisturbed by development will be agricultural land.
According to Johnston, “The building envelope is really the most important part of the transaction because the rest of property will be designated agricultural. The building envelope, or the amount of space open to development, will remain the same as it is now.”
The acreage that is not being sold will continue to be protected by a conservation easement that allows for agricultural uses and protects against development. That land continues to be leased to Niccoli for grazing.
Two other uses of the subdivided property were discussed: access to area trails for Nordic skiers, which the Land Trust is encouraging and working to provide, and a park and ride for Crested Butte South residents hoping to park a car and ride the RTA bus.
Johnston said the Land Trust has worked with the Nordic Council for a trail on the property. “As far as we’re concerned, we’d love to have that access. But it’s hard to allow year round access because of the agricultural use of the property.”
As for the park and ride, Crested Butte South resident Al Smith made a plea for consideration from the board for what he sees as a “community good.”
After commission chairman Ian Billick reminded Smith that the purpose of the meeting was to determine if the application for the subdivision matches the requirements of the county’s Land Use Resolution and not to bargain. Former land trust president Sandy Leinsdorf told Smith the topic of a park and ride should be taken up at another time.
“That’s a separate discussion, because this is really about subdivision and it’s really not about a park-and-ride,” said Leinsdorf, adding that because the land is designated as a conservation easement, developing a park and ride would be a long and difficult process.
The public hearing will be continued until January 23, when the Planning Commission will recommend action to the Board of County Commissioners, which will approve or deny the subdivision request.
