Crested Butte town briefs

Here comes the Sixth Street Station
The large Sixth Street Station development review process will kick into high gear next week. The public is invited to attend meetings of the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR), which will begin looking at the plans on Tuesday, January 13.

Crested Butte building official Bob Gillie told the Town Council Monday that “This will be a fairly long process. The BOZAR will hold a meeting dedicated to just this project on the second Tuesday of every month. If you want to follow the process, the process starts next week and will last at least six months, if not longer.”
That Tuesday meeting will begin at 6 p.m.; BOZAR will begin by tackling the southern portion of the proposed development, which includes the fractional ownership lodging property.
Sixth Street Station is a 62,500-square-foot retail, commercial, and lodging development proposed for the northwest section of town. It is comprised of seven large buildings, a courtyard and underground parking. It will take up the area essentially from Gothic Field to the area across from the Gas Café along Sixth Street.

Council looking to tweak horizontal zoning
The council asked the town staff to do some research and present some more options regarding the always-controversial “horizontal zoning” ordinance. The ordinance prohibits new office uses from renting space in certain areas of Elk Avenue. The idea is to get retail spaces front and center and provide a “vibrant” downtown shopping opportunity in Crested Butte.
The council wants to see some documentation on the impacts of extending the grace period that allows similar uses to rent a currently occupied space. At the moment, if an office use leaves a space, the building owner has six months to rent it to another office use. After that, it must be rented to a retailer. The council wants to extend that grace period to a year. It also wants to consolidate all office use and not differentiate between office uses.
When asked by Gillie what the council was trying to accomplish, councilperson Billy Rankin said the idea was that the council wants to “ease up and show some compassion during the current economic hardship we see at the moment.”
Councilperson Skip Berkshire agreed. “We want to adjust the ordinance without undercutting the intention we were trying to achieve,” he said.
Mayor Alan Bernholtz also asked Gillie to “take a look at the zero block of Elk Avenue and see how to give landlords in that area some relief. Does it need to be rezoned?” he asked. “Can we add more uses up there? I think we need to give more options at the west end of Elk Avenue.”
Berkshire said he too would like to see the “pluses and minuses” of making changes to the ordinance for the zero block.
Gillie said he would pull together a memo that lays out options for the council.

Council proclaims they really like bed-and-breakfasts
The council approved a proclamation “recognizing the importance of Bed and Breakfast lodging in the Town of Crested Butte.” The pat on the back included an acknowledgement that Crested Butte boasts the most bed and breakfast lodging as a percentage of all available lodging of all other ski towns in Colorado. A contingent of B-and-B owners was on hand to hear mayor Alan Bernholtz read the proclamation.
The proclamation ends with the mayor and council recognizing the northeast corner of town as a “Bed and Breakfast District.” Coincidentally, that same corner of town is being reviewed as the site of a proposed transitional drug and alcohol recovery facility, known as New Adam’s House, by the Oh-Be-Joyful Church. Some of the bed-and-breakfast owners have voiced concern over such a facility in the neighborhood.

Parks and Rec update
Parks and Recreation director Jake Jones said the department master plans are being delayed a few months. He explained that the town found some state GOCO lottery grant money that could possibly be used for funding such plans. The deadline is March and he plans to apply for the grant. “It could really stretch our dollars,” he said. If the grant is received, work on the master plan will commence early this summer.
Jones also said the long-time Parks and Rec employee Rick Rutkowski quietly departed the department. “He wanted a quiet departure and we’ll definitely miss him,” he said.
Jones also told the council his department will likely be working with Gothic Mountain Waste Solutions about special event recycling. The plan is to utilize the new trash company on the Fourth of July, and if that succeeds, perhaps for future events as well.

Hot dogs, bunions and fees
The council approved a liquor license for the new Forest Queen, which is setting up shop primarily as a hot dog emporium. The restaurant will also be serving breakfast and the council plans to take advantage with a few “Coffee with the Council” gatherings at the new place. Berkshire expressed some glee about the potential of a hot dog for breakfast.
The council also approved a special events permit for the Alley Loop race, slated for January 31. The race will start on Elk Avenue, but Bernholtz begged off from skiing the race because of a “bunion.”
The council approved a new fee schedule for things like copies, permits and liquor licenses. Compared to the state recommendations, the council lowered some of the fees. “In an effort to support business and non-profits in town, we are trying to keep our fees low,” said Bernholtz.

Mayor says a carbon monoxide detector is a good idea
Bernholtz asked the staff to look into the idea of requiring carbon monoxide detectors for structures in town. “After that family fatality in Aspen, it is something we should look into,” said Bernholtz. “I think it is really important and I would ask that we look into what we can do. No matter what, people should have a carbon monoxide detector in their house.”

Building activity down
In a staff report to the council, building in 2008 was off from the previous year in Crested Butte. Total valuation was down 12 percent, with a decrease in building projects to $8,011,643 from $9,177,617.

Crested Butte moves up the Google ladder
Town clerk Eileen Hughes reported that the town website is being used. “A year ago, when you Googled Crested Butte, the town website was at number ten on the search list,” she said. “Now when you Google Crested Butte, we are at number eight. That puts us on the first page. We had more than 5,000 hits on our home page last month. People are definitely using it.”