The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Split-level issue to be discussed… again
The zero block of Elk Avenue will get a reprieve from horizontal zoning. It is still undetermined whether or not split-level buildings will get any relief from the ordinance meant to promote retail stores in the spaces fronting Elk Avenue.
The Crested Butte Town Council instructed staff at their Tuesday, January 20 meeting to carve out the zero block from horizontal zoning restrictions. Town building official Bob Gillie said that would likely mean establishing a new business zone.
Robb Fessenden owns a piece of property in the zero block and has been lobbying the council for months to make the changes. He stated that he had lost a non-profit business renter as a result of horizontal zoning and argued that the far west end of Elk was an entirely different business area than the heart of Elk Avenue.
Mayor Alan Bernholtz agreed with Fessenden. “I think the town made some significant efforts to get more business traffic up there but I don’t think it worked,” he said. “It’s a unique area and I’d like to see us change the restrictions on the zero block. I support allowing more uses in the zero block. Robb has been relentless but I agree with his points.”
“I agree with Robb as well,” said councilman Dan Escalante. “Can we tweak the ordinance if, say, 15 years from now we get more traffic up there and people see it as retail?”
Gillie said the council could do whatever it wants. “The danger is that we are making decisions based on traffic up there as opposed to the character up there,” he said. “Anyway you go, it will probably mean another ordinance. Let’s look at the Zero Block in its entirety and see what else needs to be addressed. Are we going to create new zones for every place that is traffic-challenged? I understand that area has a different economic model.”
“For me, the traffic doesn’t flow up there,” said Bernholtz. “It is a very unique situation.”
“I suspect then that we will end up making a new B-4 zone,” said Gillie. “That seems the cleanest way to do it.”
The council instructed him to proceed with a rezoning of the zero block.
“Are you happy, Robb?” asked Bernholtz.
“I’m pretty happy,” responded Fessenden.
On the horizontal zoning issue of whether to make just one floor come in under the regulations in the Somrak Plaza and Times Square buildings, the council members at the meeting were split, so that discussion will take place at the next meeting.
Escalante brought up the idea of fairness, stating that every other building affected by the ordinance has to have only one floor fall under the horizontal zoning ordinance.
Councilwoman Kimberly Metsch took the other side. “Those buildings were obviously built with retail in mind,” she said. “The big windows make those obvious storefronts. There is a lot of space for offices in the back of the building. I want to retain a good feel to Elk Avenue, so I think we should keep the restrictions.”
Councilman Skip Berkshire made it clear that the ordinance was not crafted to be unfair to anyone. “We saw a trend with an overabundance of real estate office and business uses popping up. It wasn’t meant to be unfair or draconian. If we had seen a trend toward an overabundance of T-shirt shops, we would have done the same thing,” he said. “As for the Somrak Plaza, I am ambivalent. I see the building fitting the ordinance and it looks like it was designed for maximum exposure for retail. I am struggling with this one. I’d rather not flip a coin—but does anyone have a quarter?”
Because council members Billy Rankin and Leah Williams were absent from the January 20 meeting, the council will again discuss the split-level building issue and perhaps give direction to the staff at their next council meeting.
