Council debates policy on stucco

“I don’t anticipate Santa Fe springing up…”

In a rare reversal, the Crested Butte Town Council overturned a decision by the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) on appeal. By a 6-1 vote, the council voted last month to allow a large house in town to be primarily stucco.

The house at 914 Belleview is owned by Mike and Amy Nolan. The structure will be almost 2,800 square feet and the outside will be comprised of wood and 2,100 feet of stucco.
BOZAR design review coordinator Molly Minneman argued to the council that problem was the size of the house and the amount of stucco. “The usual limit for a house that wants that much stucco is usually 1,700 feet,” she said. “We don’t want to set a precedent.”
She also explained that while stucco was used on some houses in the early 1900s, it was not a typical siding for houses in Crested Butte.
The Nolans’ architect, Andrew Hadley, argued for the BOZAR decision to be overturned. “I’ve been an architect in town more than 16 years and have never appealed a BOZAR decision to council. I don’t take the process lightly,” he said.
“But this lot is not in the historical part of town,” Hadley argued. “It is on a larger than normal lot. It is energy-efficient in part due to the stucco. This house met nine out of the ten primary guidelines in this area. They are guidelines and that means there is supposed to be some flexibility. We added a lot of wood to break up the stucco.”
Everyone on the council felt the house looked good. BOZAR had voted 3-2 to not allow the house with the stucco.
BOZAR member Liz Sawyer spoke to the council. “I wasn’t at that meeting but I would have voted against the project as well, which would have made it a 4-2 vote,” she said. “It’s an attractive home but there is just too much stucco. And it is still in town. If we set this precedent, we are in trouble.”
Mike Nolan said that while there wasn’t a ton of stucco in Crested Butte’s past, there were some historical houses that used the material. “We’re asking for a small amount of variation,” he said. “The fact is the style is a stucco house.”
Councilman Dan Escalante agreed. “I don’t see it as the end of the world,” he said. “Stucco is discouraged but not flat-out disallowed. I don’t anticipate Santa Fe springing up all over that side of town.”
Councilman Berkshire was on the same page. “There is a lot of wood on this house. It really breaks up the stucco,” he said.
Minneman countered that it was BOZAR’s charge to be consistent. “They’ve had a yardstick for 14 years and 1,700 square feet was it. How will they regulate the next one?” she asked. “This one doesn’t meet the guidelines. What about the next proposal?”
Hadley said he “strongly disagreed” that it didn’t meet the guidelines. “It met nine out of ten and the criteria in the guidelines that allow for stucco.”
The council agreed with Hadley and Nolan. Six out of seven council members voted to overturn the BOZAR decision. Escalante voted to uphold the decision in a stated effort to show that there were points made about each side of the argument. Stucco it is.