August could be filled with Foothills annexation meetings

Residents speak out against the plan to the council

As the proposed Foothills of Crested Butte annexation proposal gets set to enter the formal sketch plan phase, the Crested Butte Town Council expects to hold several meetings on the plan over the next month.

The developers are putting the finishing touches on the formal annexation petition and hope to have a completed application finished this week. Town planner John Hess told the Town Council Monday evening that he was waiting on a few minor details and one major detail to be completed in the application before the application is formally determined to be complete.
Molly Minneman, town design review coordinator, informed the council that the BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) would take a preliminary look at the plans during the July 28 meeting. She said the board would discuss preliminary density along with lot sizes and configurations.
The council asked the proponents to hold an informational meeting for the public explaining the latest version of the plan sometime in early August. They do not want that meeting to be run by the town.
The council would then like to get together in a council retreat format with an executive session to privately discuss the annexation and discuss options for the town.
A formal public comment meeting would then be held sometime in September in front of the town Planning Commission, which is comprised of the Town Council.
No meeting times have yet been set.
The developers and town Planning Commission along with town staff have been meeting for well over a year. The latest plan proposes about 150 units, some commercial property, parks and trails. The development would be focused north of the current northern town boundary but south of the cemetery and east of Highway 135.
Several issues have yet to be settled but the proponents have stated they feel they are at a point where it would be comfortable to enter the sketch plan phase of the process. They have also indicated they would like a decision from the current planning commissioners before some of them are replaced in the upcoming November election.
Noting that the Town Council looked very similar to the Planning Commission, town resident Bill Smith attended the council meeting Monday evening and commented on the proposal. “Adding 150 to 160 additional units to Crested Butte would make Crested Butte that much more of a larger town. Personally, I would rather live in a small town,” he said.
“I also agree with Peter Bridges,” he added, referring to a letter of comment also submitted to the Town Council Monday by Peter and Mary Jane Bridges. “We do live in a designated historic district and the more the town adds on, the less significance there is to an historical designation. And as for the issue of timing in order to get it done before the election, I suggest doing it as thoroughly as you can, even if someone else ends up making the decision.”
Mayor Alan Bernholtz assured Smith the Planning Commission was not rushing the matter. “The Planning Commission is looking at every angle and not rushing anything. Maybe the proponents want to push it through before November, but that is not our goal,” he said.
Peter and Mary Jane Bridges wrote a letter to the council “out of love and concern for this town” in opposition to the proposed annexation. To read the letter, turn to page 3.
The council will determine specific meeting dates and times once the staff, the council and the proponents can agree on dates that work.