Briefs Crested Butte

Budget not rosy yet
The Crested Butte Town Council is preparing to wade into the 2010 budget waters. Work sessions are scheduled to start this month and town manager Susan Parker has informed the council that preliminary budgeting will be down at least 5 percent. “It doesn’t look very rosy for us,” she said.

Bringing BOZAR up to date
The council confirmed the appointment of Glenn Michel as chair of the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) at the September 8 council meeting. A few minutes later at the meeting, he conferred with the council over the proposed revisions in the Crested Butte Design Guidelines.
Michel and town building and zoning director Bob Gillie went over some of the suggested changes in the guidelines. “In most cases, the amendments tend to relax some of the existing guidelines,” Gillie explained, “especially in relation to replacing windows, dealing with solar panels and greenhouses.”
Gillie said the guidelines were renumbered and new zones added. “There were so many issues, it took a while to write,” he said.
Councilperson Billy Rankin hoped that such revisions would be done more than once a decade. “Hopefully BOZAR can stay a flexible board,” he said.
“It’s wonderful to see things are being brought up with a nod to modern technology,” added councilperson Margot Levy.
The ordinance dictating the changes was set for a public hearing on September 21.

Town gets in the weeds
The council adopted a resolution adopting the town’s weed management plan. It states the town will look at eliminating various noxious weeds in Crested Butte. Resident Sue Navy said she thought the plan was good. “It’s not too aggressive with a pesticide attack,” she said.
The five-year strategic plan calls for property owners in town to begin eradicating weeds from their property and street-front rights-of-way immediately.
After July 1, 2010 the town will spray remaining areas in those areas on town property if weeds remain. Property owners have until July 1, 2011 to complete the removal of listed weeds from their property. After that time, the town can assume authority to eradicate remaining weeds from private property at the owner’s expense.