The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
It could change everything
The pause button has been pushed on the proposed Foothills of Crested Butte annexation plan. The Crested Butte Planning Commission made it clear on Wednesday, November 11 that the town needs to know what lies beneath the land before proceeding any further in the annexation process. The 44 acres is situated, in part, on a section of an old dump.
The Planning Commission, which is made up of the Town Council members, has spent 18 months going over hundreds of issues in the annexation process. With only a few issues left to deal with before the commission makes a decision on whether or not to approve the sketch plan phase of the process and move to the more detailed preliminary phase, the issues of the old dump and payment-in-lieu fees surfaced.
The planning commissioners would rather have physical property for things like parks and schools but decided that they would charge the proponents payment-in-lieu of land fees based on what the developers paid for the property: $7.74 a square foot. That would amount to more than $1 million.
When discussion began over when those payments would be required, the elephant in the room showed its face.
“Without knowing what’s in the hole in the dump site, we can’t know the clean-up cost or when payments would be appropriate,” said commission chairperson Alan Bernholtz. “It is difficult to make the timing decision. Let’s find out what’s in there and what the cost is.”
Town attorney John Belkin said his consultations with outside environmental legal counsel concurred with that conclusion. “There are too many unknowns,” he said. “It makes sense to find out what’s on their property.”
Foothills partner Brant Bryan said the town faced the same questions. “What about what’s on the town land?” he asked. “The old dump extended onto town property.”
Commissioner Skip Berkshire said there were two paths to take. One was to take a time out, find out what’s buried in the old dump and come back to the Planning Commission with new information. The town could also tentatively approve the sketch plan with legal protection for the town on the old dump issue.
“What could be buried out there could really ultimately change the entire sketch plan,” said commissioner Leah Williams. “It could change how and where development is placed on the property. The other issue is the health, safety and welfare of the public and I think we would all feel better getting a characterization study to determine a better idea of what’s in the old dump.”
Foothills attorney Aaron Huckstep explained that the proponents and town had been negotiating a detailed document as part of the sketch plan to look at several contingencies with the old dump. Lead attorney Jim Starr expressed some frustration over the turn of events. “We’ve been working for months on this issue and feel hamstrung by these new suggestions.”
“Welcome to our world,” quipped commissioner Billy Rankin in reference to the developer’s habit of springing last-minute proposals on the commission.
“I feel like there’s a huge black hole with this,” said Bernholtz. “It’s like multiple moving planets and I can’t see them coming together. It’s all in flux.”
Berkshire asked the commission to keep the issue in perspective. “Remember, this is the sketch plan phase and it’s not like the decision in unchangeable,” he said. “The easy way out is to call it a day and come back with perfect knowledge.”
Engineer Tom Griepentrog of Buckhorn Geotech advised the commission to do a characterization study, find out what is located on the site and then decide how to move forward. “The results could change the plan,” he said. “You’ll have a better idea after the characterization study. For example, ‘Is there groundwater pollution?’ is a big question.”
Bryan objected to the town’s insistence that the study be conducted only on the land proposed for annexation. As part of the proposal, the developers would be purchasing some town land to square off the subdivision.
Belkin and town manager Susan Parker repeatedly counseled the commission to not do a study of the town land. They cited a hostile letter sent to the town by the proponent’s environmental lawyer warning that Crested Butte would likely be liable for all dump clean-up costs.
“I had hoped we had moved past that letter in negotiations over the last two months,” said Starr.
Town staff members who were present all told the commission members that taking a timeout to get more information on the dump was a good idea.
“We are all dealing from a position of ignorance and until we have more information we are just trying to cover a bunch of different holes,” stated town building and zoning director Bob Gillie. “It makes more sense to deal from a position of knowledge and pause the process.”
Griepentrog said a characterization study could take about six months to complete. It has been estimated to cost approximately $40,000.
Berkshire said he didn’t like “handing off a leaky brown bag” to the next Planning Commission members who were just elected and were sworn in on Monday, November 16.
Bryan said the more time it takes until approval of the annexation, the more expensive it is for the developers. “The longer it takes, the more difficult it is to give amenities and extractions. I know our economics aren’t your concern, but it is a reality.”
“We are trying to work cooperatively with the town,” added Starr.
The commission opened a public hearing and heard much the same thing from those who made comments. Resident Larry Mosher said it would be irresponsible to approve the sketch plan at this stage.
Sue Navy said hitting the pause button was a great idea and she had faith in the new members of the Planning Commission to make good decisions. “Things take time and that’s the way it is supposed to go,” she said.
David Leinsdorf said that when Bryan claims the developers want to work cooperatively with the town but then have their lawyer send a letter “that is a naked threat to the town, the taxpayers and residents, at best he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth.”
The commissioners discussed the issue at length and came to the conclusion to have the developers do a site characterization study. They agreed to try to get the environmental lawyers from each side together in order to work out some issues.
Bernholtz again suggested the proponents start all over and come back with a plan more in line with current town guidelines. Berkshire pointed out that there were some positives in the overall plan, including open space and affordable housing extractions.
The commissioners continued the public hearing until December 7 at 6:30 p.m. to allow the new members an opportunity to set a longer meeting time after they look at their calendars. In the meantime, Parker said, work sessions would be held to bring the new council members and Planning Commission members up to speed with the issues that make up the current proposal.
