Mountaineer Square North plan approved

“Outstanding issues have been addressed”

After several weeks of vetting the Planned Unit Development (PUD III) for Mountaineer Square North, which includes the proposed Performing Arts Center, the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council approved the Preliminary Plan during its Tuesday, September 21 meeting.

In a previous meeting, the Community Development Department informed the Town Council about concerns it had related to the requirements of a PUD III Preliminary Plan that should be addressed prior to approval by the council. Those concerns revolved around setbacks, building heights and distance between buildings.
The applicants addressed the Community Development Department’s concerns and provided the details that were requested. The “distance between buildings” item is the one component that will be dealt with during final design review versus in the preliminary plan.
During the meeting, community development coordinator Carlos Velado assured the council, “All the outstanding issues have been addressed by the applicant.”
Snow storage questions were raised, both in a letter from Evergreen Homeowners Association vice president and Crested Butte Sports owner Steve Bunt, and by councilman Danny D’Aquila.
“Where is all the snow going once the Performing Arts Center is located where the snow storage used to be?” D’Aquila asked. “Is there snowmelt built into this project?”
CBMR Director of Planning John Sale responded that snowmelt would be “at the PAC drop-off area, and potentially in the skier drop off, and also the ramp on the parking structure.”
Regarding the snow storage question, Sale said, “That is a concern for us and the town” (the town also stores snow there). “We’re going to have to meet the town’s requirements based on the development plan.”
Mt. Crested Butte Town Manager Joe Fitzpatrick listed some alternate snow storage options and concluded, “It’s just a management issue we’ll have to deal with at the time.”
The council then approved the Preliminary Plan, and the applicants now set their sights on the future development of Mountaineer Square North, including the proposed Performing Arts Center.