Mountaineer Square North PUD gets final approval

“A major accomplishment”

After a lengthy vetting of the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) III for Mountaineer Square North—which in simple terms sets the zoning regulations for the parcel north of the Grand Lodge—the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council approved the PUD III at its February 1 meeting.

At the council’s meeting February 15, the council gave the ordinance final approval on a second reading.
The council passed the preliminary plan on September 21, and after some revision and clarifications to the plan in recent months, the final plan was approved. It represents two phases. The first includes a parking garage and the proposed Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center (MCBPAC), which is still in the fundraising stage.
The second phase hasn’t been detailed yet since the project’s proponents – CB Commercial Properties, the Town of Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte Mountain resort’s parent company CNL Income Crested Butte – aren’t ready to design any buildings for that phase yet.
CBMR’s director of planning John Sale provided a brief overview of the project, and Len Siegel of Slaterpaull Architects explained the conceptual drawings of the MCBPAC and parking garage. The MCBPAC will seat 450 to 500 people, and includes a post office area, a coffee shop, and other amenities. “We’re happy to be here with the final plan,” Sale said February 1.
Siegel emphasized, “This is a conceptual design, and all this will come back to the council at design review.”
Carlos Velado of the Mt. Crested Butte Planning Department reminded the council that this ordinance also included a five-year vesting for the project. That means it is more or less grandfathered in and is beholden to current building regulations for the next five years, even if those regulations change between now and then.
After the final adjustments had been approved by the council, Mt. Crested Butte mayor William Buck said, “It’s important to note the significance of this accomplishment. It’s extensive and there has been a tremendous amount of time and effort put into this and it’s a major accomplishment and opportunity for Mt. Crested Butte and the greater Gunnison area.
Councilman David Clayton, who is also the Chairman of the Capital Committee in charge of raising money to fund the MCBPAC construction, told the council that having the PUD III in place was a big step toward getting people to commit funds for the project.
“When we go out to try and raise money from people and invest in what’s going to be a world-class facility, one of the questions you get asked is where’s it going to be built, can it be built and is everything there and in place to be able to build it.” he said. “Nobody’s going to give you a pledge or a check unless they know their money’s actually going to go to something that is going to get accomplished. Without this step, you really cannot start a capital campaign of the magnitude that we need to get this project done.”
MCBPAC executive director Kathleen Curry said, “With Town Council’s approval last night of the Mountaineer Square North PUD application the Mount Crested Butte Performing Arts Center continues to become a reality. It is extremely exciting and gratifying to be a part of this community-supported project. Now that all of the land use issues have been addressed and the necessary site approvals are in place, the reality is that we will have a professional, state-of- the-art facility soon in our valley.”  
In addition to the PUD III, the council also approved the addition of a civic section, the Downtown Development Authority’s architectural standards and design guidelines. This was primarily made to accommodate the MCBPAC, since the town has not undertaken a civic project of this scale in the past.