The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Rerouted Scarp Ridge trail, ziplines, six homes, wedding pavilion…
The Gunnison County Planning Commission Friday began its review of a major resort proposal above Lake Irwin. Submitted by Scarp Ridge LLC, the owners of the Irwin Snowcat ski operation, the proposal is a long-term view of what the developers want to do on a year-round basis in the future.
The Planning Commission and Scarp Ridge representatives met for almost an hour on Friday, June 21. The sketch plan proposal is a conceptual document outlining long-term plans for the property that sits above Lake Irwin, 12 miles west of Crested Butte. Given that it is considered a major impact proposal, the review process normally takes between nine months and two years. While some residents of the area were at the meeting, the commissioners didn’t take any public comment. “There will be opportunity at future meetings for the public to comment,” promised commission chairman Kent Fulton.
Project manager John Featherman said neighbors had been contacted about the proposal and he had received “both positive and negative comments about the project.”
The property includes 19 “lode mining claims” around Irwin. There are already 10 structures on the property, including the old 19,000-square-foot Irwin Lodge that was gutted by the previous owner. The new owners would like to employ the lodge in its historical context and utilize it as an assembly hall for weddings and a center for corporate retreats. There is a proposal to also build a pavilion that could host large gatherings of up to 170 people. The pavilion would be used as an outdoor wedding venue, an area to host music and theatrical performances. This pavilion would replace what was the Old Irwin Wedding Deck.
The submitted plan includes six new single-family homes ranging in size from 1,500 to 8,000 square feet. The residences would be used by houseguests and possibly be used as short-term rentals. The owners would also like to construct a couple of alpine huts and more storage. Two miles of private mountain bike trails are proposed, along with two ziplines and a “Kids’ Village.”
“The proposed structures and facilities will comprise a year-round commercial resort for families, corporate retreat participants and others seeking a remote, high altitude conference, recreational experience or vacation,” the application states.
Trail re-route part of the future
The application includes a proposal to relocate the Scarp Ridge trailhead. According to Featherman, the relocation would mitigate continuous trespassing by the public who drive up to the lodge to park and start hiking. The developers are working with the Forest Service to relocate the start of the trail just west of where the Irwin Lodge Road crosses Robinson Creek. They would construct and maintain a 22-vehicle parking lot, put in two restrooms and some signage. They would also build a new 4,000-foot trail from there that would intersect the current trail. Featherman said the new trail would provide hikers with a better and more diverse experience than the existing trail, which starts near timberline, by going through some forested terrain. “In return, we are asking the Forest Service to vacate the public easement on the Irwin Lodge Road from the new parking lot to the lodge,” he told the Planning Commission.
If that trade doesn’t happen, the developers would likely prohibit parking on their property, which would result in hikers having to walk more than a mile along the road just to get to the current trail.
“This would be a “win/win/win” for the public, the Forest Service and the applicants,” the application reads. “The public would obtain the right to park adjacent to a developed trailhead and the opportunity to hike a more interesting trail with more diverse terrain and flora. The Forest Service would obtain a superior trailhead and a new parking lot, which would protect the public resource by providing bathrooms and reducing the number of cars that now park on the fragile tundra adjacent to the Green Lake Road. And the applicants would mitigate the trespass and safety issues that plague their properties.”
H2O a priority
The commissioners wanted to make sure the applicants were dealing with water and wastewater issues. They were assured by project engineer Norm Whitehead, water engineer Tyler Martineau and attorney David Leinsdorf that they were indeed looking at the latest state-of-the art technology to deal with those concerns. The developers also plan to meet with the town of Crested Butte to discuss watershed protection in the next week.
“We understand that we have to satisfy the town’s watershed protection regulations,” assured Leinsdorf. “It is part of the cost of doing business up there. This project won’t be a blip on the watershed, especially compared to some of the situations in the town site.”
Featherman said the idea is to phase in the project over a 10-year period, depending on market conditions and weather. “The plan offers flexibility for expansion,” he said.
Gunnison County planner Cathie Pagano reminded the proponents that if approved, the project is granted a three-year vested property right. After that, if the plan were not completed, an extension or even new application would likely be needed.
“The application shows everything we want to do,” said Leinsdorf. “We’re just trying to get it all out there.”
“We appreciate that,” said Fulton, referencing previous applications by the developers that piecemealed expansion plans.
The current application did state that the developers hope to get permission to enlarge the existing parking barn and construct the mountain bike trails and ziplines this year. No request was made to the Planning Commission for that work at the Friday meeting.
Pagano said the county was still waiting to receive comments from other entities affected by the proposal such as the Forest Service, the town of Crested Butte, the Gunnison Fire District and the county Public Works Department. “We should get those comments and regroup,” she suggested.
A site visit to the land is tentatively scheduled for July 19.
