The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
County creates list of concerns
The Gunnison County Planning Commission continued to educate itself about the proposed development of Irwin by Scarp Ridge LLC last week.
At the meeting on Friday, November 1, the planning commissioners walked through a series of issues that county staff, the public and the planning commissioners themselves had identified as areas of concern in Scarp Ridge LLC’s current sketch plan for development.
The commissioners, guided by staff, determined that before they could make a recommendation about the viability of the sketch plan they would need further information about how Scarp Ridge would deal with the timing and logistics of event hosting, wildlife, the visual impact of development, the construction of ziplines and a kids’ village, public access and parking for events, among other issues.
Scarp Ridge’s current plan for the Irwin area includes but is not limited to the renovation of the old Irwin Lodge, the construction of five cabins ranging in size from just a few hundred square feet to 8,000 square feet, mountain biking trails, ropes courses, ziplines, the expansion of several existing structures, a kids’ village and the rerouting of the popular Scarp Ridge Trail, among other things.
With these plans the area should function as a venue for weddings and corporate retreats, as well as a much more year-round–oriented destination resort.
“It turns out weddings are as controversial as gravel pits,” said David Leinsdorf, Scarp Ridge’s attorney for the project. “No one wants them anywhere near their property.”
Already Scarp Ridge has made several changes to its sketch plan in response to community and state concerns, especially in regard to wildlife issues, said Leinsdorf.
“It is important to remember what the sketch plan of the process is for,” he said. “This is not the final plan. We are introducing everything we potentially may want to do. That does not mean we will do everything discussed.”
The commissioners charged county staff with drafting a letter to Scarp Ridge LLC stating the full list of issues they wished to see addressed. This letter will be delivered to the company in the next few weeks.
