The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Hopes to be up and running in November
by Alissa Johnson
The Crested Butte South Property Owners Association (POA) has given the go-ahead to Tassinong Farms, a micro-farm planned for the Crested Butte South commercial district. The project still needs to be reviewed by the Crested Butte South Metro District and Gunnison County, but if all goes as hoped, the farm will be up and running sometime this November.
Tassinong Farms will use “upcycled” shipping containers fitted with hydroponic growing equipment to provide local families and restaurants with lettuces, hearty greens, and herbs.
While plans include the construction of a permanent building for office space and apartments, the temporary nature of the shipping containers (called Leafy Green Machines) has required that approving bodies think outside the box when it comes to understanding what the operation will look like and how it will affect the community.
Dom Eymere, POA general manager, explained that the POA had to adjust its policies in order to consider the project.
The project “doesn’t have a foundation so it didn’t fall under some of our guidelines” Eymere said. “We had to create some policy and review it as a temporary structure so we can assure the community that, yes, this project will meet the requirements we laid out and if there is a problem down the road we have some type of surety that we can it get removed.”
The POA also had to address the fact that the Crested Butte South commercial district does not allow strictly wholesale businesses. As a result, “We required that they do some type of primary direct sales, and they did a good job with that,” Eymere continued.
Farm manager Kate Haverkampf explained what the approval means for Tassinong Farms. “We’ve got the POA approval and that means for the next year we’re fine to set the Leafy Green Machines in the Crested Butte South commercial district. It’s with the understanding that we’re going to start the building within the next year. If not, then we need to apply for another permit because it’s considered a temporary structure,” she said.
The farm still needs approvals from the county and the Crested Butte South Metro District before operations begin. Haverkampf has been working with a structural engineer on the siding and roofs planned for the Leafy Green Machines and getting documents ready for the county’s building department. The farm is also on the agenda for this month’s Metro District board meeting. “They want to make sure nothing harmful is coming out of the Leafy Green Machine into the sewer system,” Haverkampf explained.
The shipping containers are slated for delivery on November 9, and Haverkampf hopes that allows enough time for reviews.
“We’re just trying to follow all the different processes. Unless you’ve started a business before, it’s hard to know, and on top of that is the fact no one has seen this before,” Haverkampf said. She understands that doing something new naturally requires more time for people to review and approve.
Eymere noted that governing and review bodies across the country and the state have had to adapt to the idea of freight farms. Similar projects have popped up in places like Boston, Boulder, and Durango, and Planning Magazine, a publication of the American Planning Association, recently published an article on how cities and municipalities are adapting to the nontraditional buildings.
“Hopefully the county will take our lead,” Eymere said, suggesting that if places on the Front Range and Durango can make micro-farms work in their communities, Crested Butte South can too.
