More rental housing could come to Mt. Crested Butte in new 80-unit building

One and two bedroom units

By Alissa Johnson

The Mt. Crested Butte Planning Commission is in the initial stages of reviewing a proposed 80-unit rental housing development near the Nordic Inn. The project, which is being proposed by the owners of the Nordic Inn, would bring 80 one- and two-bedroom flats and a few hotel rooms to the town.

The project is being proposed as a PUD (planned unit development) on vacant land behind the Nordic Inn. According to Planning Commission chair Dusty Demerson, the first step in the review process is a pre-application conference, at the request of the developer. The Planning Commission will review a sketch of the plan to identify any major questions or issues.

“It’s literally a sketch,” Demerson said, “and that’s good because the developer hasn’t spent a whole bunch of money up front and it’s a lot easier to move things around on paper.”

The Planning Commission will review issues such as density, parking, snow removal, and even storage space.

“Tourists come with a couple of suitcases, but we [locals] have stuff. We have bikes and skis and snowmobile trailers and there’s a lot of ways to deal with those issues. Some are more creative than others, but all require some space,” Demerson explained.

Demerson said the project will likely go before the Planning Commission and the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council because it is a PUD, which requires rezoning and the development of new, site-specific regulations.

“Because it’s a planned unit development, it gets its own set of regulations,” Demerson said. Issues such as rezoning and regulations will go before the council. The Planning Commission will conduct design review.

“That’s where the rubber meets the road, at the Planning Commission, and we agree to things like height and density,” Demerson said.

The pre-application conference was scheduled for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16 (after press time). According to the current proposal, the units would be available for long-term rent, and the developers hope to break ground in 2016.