Major zoning change being considered by CB Council

Developers argue the hotel will be pedestrian-friendly

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Town Council agreed Monday to ask the BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) to recommend to them whether or not to rezone 20 lots in the north end of town along Sixth Street from B-2 to T (Tourist). Those four blocks of property represent about 25 percent of the private developable highway frontage in town.

The majority of the council seemed open to the rezoning that would accomodate a hotel and two parking lots. Mayor Glenn Michel and councilwoman Erika Vohman voted against the motion asking for the recommendation.

Members of the Sixth Street Station/ Crested Butte Hotel made a presentation to the council asking them to consider the rezoning request. But not before one member of the team, former Crested Butte mayor Aaron Huckstep was told that previous council members could not work for the developer for six months following his service as mayor on matters on which he took official action. He also can’t appear before the council for a year on any matter in which he took official action, unless the Town Council waived the application of the Town Code of Conduct requirements.

Huckstep’s council had agreed to extend the vested property right of the proposed development by Town Council ordinance last year. After listening to town attorney John Belkin explain the Town’s requirements in the Code of Conduct regulating the situation, the current council agreed 5-2, with Michel and Vohman opposing, to waive the Town Code of Conduct under the circumstances.

Crested Butte building and zoning director Bob Gillie gave some background on the rezoning situation to the council and said the developers needed the T zoning to do the project as proposed.

Architect Gary Hartman led the presentation and said the main question was “Does the town want a hotel?”

He said the proposal essentially calls for an 88-room condo hotel with 32 condos for sale. There would be two 30,000-square-foot buildings bookended by two parking lots at either side of the property. There would be a lobby with a small bar, public restrooms by the bus stop and a conference room. Three affordable housing units would be built on-site.

“The idea is to protect Elk Avenue’s vitality,” Hartman explained. “This would bring in people to stay in town and shop and eat on Elk. It would increase jobs and sales tax and should reduce traffic. We want guests to store their cars when they get here and use mass transportation. We will also provide a hotel shuttle.”

“We want to help enhance the pedestrian character of the town.”

Hartman said this was the best property for such a project but it would fit into a T-zone as opposed to the current B-2 zoning. The T-zone would allow about 20,000 more square feet of development. “The increase in FAR [floor area ratio] helps make this economically viable,” he explained.

“Zoning districts are the land use code of Crested Butte and determine the sense of place,” said Gillie. “The T-zone was contemplated as the tourist accommodation zone and was placed back from the highway so there would be less impact. The request has the potential to change existing zoning and you need to consider it carefully. It will affect the look and feel of the north entrance to town.”

“In the past we haven’t considered a developer’s pro-forma and whether they make money,” said councilman Jim Schmidt. “If any location would work for mass transit, that is it. You can get on the bus and go downtown or to the grocery store and get back to the hotel without going all the way up the mountain.”

Project developer Bruce MacIntire, who is associated with The Peaks Resort in Telluride, said the group wanted a four-star caliber hotel that would attract high-end guests, many of whom would fly into the area. “Our hope is to have an iconic Crested Butte-scaled hotel. It is meant to feed Main Street. While you could build a motel on that property with B-2 zoning, we want to build a hotel.”

Ken Stone is consulting on the project and estimated 25 to 30 percent of the guests would not regularly drive their cars from the hotel. “I think this would promote more foot traffic than a motel-type lodging would,” he said.

“I appreciate your dream and your vision for such a hotel but I’m not sure that’s what we need right now,” said Vohman. “I’m definitely not on board with the rezoning.”

“You can already build a hotel over there and this massing is overwhelming for some,” said councilwoman Laura Mitchell. “It would bring in more real estate transfer tax. I would like to process it more, but right now I’m ambivalent.”

“What they are proposing sounds pretty good,” said councilman Paul Merck. “It would add to the economy. It would have to get past BOZAR. The mass might take it away. But right now I’m a thumbs-up.”

“I have some issues like with the setbacks,” added Schmidt. “And the view down Teocalli looked like a tunnel. My inclination is to send it to BOZAR with conditions requiring setbacks from all the streets. I do like the idea of including a conference room.”

“I think of the neighborhood, which is primarily vacant lots and the Bakery Building, which sat empty for a lot of years,” said councilman Chris Ladoulis. “It sounds like a highest and best use for those lots. I’d rather see a hotel than a motel or empty lots. I’d support BOZAR looking at this.”

“It has some positives and some negatives,” noted councilman Roland Mason. “It would be unique to have a hotel in our town. The massing could be an issue but I think I’m okay going to a T-zone.”

“There is a false dichotomy of either we change the zoning or a hotel can’t go there,” said Michel. “That’s not the case. You have an approval for a hotel there already. It’s just too expensive as planned. I am supposed to represent the whole town and I am uncomfortable with rezoning. Zoning gives us all certainty and predictability. To rezone a major portion of our town resets the parameters. I also enjoy the B-2 zone. It breaks up the massing. To be upfront with you, I am not a fan of this. I’m not against a hotel but it’s not how you fit a hotel into the zoning of Crested Butte. Smaller massing is a part of Crested Butte. As a property owner we should be very concerned about any rezoning.”

The council took an informal poll and it was apparent five of the seven were willing to entertain the rezoning request. After rejecting a suggestion by Belkin to have the staff draw up a resolution outlining why they would approve the zoning change, they approved a motion asking BOZAR to look at the situation and send the council a recommendation.