The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Next step is a referral agency comment period
by Olivia Lueckemeyer
An application has been submitted to the Gunnison County Planning Commission for the construction of a horse park five and a half miles south of Crested Butte. If approved, the 70-acre park, spanning two parcels of land off of Highway 135 across from the entrance to Crested Butte South, would provide locals and tourists with a variety of horse-related activities.
Owner Kirsten Atkins submitted the land use change permit application to the Planning Commission on February 26 and it is currently under review. According to Community Development Department assistant director Neal Starkebaum, several next steps are required.
“When the application is determined to be complete, a request for referral agency comments will be sent out,” Starkebaum said. “After the referral comment period, the project will be scheduled for a work session with the Planning Commission.”
Services and amenities provided by the park would include horseback riding lessons, riding facilities, horse clinics and competitions, horse training, equine-centered vacations, horse camping, horse boarding and short- and long-term memberships.
According to the application, Atkins, represented by her husband, Heath Hansens, intends to bring equestrianism to the valley through a number of recreational and competitive activities held at the facility.
“The whole point is to try to bring the experience of horses and horsemanship to residents and visitors of Gunnison Basin,” Hansens said. “The Crested Butte Horse Park would like to start various local competition series covering different equine disciplines including, but not limited to, mountain trail, dressage, Western dressage and jumping.”
The applicants have a goal of sponsoring four events per summer by 2018, their second year of business. This would increase traffic by 25 light truck and trailer combinations per event.
“Because of CBHP’s location, we hope to become a destination horse park for horse owners looking for an equestrian vacation, along with the opportunity to experience all of the cultural, recreational and culinary opportunities in the Upper Gunnison Basin,” the application said.
The CBHP also plans to provide camping accommodations and overnight horse boarding for guests. Weather permitting, the camping area would be open from May 1 to the middle of November.
“The CBHP is surrounded by thousands of acres of public land and is a trail rider’s paradise,” the application explained. “We will be encouraging horsemen and women to come to the Gunnison Valley and the CBHP will be providing trail riders with a place to camp and overnight boarding for their horses.”
Structures to be built on the property over several phases of development include an indoor and outdoor arena, three shed pens with horse runs, two horse barns, a shop to house equipment and tools, a hay shed, a composting facility, a bathhouse for guests and two lodging units. At least one commercial well will be drilled on the property and may be augmented by water purchased from the Blue Mesa Reservoir. The camping area will have an on-site wastewater treatment system.
Hansens says he hopes to initiate construction this summer, but this all depends on how the Planning Commission categorizes the project. As of now the application has been submitted under the minor impact category; however, Hansens says the commission may require the project to undergo a major impact review.
“They wanted me to go back and write more narrative about a bunch of different things, and then I will submit and we should know in a couple of weeks if it is a minor or major project,” Hansens explained.
A 15-year phase development plan has been submitted by Hansens to the commission, outlining when each piece of construction would take place if he can acquire sufficient capital. Phase one, which would occur over a three-year span, would include the building of the outdoor arena, the shed rows and roads to access different areas of the property. Hansens also plans to have seven horses at the start of business to use for lessons.
“There will be phases and we are going to attempt to build an indoor arena in phase one as well,” Hansens explained. “If we are busy enough, and if we can prove the market is there, we may be able to get a loan. We are exploring our options.”
Atkins said that while the plan is in its infancy, it has already garnered community support.
“We want it to be a world class destination, and we want to make sure we do it right,” Atkins said. “We have a lot of support from people who think it could be a cool community asset.”
