Cypress development proposal moving through county process

“A process of compromise”

By Mark Reaman

While some citizens continue to express concerns over the proposed Slate River Development by Cypress Equities just north of the town of Crested Butte, the Gunnison County Planning Commission and county commissioners appear on board with the project.

Ultimately, the 44-acre venture is a unique hybrid development of the county and town. Approximately 30 acres would remain in the county and 23 single-family homes and potential accessory dwellings would be located on that property. The town would annex 14 acres and use the property for a variety of public amenities along with six more home sites.

During a continuation of the public hearing with the county Planning Commission on Friday, May 12, concerns over house size, drainage, views and wildlife mitigation were reiterated.

The developers did move the entrance road off Gothic Road about 30 feet south of the original placement to avoid being directly across from Adam Schichtel’s house. The developers will also put in a left-turn lane at the road entrance for vehicles coming down from Mt. Crested Butte, even though traffic studies indicate numbers do not warrant such action.

Cypress vice president Cameron Aderhold said Cypress had hired a wildlife expert from Montrose to study wildlife impacts from the development. As a result, Cypress will donate $20,000 to the Trampe Ranch preservation effort. Some of the Trampe Ranch sits at the base behind Mt. Crested Butte and is traversed by elk when migrating.

Crested Butte resident Dan Jones was concerned by the 5,000-square-foot maximum size allowed for the primary houses and an additional 750 square feet allowed for accessory dwellings.

“The sense of scale is important,” Jones said. “This subdivision right next to the town doubles the sense of scale by doubling the allowable house size from town. The town of Crested Butte has done something with its scale that is considered to be attractive and I’m worried this takes away from that.”

Jim Schmidt sits on the Crested Butte Town Council but agreed with Jones as a private citizen. “I wanted to see a total of 5,000 square feet allowed on each parcel,” he said. “That 5,000 is very large and then you throw in another 750 square feet. I would encourage the commission to limit the total square footage on each lot to 5,000. I feel strongly about this issue as a private citizen.”

Cypress attorney Marcus Lock explained to the Planning Commission that square footage was agreed to by the Town Council. “The house size was a topic of intense consideration with the town,” Lock said. “The town wanted a cap on size and we negotiated it to this. It is not as big as the county would normally allow. The surrounding subdivisions have similar or larger size caps.”

Schichtel said the development would obviously have a big impact on his house and property that is located in the Gothic corridor. He said while he appreciated the road being moved, he would prefer to see it move even more. “When people miss the turn, and they sometimes will, they’ll be turning into my driveway.” He said he was concerned with drainage and culvert issues, especially once homeowners start using chemicals to grow bluegrass lawns in their yards.

Schichtel said the elk would still be impacted significantly by the development and doubted they would suddenly decide to simply change the route to the Trampe parcel once the traditional migration route is disturbed by the development.

“Where are the teeth for enforcing some of these things once the development goes in and homeowners have to truly deal with the elk and they start putting Roundup on their lawns? I still don’t think the public is getting a lot of benefit. The town gets some and the developers obviously get some big benefits but it is just more growth, growth, growth,” said Schichtel.

“Cypress is giving substantial public benefits through this process,” responded Lock. “There are lots of public benefits going to the town that benefit everyone. I think this development is very good for the public.”

Citizen Harvey Castro raised concerns about increased traffic on Eighth Street in Crested Butte if it were used as an entrance to the subdivision. He said such increased traffic could negatively impact Rainbow Park. He also expressed concern over view impact from the Recreation Path between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.

Crested Butte resident John Hess said some affordable housing units should be part of the county subdivision and he noted his concern with setbacks near the wetlands and the possibility of individual homeowners building too close to wetlands. He said if the subdivision wasn’t part of town, Eighth Street access should not be allowed. He added that pedestrian space along Gothic Road should be a concern. He felt the 5,000 square feet house sizes were too big.

“This has been a long process of compromise for this hybrid project,” said Lock. “I think everyone will be proud of it when it is completed.”

The county Planning Commission will again look at the plan and take any further public comment on Friday, May 19 at 3 p.m.