Nordic Inn parking lot moving forward

Planning Commission approves PUD, DDA votes to expand boundary

By Aimee Eaton

A proposal to build a 150-stall surface parking lot off Treasury Road in Mt. Crested Butte is moving forward.

At its last meeting in February, the town Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend the planned unit development (PUD) that contains the details for both the parking lot and the renovation of the Nordic Inn to the Town Council.

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the PUD, and will consider the recommendation by the Planning Commission, on Tuesday, March 20 at 6 p.m. in the Mt. Crested Butte council chambers.

There has been a fair amount of community opposition to the proposal, which has largely stemmed from concerns over safety, changes to the neighborhood’s character, a lack of perceived necessity for the parking lot, and landscaping.

To address some of these concerns, and to better fit the proposal with town guidelines, the Planning Commission sent eight recommendations for changes to the PUD to the council.

These included: a retaining wall shall be no higher than 15 feet; a pedestrian path/sidewalk shall be constructed; the upper Treasury Rd. (from intersection of Treasury and Emmons) to the parking lot entrance will be widened to town standard; the DDA guidelines will be modified within five years to accommodate the parking lot lighting plan and elimination of the landscaping requirements within the parking lot; a landscape plan shall be considered at Design Review; and a lighting shall also be considered during Design Review.

The Planning Commission also determined that the entrance for the parking lot should be located closer to the intersection of Treasury Rd and Emmons Rd., rather than across from the Ponderosa development as had originally been planned.

In addition to the vote by the Planning Commission, the Downtown Development Authority agreed last week to expand its borders to include the land on which the parking lot would be located. This change allows for the use of DDA funds in the purchase of the parcel from the property owners, Pearls Management, LLC. According to Mt. Crested Butte town staff, the change to the DDA boundary is contingent upon the approval of the PUD by the Town Council.