The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Goal to update new council members on project
By Cayla Vidmar
The Gunnison County Planning Commission threw a “curveball and a half,” at the June 1 planning commission public hearing, where they were expected to vote on the proposed Brush Creek project according to town of Crested Butte mayor, Jim Schmidt. This curveball was the postponement of a vote on the proposal, and a request for the development team, Gatesco to negotiate a compromise with Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte on density of the project. David Baumgarten, the county attorney, will be meeting with Gatesco, the Town of Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and other stakeholders to spearhead the conversation in the coming weeks.
“I wish they would have made this recommendation six months ago for all these parties to try to put their heads together on something that works,” stated council member, Ken Lodovico.
This shift is prompting the Mt. CB council to discuss the project at its upcoming June 19 town council meeting and to get a feel for where new council members are regarding the project. Mt. Crested Butte is one of four partners in the deal involving the property in question. On February 6, 2018, a six person Mt. CB council voted to not support transfer of the land to the developer, in a split 3-3 vote. The split is the equivalent of a ‘no’ vote, and stalled the project momentarily, with Gates stating he was not interested in negotiating lower density from 240 units at the time. The latest proposal is a 220 unit project.
The project has progressed through a difficult and hotly debated public process at the county planning commission, which led to the curveball on June 1. The Mt. Crested Butte town council will hold a work session at 5 p.m. on June 19, prior to the regular town council meeting, to discuss the background of the project, to get a sense for where this council is regarding density, and catching its new members up to speed. They will not take a vote during the work session.
