The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Waiting on county’s decision
By Cayla Vidmar
Despite being vital to The Corner at Brush Creek decision, Mt. Crested Butte does not appear to be in a hurry to decide on the potential transfer of the 14-acre property. At the Gunnison County Planning Commission meeting last Friday, the developer of The Corner at Brush Creek, Gatesco Inc., agreed that before they move from sketch plan to preliminary plan, three of the four memorandum of agreement (MOA) stakeholders— Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the county—must approve the transfer of the land to Gatesco.
Crested Butte is opposed to the project as it is proposed, Crested Butte Mountain Resort is in favor of the development, and the county has voiced support for the project.
This puts the pressure on the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, which split three to three on whether to grant transfer of property to Gatesco on February 6. The tie is considered a ‘no’ vote.
At the time, Mt. Crested Butte mayor Todd Barnes said, “A tie vote is difficult. It leaves it with no definitive decision by the council.”
The ball has been thrown back into the Mt. Crested Butte court now that the town has a complete seven-person Town Council, and it looks like they’re once again in the hot seat on The Corner at Brush Creek proposal. But there are no immediate plans to take another vote on the topic.
According to Mt. Crested Butte town manager Joe Fitzpatrick, “The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council is waiting for the decision of the Gunnison County Planning Commission before any next steps will be addressed by our Town Council.”
At the July 17 Mt. Crested Butte Town Council meeting, town attorney Kathleen Fogo said she was anticipating a letter from the town of Crested Butte, which she presumed would be a request from the town to meet with all the MOA stakeholders. Fogo said, “I think it’s something you guys should consider,” and said she believes the recent conversations between stakeholders and county attorney David Baumgarten “have been productive.”
Baumgarten was tasked by the county commissioners with spurring productive conversation in hopes of a compromise between Gatesco and other involved parties.
Crested Butte councilman Kent Cowherd was in attendance at the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council meeting, and said, “We thought a discussion would be fruitful, which hasn’t happened with this project yet and it seems like it should have happened at the beginning.”
Cowherd continued, saying, “We’re requesting that if the project that is proposed is unchanged, that it be denied and if it is approved, that it be approved with substantial conditions that change the entire nature of the project.”
