The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Northeast neighborhood getting pounded by recreation
By Mark Reaman
While admitting that the Paradise Park neighborhood is being heavily impacted by increasing recreation issues, the Crested Butte Town Council agreed to rezone a small lot by the Rec Path bridge from Residential to Public.
Lot 1 on Block 80 will now be used for a combination affordable housing rental for a town employee and a Nordic cat garage to store a snowcat in the winter. The structure is being designed and will be built by Crested Butte Community School students in the SOAR (Student Organization Achieving Results) program.
The lot sits in the Slate River flood plain. As the Paradise Park neighborhood gets built out, residents are experiencing more impacts from constant recreationists accessing the Slate River and Rec Path to stand-up paddleboard, swim, fish and float in the summer and Nordic ski the nearby trails in the winter. The student design will include a public bathroom and air pump to inflate SUPs.
The students held a neighborhood charrette this fall to solicit concerns about the project from neighbors. They then went to the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) and received a recommendation for the rezoning.
Mitigation measures
Students Bridgette Carney, Avery Bernholtz, Dalton Huckins and Kye Matlock spoke to the Town Council on October 21 about the project. They said they have addressed the concerns they heard at the neighborhood meeting. The public pump for SUPs should reduce noise in the neighborhood for early-morning paddlers. The public bathroom would give people a place to change clothes and go to the bathroom in private instead of in the nearby willows. A nearby piece of land used for winter snow storage could be used for better parking in the summer and several Nordic access points could be allocated in the area to disperse people.
“As a resident in the neighborhood over there I see the increase in recreation impacts and it will just continue to see more,” said town community development director Michael Yerman. “Having a public bathroom there is probably the biggest need in both summer and winter.”
Nearby resident John Wirsing said while he supports the students and the SOAR program, he and many of his neighbors are not supportive of the rezoning.
“This was meant as a residential neighborhood,” Wirsing said. “It seems you are trying to solve a lot of problems with one Band-Aid. You are creating another amenity with zero parking. What is being proposed is not adequate. There is not enough parking—it is like the Center for the Arts all over again. Designing a rental unit for a town employee is great but the public aspect is an issue.”
“I share the concerns of John and the neighborhood,” said Yerman. “The Rec Path use has exploded in the last three years. It wasn’t that busy before. People drive really fast and there are noise and parking issues. It’s a problem. But having several Nordic access points addresses some of the issues. The town can help better direct traffic and parking with things like more signage. Having a human presence on site helps too, as we saw this summer with the Slate River Working Group.”
“I get that the neighbors didn’t expect they would be living by a recreation area like this, so whatever we can do to mitigate the problems is important,” said councilwoman Mallika Magner.
“There is an opportunity to change user behavior,” said town manager Dara MacDonald. “We saw some success in that regard this summer with the Slate River Working Group and their education efforts on river etiquette. Most people want to do the right thing. The neighborhood has been impacted heavily this year with not only recreation but lots of construction.”
Councilman Paul Merck said he understood Wirsing’s concerns about parking. “The summer use is a big problem that needs to be addressed,” he noted.
Yerman said summer use would only increase, especially with the development of a nice river trail in the area as a result of the upcoming Slate River annexation.
“This project doesn’t add more to all the issues being talked about,” said Crested Butte Nordic executive director Christie Hicks. “This project tries to address the problems like parking and a bathroom. The kids have been very thoughtful when trying to consider the problems.”
Councilwoman Laura Mitchell wondered if there was a rush or if some time could be taken to look for more parking.
Yerman said the plan was to start construction early next summer if the rezoning and design were approved.
“There are obvious concerns and we’ve been made aware of them. It is part of a growing town but this seems the best solution for right now,” said councilman Will Dujardin. “Delaying it won’t do anything.”
“Hopefully we can educate people to the situation,” said Mitchell.
“I like the plan,” said mayor Jim Schmidt. “Parking is a separate issue and a problem whether we rezone this or not. In the future we need to relook at that whole area.”
Councilman Chris Haver noted that one parking solution discussed by council is the use of neighborhood parking permits that could prohibit public parking in the area.
“It seems obvious we need to address the parking there as we go along,” said Schmidt.
The council voted 7-0 to approve the rezoning request.
