The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
4-3 vote sticks with “156/2/5” conditions
By Kendra Walker
A majority of the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council has voted to stay firm with the additional three conditions imposed on the developer of the Corner at Brush Creek.
October is here, and with it begins the final countdown for the town councils of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte to consider the proposed Corner at Brush Creek housing development extension request.
The developer of the project, Gatesco, Inc. has until the end of the month to sway one or both councils to approve moving ahead with the project, which would then give Gatesco a one-year extension to submit the preliminary plan application to Gunnison County. The towns share joint ownership of the 14-acre property with Gunnison County and Crested Butte Mountain Resort, which have both agreed to proceed with the plan.
Councils have remained unsatisfied with the current proposal, as their conditions of 156/2/5 have still not been fully reached. The conditions are that the project should have a maximum of 156 units, two parking spaces per unit and five acres of open space to be set aside for future use.
Gatesco’s most recent conceptual site plan includes 156 units, 1.65 parking spaces per unit and 3.5 acres of set-aside open space, which was explained in a letter sent to council members on Tuesday, October 1.
“What we submitted in writing pretty much summed up [Gatesco CEO Gary Gates’] position,” said Gatesco attorney Kendall Burgemeister. “We tried our best to provide the data and support some of the decisions that were made… What we realized after last week was we simply don’t have enough time and there’re too many people involved to agree on something before the end of this month.”
In the letter, Gates explained the most recent numbers. “After much study, we have determined that fulfilling all of the conditions of the sketch plan approval plus the three extra conditions developed by the Towns is not economically feasible,” he wrote. “Significantly, when the project is reduced to 156 units and the construction costs are increased by adding a half-acre of additional paved parking spaces, there are simply not enough units generating revenue above the operating costs to cover the initial cost of construction.”
The letter also clarified other amenities that had been brought up by council members recently—all units would have a minimum of 32 square feet of dedicated storage space, with communal laundry facilities in the 16-plexes and eight-plexes, while the four-plexes will have washers and dryers in each unit.
Later that evening, the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council discussed the proposed plan at their council meeting, thoroughly debating if there was any room left for movement from either side. Council was split about whether to wait out the rest of the month and see if Gatesco could come up with more negotiations around parking and set-aside acreage. But ultimately, they voted 4-3 to remain firm on their three conditions, leaving the ball in Gates’ court to meet those numbers by October 31 in order for Mt. Crested Butte to approve moving forward. Council decided to vote this week due to two absent council members at their October 15 meeting.
Mayor Janet Farmer, along with council members Nicholas Kempin, Steve Morris and Dwayne Lehnertz, voted to remain firm on the three conditions. Council members Roman Kolodziej, Lauren Daniel and Michael Bacani voted to consider further compromise on some or all of the three conditions.
“Over the last few months I’ve seen the Gatesco team moving a bit and trying to meet some of our conditions, certainly not all of them,” said Daniel. “I do think he’s made an attempt to meet us in the middle.”
“Some of us, we want a reason to say yes, we understand it’s not perfect,” said Bacani. “It’s difficult to say no when so many people want this because they just want a bed that they can afford, whereas we’re looking at it also as a fixture in the community.”
“We all know we need housing but the question is whether or not this proposed housing is the right project for this parcel of land,” said Farmer, who has remained firm over the past month in sticking with the three conditions. “I feel like the rope in the tug of war. I can acknowledge that this was an attempt to make this work. Unfortunately, I find it not enough and coming too late.”
“If we have any respect for ourselves and the process we went through with Crested Butte, we should not compromise it,” said Lehnertz. “We went through the motions of figuring this out so that it would be simple. And [Gates] says he can’t do it.”
“I would like to see, if the three conditions aren’t accepted, the process restarted with a new RFP,” said Kempin. “I would hope Gatesco would be part of that. It seems like he would be in the best position to be part of that, given the work and time that he’s put in so far.”
If Gatesco can reach the magic numbers of 156/2/5 by October 31, as voted by Mt. Crested Butte this week, the project could move forward. The Crested Butte Town Council has yet to decide their final stance on the Brush Creek project and will discuss this at their council meeting on Monday, October 7.
