Nordic Inn proposal takes the heat

“I’m struggling with the massiveness of this project”

By Kendra Walker

The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council reviewed the Nordic Inn Planned Unit Development (PUD) Major Alteration application during a November 6 public hearing and council meeting. While not yet making a decision on the plan, the council heard many comments from neighbors and will continue reviewing the proposal and discussion at their next meeting on November 19.

The proposal calls for the development of a new 144-unit hotel and conference center, while the existing Nordic Inn would be converted into a restaurant, bar space and spa area. The proposal also includes a two-level below-grade parking garage with 220 spaces, 75 of those reserved for public parking. 

A previous PUD plan was approved in March 2018, but applicant Pearls Management LLC proposed alterations with the Mt. Crested Butte Planning Commission over the past several months, eventually resulting in a recommendation to Town Council. 

Council heard from Pearls’ attorney Aaron Huckstep and principal architect Gary Hartman on changes to the originally approved PUD. Among the modifications include the change from a surface parking lot to underground parking; an increase in hotel units; a change in building heights to 46 feet (four stories) on NI-1 and 56 feet (six stories) on NI-2; and a rotation of the NI-1 building with an eight-foot setback in an effort to open up space between the neighboring Evergreen Condos. 

Huckstep and Hartman explained the building height is going to be only three feet taller on the ridgeline from the existing approved plan. 

“We believe it’s a more attractive development. It gives the opportunity to landscape,” said Huckstep. “We believe that it will be less impactful to the neighbors.” 

Neighbors’ concerns

Community members who spoke at the public hearing in addition to letters sent to staff shared similar sentiment about the project: concern that the building is largely over-scaled, unnecessarily imposing and out of character with the surrounding residential neighborhood. 

 “I’m going to sit on my deck and going to have to look over 40 feet of a hotel,” said William Henderson of Treasury Road. 

In a letter to staff, Lois Einsidler compared the proposed Scandinavian architecture to mausoleums. “I think it may stick out as a notably massive, big box oddity in this area of transition to the Chalet homes, rather than stand out as a well planned and integrated addition to Mt. Crested Butte’s DDA area. I question how the design of this project fits in with the stated goals of the DDA standards.” 

Quoting from the DDA guidelines, Einsidler said “It is more important that the built environment express the spirit of Mt. Crested Butte than current trends in modern–day architecture.” 

 “The precedent you’re setting with this project is other projects are going to ask for the same thing,” said Daniel McKenna of Whetstone Road. “If you say yes to this, what is going to make you say no to eight stories?” He added, “Spending $2 million for parking space is [an] irresponsible [use of] taxpayer money.”

“I would like to know what it is about this property that the town of Mt. Crested Butte finds so intriguing,” said Michael Blunck of Treasury Road. “Of much bigger concern to me is the blatant mismanagement of public funds and resources to benefit a private developer and business… Town is paying for parking we do not need.”

Tim Greydanus of Treasury Road agreed, “From the very beginning this public parking piece has been intertwined with a hotel retail entity, which results in conflicts of interest… I don’t think this had anything to do with trying to make the neighbors happy. Nobody ever approached us about what would make it better.”

Mass concerns

“We’re not surprised to hear these concerns, it’s a big building,” said Huckstep following the public hearing. “Yes the heights have changed, yes the unit counts have gone up… We think the principal justification for that is the densities across the street are a lot higher,” referring to the Mountaineer Square North (MSN) PUD that was approved in 2010, composed of all the lots north of the Grand Lodge. 

“The style/design of the building has radically changed since we saw it last,” said councilman Roman Kolodziej. “There are questions whether that even fits in with the design of our area. I don’t know if enough has been done to break up the front face of that building. I think anybody looking at that would say that’s a pretty tall façade… To me it looks like a university building, like I’m walking on CSU’s campus.” 

“A lot of objection is the size of this, and if you recall just a month ago down there at the Corner of Brush Creek we talked about it being too big,” said councilman Michael Bacani. “Density is a big thing for the community here.”

“It’s the conversation that comes up with every project,” said Hartman. “Once it’s built it becomes the new norm. It’s all a matter of looking at it 20 years from now or today.”

“I would encourage all of you as you’re driving through the base area to take a look at the Grand Lodge elevation and even the Kelsey Wright building,” added Huckstep.

“I am in no way pushing to replicate what we already have,” said Kolodziej. Then addressing his fellow council members, he said, “I wonder if the Kelsey Wright building were 10 times the size [that it is now] you would like that style?”

“I’m having a really hard time with this fitting in with the spirit of Mt. Crested Butte,” said mayor Janet Farmer. “I’m struggling with the massiveness of this project.”

“We’re happy to take these concerns to our client,” said Huckstep. 

Parking concerns

Mayor Farmer explained some of the story behind town’s desire for the parking. “When we first got into this there wasn’t a whole lot of land out there that we could get our hands on to use for a potential parking lot,” she said. “There was a possibility we were going to lose access to the Snowmass lot. We were trying to prepare for the future on parking, which is how we got into this in the first place.” 

Town manager Joe Fitzpatrick added, “We have been historically looking at a parking plan. We can’t look at the Rasta lot or the Snowmass lot as being free forever.”

Councilmember Lauren Koelliker (previously Lauren Daniel) voiced her concerns about whether the 75 public spaces would be sufficient. “I think we all as a council are in agreement that when we have busy weekends is when our biggest parking problems exist… That’s concerning to me because the times that we need those spaces will be the same time that the hotel will overflow.”

“One thing we could do is remove that language that allows the hotel to interlope onto the parking spaces,” said community development director Carlos Velado. 

“We will not object to changing that,” said Huckstep. “The applicant believes that except for super–high–volume times that this property will be properly parked.”

There is also an option in the plan to add 50 more spaces, which would need to be approved into the current proposal. “If you want us to consider those extra 50 spaces I think we have to involve the DDA and we certainly would talk to our client about what that would look like,” said Huckstep. 

Issues with public comment time

Council spent the first 40 minutes of the scheduled hour-long public hearing listening to Pearls’ presentation, with only 15 minutes remaining for public comment before the next scheduled public hearing of the evening. Each individual was given three minutes to speak, but several folks were cut off in the heat of their comment, while others pitched in some of their own time so their neighbors could continue their statements. 

 “I found tonight incredibly disheartening. It makes us seem very cold and disconnected in the process,” said councilmember Steve Morris. “I would encourage town to extend that limit to five minutes.”

 “Why are we really trying to limit people? They’ve got things to say,” said Kolodziej. 

“What we are trying to encourage is the passionate folks who have lengthy legitimate arguments to give it to us ahead of time so we can see it and read it and digest,” said Fitzpatrick. “So when they come to the public hearing they can highlight the main points.”

“Two of those people who got cut off had letters,” said Velado. 

“One of them was sitting there recapping the letter,” added town clerk Tiffany O’Connell. 

“You don’t have to cut it off,” said town attorney Kathleen Fogo. “The public hearing doesn’t necessarily go from 5 to 5:55—it goes until it’s done. If there are 20 people who want to talk, 20 people should be able to talk.”

Council was agreeable to increasing the time limit from three to five minutes, and including the time limit in their next public hearing notice so people have time to plan accordingly. 

“We just want the community to feel like they have a voice,” said Morris. 

The Nordic Inn PUD Major Alteration application discussion will continue at Town Council’s next meeting on November 19.