Citizens asked to weigh in on changes to BOZAR guidelines

Public comment meeting this Tuesday

by Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) is in the midst of updating some of its design standards and guidelines. A meeting to get public input on the initial proposals will be held on Tuesday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in the Town Council chambers.

BOZAR began the process of reviewing the guidelines a year ago. A committee consisting of three board members and three members of the town staff met twice a month from May through September to craft the proposed changes. The Tuesday meeting will look at the draft proposal and take input from members of the public.

“The board held a public meeting in June to receive initial feedback from the design community and the public,” explained town community development director Michael Yerman. “Electronic notification is being sent to the design and building community ahead of Tuesday’s meeting to allow ample time for review and comment. Tuesday night provides the opportunity for the public and design community to provide feedback before the board does a final review and makes a recommendation to the Town Council.”

Yerman said the standards and guidelines were overviewed in their entirety “with a focus on providing clarity, updating design elements and creating new standards around the council’s climate initiatives. Many of the changes were made in an effort to make the document more clear and easy to use for members of the public and the design community.

“For instance, ridge length is commonly referenced in residential projects,” Yerman continued. “This has been called out as a maximum of 39 feet. There are other areas that the town Standards/Guidelines did not originally anticipate or contemplate. Examples of these would be transom windows, fire pits, folding and/or accordion doors. REG was contracted to review the Standards/Guidelines to provide technical assistance regarding solar and energy conservation, which is in line with the goals of the council and the town as a whole.”

Yerman emphasized that anyone from the public is encouraged to attend. Obviously the design community is the most impacted on a regular basis and has a good understanding of the document already, but the town welcomes everyone’s comments. He said everyone who does plan to attend is asked to come prepared with questions or comments. The chapters are posted under “News and Announcements” on the town’s website, townofcrestedbutte.com.

BOZAR will take the input from the Tuesday meeting and review it in a regular meeting in February. Depending on the number of comments received the board will either continue their review and make additional edits until the end of March or they will make a recommendation to the Town Council for adoption.

Yerman said the design review process as a whole will not change.