The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Some group support taking a step back
[ By Mark Reaman ]
Three public meetings, including two on the site, are planned to give neighbors the chance to discuss the controversial proposal of shifting public easements on the Verzuh Ranch open space parcel east of Crested Butte. The idea has generated copious public comment on social media and an online petition opposed to the proposal has more than 300 signatures. Meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 5.
The October 21 meeting was held on the property. The Wednesday, November 4 meeting will be a Zoom meeting starting at 5:30 p.m., while the November 5 meeting will return to the property at noon.
The owners of the land just east of town want to shift public bike and pedestrian access from the road that cuts through the property to a new trail to be built on the north end of the 40-acre lot starting near the Paradise Park neighborhood.
Owners of the property, Wynn and Ryan Martens, presented the idea to the council at the September 21 council meeting. They contend the move would enhance the wetlands on the property and protect birds nesting in the area.
But neighbors in Paradise Park see it as a move to place more impacts into their increasingly busy neighborhood. In a letter to the Crested Butte News published in the October 16 issue, opponents said the move would result in increased vehicle traffic, parking and speeding in the residential neighborhood. “The influx of recreational users into our neighborhood will directly and negatively affect the wellness and safety of our residents, specifically our children and pets,” the letter states.
Meanwhile some of the groups that originally came out in support of the idea are taking a step back.
Crested Butte Land Trust executive director Jake Jones informed the Martens and the town on Tuesday, October 20 that the CBLT “would like to withdraw the letter of support written by [former CBLT executive director] Noel [Durant], thus bringing the Land Trust’s position back to one of neutrality.”
Jones said that at the October 16 CBLT board meeting, the board “decided that the Land Trust would officially take a neutral position on Wynn and Ryan’s proposal… The letter from Noel was not vetted or approved by the board prior to being submitted for the public record.”
High Country Conservation Advocates are also taking a breath. While HCCA’s public lands director Matt Reed described the idea as a “win-win-win” to the Crested Butte Town Council at the September 21 council meeting, HCCA executive director Brett Henderson said this week, “Now that we are hearing additional feedback from the community, we are reviewing our decision.”
At the October 19 Town Council meeting, Paradise Park resident Kent Cowherd said the easements should not really be negotiable, given the quid pro quo nature of the deal with the original developer of the McCormick Ranch development. The primary easement the Martens want moved is the road that starts from the east end of Elk Avenue, goes through their property and accesses the McCormick Ranch home sites.
Cowherd suggested the boardwalk path on the south end of the property be closed and a new trail constructed at the Paradise Park Rec Path bridge. But he said the road easement should remain. “The solution is dilution. This would spread out the impacts. That is the best compromise,” he opined.
But another neighbor, Jillian Liebl, who signed the letter and helped start the petition, said while the residents are grateful to have the housing opportunities afforded in the neighborhood, she disagreed with that compromise idea. “At the end of the day we are concerned about the proposal because all of the traffic would be consolidated in our neighborhood with more people speeding and more bikers using the trailhead. We don’t want another trail at that spot. We already get so many people using it for SUPs.”
Crested Butte planner Mel Yemma said the town has been meeting with stakeholders and the public outreach will now take place in earnest.
