The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Paying Norris Design for extra work
[ By Kendra Walker ]
In a 4-1 vote, the Mt. Crested Butte town council on January 17 approved the adoption of the Mt. Crested Butte Master Plan, which has been in development since April 2021. The Master Plan process has included much community engagement with stakeholders, base area property owners and the public. The plan also went through a “recalibration” last spring in order to revamp the original draft to a more thorough “Draft 2.0” version based on updated information and more extensive community outreach.
The plan is designed to serve as an advisory document that will guide decision making for Mt. Crested Butte to achieve its vision and goals. The adopted Master Plan will help town staff, the town council, other elected officials and the community with strategies to achieve the town’s goals for economic development, future land use, recreation and tourism and public services in the next 10-15 years.
Council member Dwayne Lehnertz voted against but did not voice his reasoning, only thanking his fellow council members for voting yes so he could vote no. “I feel like we should pop some champagne,” said council member Steve Morris.
“Thank you everybody who helped with this along the way,” said town manager Carlos Velado.
After receiving “robust public comment” in October over the Master Plan draft, town staff and Master Plan partner Norris Design revised the Future Land Use Map to align with the town’s current Zoning District Map, per community feedback. All correlating content to the Future Land Use Map in the Master Plan draft was also revised. Any future development will need to align with the Future Land Use Map.
Due to the extra work to revise the Future Land Use Map and correlating content, Norris Design requested additional funds for extra completed work that exceeded the original master plan budget. The council approved 4-1 to pay Norris Design the additional funds request of $8,500, as per the final invoice for the project. Council member Lehnertz voted against with no further discussion.
