The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Work sessions, site visits not yet scheduled
By Katherine Nettles
A large land parcel of meadows and wetlands near the entrance to Crested Butte South could in a few years hold 76 new homes, accessory dwellings and access roads. The proposal is officially ready for consideration with county planners as the county ruled the sketch plan application complete earlier this month and reached out to reviewing agencies such as the Gunnison Valley RTA and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for comments. It is not yet scheduled to go before the Gunnison County planning commission for review.
The Wildflower at CB development proposes to build in a single phase across the southeast corner of the Highway 135 and Cement Creek Road intersection. The applicant, HGC Holdings, LLC of Oklahoma submitted its major impact sketch plan application in April 2022, and the county ruled the application complete this month on February 3.
The land would be subdivided into 76 lots with single family homes ranging in size from 1,400 square feet to 5,000 square feet, and minimum two car garages required. According to the application, caretaker/accessory dwelling units would be allowed, with a minimum size of 800 square feet. The development site plan includes 67% open space, and all lots would be accessed by private roads maintained by a homeowners’ association.
As previously reported in the Crested Butte News, the applicant is working with Crested Butte South Metro District to connect the development to the district’s water and sewer system. The district’s independently proposed plant expansion has estimated that it would have the capacity to handle the development’s wastewater. The applicant proposed that for the estimated number of units, Wildflower at CB would need a peak day of 73 gallons per minute for domestic uses; reportedly well tests have demonstrated 145 gallons available per minute. The proposal also describes a potential pedestrian bridge over the East River to provide support for the proposed water and sewer lines.
The application also describes “an extensive internal integrated trail system,” and existing wetlands are shown on the site plan as platted open space. To reduce the impact to viewsheds and highway traffic, a combination of native grasses, wildflowers, trees and undulating berms to be placed along Highway 135 the existing grade of the upper bench along the highway would be dropped.
Assistant county manager for community and economic development Cathie Pagano issued an invitation to review agencies this month, and agencies have 21 days for comments which are due February 27. CDOT has responded, that it would require a trip generation study to see if the volume at Cement Creek Road and Highway 135 increases by more than 20%. If it would, then CDOT will require a traffic study and CDOT permit. The RTA board suggested at its February 17 meeting that any county development located on an RTA bus route that is larger than 50 houses should build bus stops that could eventually be used by the RTA to service that area.
According to county planner/administrative services manager Beth Baker, the sketch plan process will require work sessions and site visit(s) before any joint public hearing could be scheduled. Baker had no estimate of when such meetings will begin, but the county application completion notice states a meeting will be scheduled as soon as there is an opening on a planning commission agenda.
