The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Kendra Walker
Homestead property transferred to Bywater
The town of Mt. Crested Butte closed this spring on the deal to transfer the Homestead affordable housing property to the developer Bywater Development LLC. Bywater is committed to constructing 22 deed-restricted units. The previous developer did not fulfill the contract and the town paid $750,000 as part of the settlement agreement to extinguish the town’s contractual relationship with the previous developer.
“One thing that is important to understand is that in the event of problems, the town will have control of the land if this falls apart and money will be available to finish the project,” explained town attorney Gerry Dahl. “Control of the land is in the form of an option that if there is a default by Bywater or if the bank loaning Bywater money declares a default on the loan, town can reacquire the property. There will be a performance bond in place to finish the project if necessary.”
Bywater and the town continue to work on finalizing the performance bond. Dahl said the town can also approve a third-party contractor if that comes into play after a default.
Mt. CB in for increased backcountry enforcement this summer
The council agreed to participate in the funding of additional backcountry law enforcement this summer with so-called “saturation patrols.” The Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation (STOR) committee is soliciting funding to pay for extra Forest Service law enforcement officers to monitor public land in the North Valley during busy weekends this summer. The town of Crested Butte committed $3,000 to the effort and the county pledged at least $1,000. Mt. Crested Butte agreed to donate $3,000 toward the $10,000 estimated cost.
