The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
We are approaching the end of one season — hot summer madness full of seven figure fundraisers‚ and approaching another — refreshingly cool shoulder season where people can find a seat on an Elk Avenue bench. That’s not to say it won’t get hot and dry again, but the monsoons are nice and signal the start of school around the country. That means many families are leaving our paradise to head back south or east to their real world. Here in our world, we are heading from stalking flowers to tracking fungi. The mid-August shift is evident in a calmer vibe, fewer numbers on Elk Avenue and at the trailheads, more parking spaces popping up closer to Third and Elk and shorter lines for pretty much everything in the valley.
That doesn’t mean everything stops, and in fact it offers a time for those living here to re-engage in the community and its issues, instead of just hanging on to survive the six weeks of sacrifice (that helps fill the bank accounts for the rest of the year BTW).
Speaking of issues…
Board members of the Crested Butte Land Trust have for decades described the turn heading north on Highway 135 just south of Cement Creek Road as the “Oh My God” view. Coming around the sweeping curve one is exposed to one of the finest views in North America as you get your first close-up of the appropriately named “Paradise Divide.” It can still take my breath away. Unless changes are made to the newly proposed StarView Subdivision plan that is located at the corner of 135 and Cement Creek Road, the name of that turn might be changed to the “Oh thank God, there’s a gas station” view — Not.
It is my understanding that the county is nudging the StarView property owner to increase its density and include some commercial options given its proximity to CB South, a major population hub in the valley. Some of that makes sense on paper and would be ideal, but the county also has a stated policy to limit the expansion of commercial development outside of where it is already allowed and to protect the viewsheds in the Highway 135 (and 50) corridor.
The distance between StarView and the main entrance to CB South and the subdivision’s commercial core (where there is a gas pump) is less than half a mile, or a one-minute car ride, two-minute e-bike ride or 15-minute walk. So, while maybe requiring some “light commercial” could release some pressure from the growing CB South commercial district, a gas station with another 13,000+ square feet in commercial closer to the highway than the existing business area seems over the top strip mall and leans toward that ubiquitous urban sprawl along the rural corridor everyone states they want to avoid in the North Valley.
Keeping the “Oh My God” view and not the “Jesus Christ, this looks like Summit County but thank God there’s a gas station” view seems like it should be priority in this planning process.
I am still shaking my head at the utter disrespect some kids (signs point toward locals) are showing to their, and our, home. And by home, I mean the marvelous backyard we all enjoy as part of the acre upon acre of public lands we are fortunate enough to have just steps from our front doors. Like the letter from Dave Ochs and the Crested Butte Conservation Corps that was in last week’s Crested Butte News, I too understand that teenagers will be teenagers. Like them, I certainly haven’t always made the best choices but to consistently trash a piece of our national forest and actually put it, and us, in danger by partying with giant bonfires during dry and oftentimes windy conditions, is more than lame teenage decision making…it is a totally asshat choice. Local kids should know better. That’s where, like it or not, local parents have to come in and send the appropriate message. It starts when they are little and can be guided, but probably needs to be reinforced when they are hormonally transitioning to young men and women and they might need a bit more “tough love.” Community adults, fellow responsible teenagers and the village as a whole should help those who are apparently challenged by common sense, to get their act together and show respect for their community.
Despite my frequent public appeals to engage billionaire Mark Walter about his plans for Crested Butte given he owns a large chunk of the town, I have concluded that will probably never come to pass. Someone sent me a recent column from an Los Angeles Times reporter looking for a comment on one of their local situations connected to Mr. Walter (petroleum advertising in Dodger Stadium). One part of the column reads: “It’s also disappointing that Walter and his partners have refused to comment, probably hoping the story will just go away. Well it’s not going away…”
I can feel your pain.
L.A. is different than CB and a small town is different than a giant metropolis and responding to questions over advertising a business that contributes to climate change is different than perhaps being put on the spot about a future “local’s table” at the old Forest Queen, so I had hoped he would see that difference. Alas, he hasn’t yet.
But let me take this opportunity to thank Mark Walter. Walter and his financial group control and operate North America’s Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Right now there are six franchises but the hope is the league will expand, sort of like the WNBA that has double that number of franchises and is becoming more popular every year.
As anyone who knows my family or has read my columns over the years, it is obvious that our two sons love hockey. One of those sons is the new father to twin girls. Now, who knows if either or both will absorb his love of the sport and sweet hockey skill set from their dad, but Mark Walter has put some of his dollars to work to keep alive the dream for those girls that do want to skate. He is actively supporting women’s professional sports, and my bet is young women appreciate that. So, thank you.
Anyway, we are in a spot where our unreal world starts to feel real again. Appreciate the moisture and get out before the days get too short and too chilly. Happy shoulder season everyone…
—Mark Reaman
