Be careful walking the gentrification line…

It is a seven-hour drive to Park City from Crested Butte and if you want to see the definition of mountain resort urbanity, go there. Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful place overflowing with recreational opportunities, and it has easy access to nature. It’s definitely a sweet spot. But given its proximity to a major airport and interstate highways, there is no shortage of people, construction, expansion, money and new development. While we here sometimes lament the disappearance of the “old” Crested Butte, Park City makes this valley look like Pitkin. 

Talking to long-time Park City area locals, the growing pains are harsh as subdivisions are popping up in every nearby drainage. But it’s things like not having businesses on Main Street owned by friends or parents of friends anymore that is a huge indicator of the negative community changes.

I consciously try not to be that cranky mid-timer pointing out what is wrong with how people want to change this place. When I arrived, I pushed and helped facilitate change and I still love what we have here and how this community remains different from standard mountain resorts. While I miss the romanticized version of the late ‘80s and ‘90s, I wouldn’t want to go back. Nevertheless, part of my job is to put a spotlight on things I don’t necessarily agree with. Those things normally are directions that I think send us into Gentrificationville. So here are a few:

In a letter to the community last week, Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick said that “with a growing housing gap, if our community wants different results, we need to do things differently…” He supports 200+ community housing units at Whetstone. I would prefer to see us pursue the things that have worked in our past rather than just doing things differently. In my view, 200+ units are too many.

Like Ian, I support the idea of Whetstone and having a more economically diverse community in the North Valley. If the county planning commission and commissioners approve the requested 252 units, my head won’t explode. Whetstone is no doubt “different” from anything around here. But I would encourage the county to bring the unit count under 200 so those that move there can have a more comfortable place to live as our neighbors. Focus on making it a super livable neighborhood for the working class. And working class there could range from bartender roommates to a doctor’s family. While there are more mitigations in place than there were with the previous Corner at Brush Creek housing proposal — a better park at the site, more classrooms being built at the school, much better transit options, a more solid water and sewer plan, more deed-restricted units spread throughout the valley to complement  this big project — 252 seems over the top for the 13 acres. Oh, and parking seems dreamy at only 1.6 parking spots per unit. It also seems obvious that adding 500 or 700 new people to the North Valley will result in the need for more services and thus more housing. Ahhhh, cycles of growth we choose for ourselves.

While Ian states the need to do something different, I could argue this scale of project seems like doing things the same — as Breckenridge or Frisco or Vail. All have a ton of affordable housing, and all say they don’t have nearly enough. The Whetstone schematic online looks like it could come from I-70. While Eagle County’s Miller Ranch might be the gold standard for mountain community housing, Whetstone doesn’t contain the needed space for such a development. 

I’d suggest doing more of the things that we have done that work. Or doing way out-of-the box ideas. That could include incentivizing more ADU-type housing and looking at how to develop micro-lots while dealing with the related impacts. I’d suggest manufactured homes or a tiny house community with plenty of storage for toys on Whetstone. Consider setting aside 5 acres for major employers to buy into and build for their specific employees. It could come from both public and private entities. Hello, Mark Walter! Make it a pleasant neighborhood of friends, not just an island of workers. These ideas might be too late, and I’d rather see progress with Whetstone than a setback, but they are ideas to have on file since housing issues aren’t going away.

I do agree with Billick who seemed to send a warning shot for the future in his letter when he suggested Whetstone is “an opportunity for second homeowners who have suggested philanthropy should be given a chance before exploring more taxes.” He is referring to a tax on second homes to fund workforce housing that was voted down by CB voters several years ago. He pointed out that $10 million could significantly reduce rents. Hello, Mark Walter! Billick is not wrong that this is the time for those second homeowners who balked at the proposed tax to pony up in a meaningful way because my guess is that if not, some form of that second homeowner tax will likely find its way onto a town or county ballot sooner than later. And it would be hard to argue against it if the philanthropic opportunity is passed by.

As for the actual Whetstone plan, when it comes to the biggest buildings being placed up against Highway 135, it goes against the county’s stated policy to protect the viewsheds in the Highway 135 (and 50) corridor. As I’ve stated before, the construction of a roundabout at the entrance to Whetstone would logically seem to be the primary safety measure to slow traffic in that area. 

Former Crested Butte town planner John Hess reminds us in a letter this week that Crested Butte’s Area Plan for development outside of town says the same thing. He lists a number of developments along Highway 135 that follow that directive and notes that it does indeed help preserve the views we all appreciate in our valley. I’d ask the planning commission to stay true to that successful policy.

Vail Resorts reported some grim news on skier days last week and as a result the global corporation has layoffs planned for the future. No idea if they will happen here. Capital improvements don’t seem likely for CBMR. The Tourism and Prosperity Partnership (TAPP) has long encouraged local ski area improvements and Lord knows there is room for a facelift, starting at the Base Area. 

TAPP, as it is wont to do, threw out some over the top ideas as well when it reported to the county commissioners last week. It was stated that while road tripping to other mountain resort communities, they took note of the mountain life and amenities that make it easier to live in those places. They noted places like Steamboat and Durango have a Walgreens and Target and “we have to reach a critical mass to get some of those services that make it more attractive for visitors, business and locals.” Uhhhh, no we don’t.

Like a housing development that could be picked up in Breckenridge and plopped down next to the highway two miles south of CB, striving for critical mass (tens of thousands of more people) in the valley to support a Walgreens puts us on the line to turn us into just another urban spot in the mountains with great views. And there are plenty of those already that are a lot easier to get to. 

Look, our unique small-town amenities are our attraction for those living and visiting here. Our small scale, personable interactions, easy access to the backcountry and town attractions like individually-owned restaurants (disappearing) all separate us from other places. The more we buff out the things that might be hard but keep us unique, the more likely we become just another gentrified town that comes off the computer screen of a consultant from somewhere else. That’s what we moved away from for a reason. Focus on and enhance the things that separate us (that can make it harder to live here) instead of trying to be more like our older, more boring, brothers and sisters.

While I’m glad most of the CB council voted to allow parking near bus stops in town (which makes common sense), it is also obvious that the future intention is to expand parking permits along the bus route in the future. That will include not only Sixth St., but also along Whiterock where town staff expects parking to eventually shift for people coming into CB. FYI — Park City is years ahead of CB in the parking realm. There is limited parking, paid parking, parking garages, neighborhood parking permits, an extensive bus system serving nearby locations — and there was still a line of cars into town midday on Saturday that looked like our Mad Mother 500 on steroids. The “doing things differently” from our past but copying strategies that are being done in other places without seeing better outcomes, doesn’t exactly inspire great confidence in choosing to follow someone else’s path. 

That seven-hour drive back to Crested Butte from Utah ended on a stunning Kebler Pass as fall colors were peaking. Believe it or not we weren’t the only ones driving one of the prettiest spots in the Lower 48. While some here bemoan the traffic and manners of people in awe of the Raggeds, my attitude is to chill out and be aware that people will do crazy things when they are in the midst of scenes they rarely, if ever, experience. I purposely chose to slow down knowing what was out there. Sure, I wish snail drivers would pull over and people taking pictures should not park in the road. I like Peter Cook’s attitude in his letter toward the people coming here to embrace nature and slow down as they search out a leaf peeper paradise.

And I guess the local’s common name for a parking lot in Mt. CB, “the Rasta Lot,” offended some people (huh?) and was too controversial. So it is now officially the (yawn) Matterhorn Lot. Zzzzz.

We are faced with lots of chances to walk the gentrification line. It’s great if you like vanilla but we should be very careful about following that easy path if we want to stay out of the mainstream…which is why a lot of us choose to live here.

—Mark Reaman