The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Happy 2567 to the Buddhists…
Happy 1445 to the Muslims…
Happy 1945 to the Hindus…
Happy 5782 to the Jews…
Happy 2017 to the Ethiopians…
Happy 4271 to the Chinese…
Happy 5143 to the Mayans…
And of course, a Happy 2025… to everyone else.
A passionate friend of the valley sent me the above perspective last week on the new year that they had clipped out of an old Crested Butte Weekly many years ago. We’ll assume it’s all correct since it was probably found on the Internet and everything seen on the Internet is true. I’m so glad that Nigerian prince wants to share his fortune with me if I simply send him my bank account info!
Back to reality — the year 2025 will of course be like most years and bring with it change…change being the only constant in life as declared by the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus.
We can guess that real estate prices in the valley will change but I’m not going to try and predict which way or by how much. I was lucky enough to be part of a tour last week for the house at the old Cow Camp Curve on Gothic Road that is listed for $16 million. That’s a lot of beef! The views from the property, I must say, are expansively spectacular and the house itself is gorgeous in a more urbane than typical way with lots of amenities worth more than my entire house. And they have a view of the $24 million fire station! What’s a bit odd (or not) is to go from a communal cow camp resting area for local ranchers a few decades ago to the site of a $16M living space is now considered to be not that big of a change. And so it goes…
Another spot in the valley that many people considered a ranching or open space property of sorts is the 90 acres to the south of Cement Creek Road and the entrance to CB South. That will be changing. A public hearing over the proposed Starview development was held last week and to the surprise of no one living in the area, but apparently a surprise to some county officials, a lot of people showed up to speak. So many in fact that the room used for planning commission hearings in the county’s Blackstock Government Building was pushed to the limits and overflowing with citizens. Did the county forget that things haven’t changed so much that a prominently placed development with some controversial elements that drew scores of comment letters would bring out a hundred neighbors to comment on the idea? It is still Crested Butte after all. Anyway, after an hour that included some technical glitches, the hearing was moved to the much larger county commissioner room in the courthouse, which also filled up but was more comfortable for everyone.
The bottom line is that after five hours, most people seemed satisfied with how our local government conducts itself. That’s something to not change. Led this time by planning commission chair Roland Mason, people indicated they felt heard and were confident changes would be made to make the proposal better for the immediate neighbors and the valley as a whole. Development review in the county is not a short process and the timing helps to ultimately make proposals better. I trust that will be the case here.
It is weird to me that the developer was basically nudged by the county into changing the plan to add density and include a request for commercial space. That’s definitely an unusual change in the county’s history that has a reputation, deserved or not, to make things hard on developers.
I get the concept that future density should be placed near areas already dense that includes utilities nearby, in this case CB South, but there cannot be an abandonment of common sense. Not all property is the same. This particular property happens to be a major part of the picturesque gateway to Crested Butte. Let us trust that the county will see the value of protecting the “Oh my God” postcard view of Paradise Divide as one enters the North Valley. There is certainly room for houses on that 90 acres (the added density might be a bit too much but that discussion is part of the process), both free-market and some meant for the workforce, but they have to be placed thoughtfully. For example, it makes sense in this case to prioritize open space along the highway view corridor versus the middle of the development.
I actually like some of the ideas proposed to get some Starview homes into the hands of upper middle-class, hard-working locals who want to live and raise a family here. I trust the county will partner with the developer to make the right choices to keep that a special corridor. Oh, and the idea of a gas station along the highway on that property? That’s one change that’s just over the top unless the goal is to be like Anywhere, Suburbia USA.
This process is not over and another meeting is slated for February. I’d bet the plan will look different at that meeting than it does now. I assume the county will be smart enough to allow public comment on that iteration.
The Whetstone community housing project is a huge project for our little community and will have major impacts that change the look of the valley. The county should be taking note of the apparent change in urgency being expressed by workers who are not exactly lining up for the new Paradise Park workforce housing units.
Whetstone is on track to appeal to a similar local working demographic as Paradise Park but with more than 250 units to fill, I’d be a tad worried about the numbers. Just sayin’.
There are a couple reasons for that slow start at Paradise Park, including the timing of the holidays and beginning of the ski season. CB officials are confident the units will get filled. Still, there are also some street grumblings about the town requirement that potential tenants must work 1,500 hours a year to qualify for the units and the rents are close to, if not a little above free market at the moment.
As was pointed out to me this week, the 1,500 hours of work requirement equates to 29 hours a week for 52 weeks a year, or 30 hours a week if you get a whopping two weeks of vacation. That all just seems too tight and wrong. Most of those here working in the service industry could work 50+ hours a week right now or in July but would be lucky to get five hours a week in April, May, October and November. And while absentee billionaire business owners might love a government mandated work requirement, most people move here to play first and work second…as it should be in this valley. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and playing hard but if all you do is work so you can afford to live here, that is a bad change.
Again, I will argue that quality of life for our working population should be the priority for us as a community in general and for affordable housing in particular. Government action with subsidized housing can change community direction. Do not change our values to make work be the number one priority of our community. Hard work should be rewarded, and part of a deed restriction in some cases, but local workforce realities should also be acknowledged and flexibility allowed to let people thrive here not just economically, but spiritually.
The only constant in life is change. Will CB get a new Post Office location in 2025? Will CBMR get more than a dime for ski area improvements from the Vail Resorts C-Suite? When will permit parking be required everywhere in the North Valley? Can bitcoin hit $200K? Will a ski patrol strike in Park City impact CBMR? Who will win town league hockey? Will Mark Walter call me?
It is always exciting to anticipate what change might come as we enter a new year. Happy 2025, 2567, 5782 or 5143, everyone. Now let’s hope for a snowy start to the new year, whichever number you think it is.
—Mark Reaman
