The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Responding to public comment with less density, no commercial, additional access road and a soccer field
By Katherine Nettles
Developers have submitted a new sketch plan application for Starview, a proposed subdivision near Crested Butte South that has seen many changes over the past year. The latest application, which was submitted May 10, has been deemed complete by the Gunnison County Community and Economic Department and the developers are now awaiting a meeting with the county’s planning commission.
Harrison Land Estates, a firm based in Oklahoma, first approached Gunnison County with the project idea in 2022 for 76 units on the 90-acre parcel along Highway 135 just south of CB South. In the time since, the applicant, represented by Gary Huresky, has several times gone back to the drawing board to adjust the project’s scope and character according to Gunnison County planning commission and then public feedback. The latest version responds to the extensive public comment and planning commission suggestions during the sketch plan public hearing in December 2024 and continuation in February 2025.
The new version includes 120 units total (down from 129 in the previous iteration), eliminating commercial units altogether and eliminating units to the south end of the parcel in areas of concern for wildlife habitat/migration. The plan increases setbacks from the highway to 300 feet to better preserve viewsheds, and adds a second access point off Highway 135 to address traffic flow concerns along Cement Creek Road, which is the only egress from the Crested Butte South subdivision.
The new application includes a rendering that shows a proposed roundabout to be implemented with Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) at some time in the next few years, and includes a ballfield with parking, and pulls new homesites away from existing residences.
Many of the changes were proposed during the continued public hearing in February, when the applicant representatives addressed several points of contention with the previous sketch plan. At that time, the planning commission had suggested to Harrison Land Estates that submitting those changes formally would allow for a more thorough public review process.
That approval process will now restart with a planning commission meeting, but the date has not yet been determined. Huresky spoke with the Crested Butte News this week, stating “We hope to be on the next possible planning commission schedule.” That could be in mid to late June at the earliest, or as late as July.
“It’s challenging,” said Huresky. “But we’ve made all these changes and we are ready to get back to the public hearing stage.”
Assistant county manager for the county’s Community and Economic Department Cathie Pagano confirmed that after receiving the new sketch plan application, “the application was sent out for updated referral agency comments, and we’ve received those responses.”
Pagano said she had not yet scheduled the matter for a planning commission meeting.
