The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
No decision until Special Project Development Regulations are complete
Representatives of Crested Butte Mountain Resort asked the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday to consider designating resort lands in the county as a Special Geographic Area (SGA).
The designation would allow the resort to meet a regulatory standard different from that currently in place when developing new projects in the future.
Instead of going through the county’s Special Development Project (SDP) Regulations process for large projects, an SGA could potentially provide a process more closely connected to the way the Forest Service would regulate large-scale development.
“It is our feeling that by creating an SGA we can eliminate duplication of efforts when we go through the Environmental Impact Study [EIS] process [for the Forest Service], whether for Snodgrass or other major projects,” said Michael Kraatz, CBMR’s vice president of real estate and development.
The SDP regulations have been under revision by the county’s planning department for over a year and a new draft is expected out next week for review. Until then, the commissioners all agreed that there is no way of knowing how the regulations would affect any of CBMR’s projects.
“We can’t be sure what is in the SDP regulations until they are out, but I know that past versions have said very plainly that the county will accept at least some of the work done as part of the EIS for the Forest Service to avoid duplicative efforts,” said commissioner Paula Swenson.
Kraatz maintained that granting the SGA designation would “streamline that effort, maximize efficiencies and reduce costs for the county as well as CBMR.”
For the designation process to move forward, the commissioners would have to direct staff to spend time exploring the feasibility of an SGA and agree to pass it on to the Planning Commission. Then both sides would gradually shape regulations that would provide a standard for development in the area.
Commissioner Paula Swenson said, “You’ve requested that we start the SGA designation process, but you’ve given us no examples of anything you’re proposing to us,” such as a project proposal, or a proposed set of regulations.
CBMR’s attorney Mike Dawson produced a draft set of regulations that could eventually be the foundation of an SGA, offering to let the commissioners read it so they would have a better idea of what is being proposed.
“The idea is to start down [the SGA designation] path and see what we can put together as far as draft regulations. We understand that the devil is in the details… We’re asking to initiate that process to see if this is a viable alternative,” said Dawson.
Commissioner Jim Starr wasn’t sure if looking at the draft regulations would send the right message to the public.
“I’d like to see the Special Development Project regulations finalized and made public before we move ahead with our review of the draft regulations for the SGA. I’m concerned if we’re shown proposed regulations and decide to go forward with [SGA designation] process, it creates a presumption that we approve of the projects proposed for the SGA,” said Starr.
County manager Matthew Birnie pointed out that moving forward with the SGA designation process and the process of approving any development in the SGA would be separate.
“By agreeing to move forward with the process of designating the SGA the county is not agreeing to any development in the SGA. That would be a different process,” said Birnie.
Several members of the audience agreed that starting the SGA designation process before the SDP regulations were complete would be premature.
“How does CBMR know that they will be in conflict with [the SDP regulations] before they’re even out? You don’t know what they will say, but you’ve already taken a position of conflict and I don’t think that makes sense,” said Glo Cunningham.
Others in the audience, which filled the chairs in the commissioners meeting room, recalled an agreement that John Norton, the former CEO of CBMR, had made with the county agreeing to abide by the requirements of the Special Project Development regulations.
“When the economic focus group met and John Norton was a representative of CBMR, one of the resolutions that was made was that CBMR would abide by what was then known as 1041 regulations. I’m perplexed as to why that has been shelved in favor of designating an SGA,” said Maureen Hall.
Channell explained that the document John Norton agreed to abide by—the SDP regulations—no longer exists after several revisions, nullifying the agreement that was made at the time.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Dawson said CBMR would not give the draft regulations to the commissioners for review immediately, but added they would return after making some revisions.
“We didn’t get a copy of the draft regulations today, but if they wanted to mail them to the commissioners, just like a letter from any member of the public, there would be nothing to stop us from looking at them,” said Channell.
