The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Slate River Development might need an access through town
By Mark Reaman
Gunnison County Planning Commission members have indicated that while there are certainly issues to address with the proposed Slate River Development just north of the town of Crested Butte, they are looking favorably at the development. They also are strongly advocating for an entrance to the residential section through town on Eighth Street.
The 44-acre hybrid development proposed by Cypress Foothills LP would add 23 residential home sites to the 30 acres located on the east side of the Slate River that bisects the property. That would remain in the county. The west side would be annexed to the town of Crested Butte. That acreage could include six residential lots along with public uses that may include affordable housing, parks, a school site, a potential site for a new firehouse, public river access, open space and trails. The old Crested Butte landfill is buried beneath a portion of the property and Cypress has said it would clean up part of the old dump as part of the development.
Planning commissioners toured the parcel on Friday, July 15 and then conducted a public hearing.
Gunnison County commissioner Phil Chamberland said he had read some of the comments submitted in writing and agreed that issues that needed to be addressed included topics such as viewsheds and wildlife impacts.
Planning commissioner John Messner added water augmentation to the issues list that is currently being proposed through wells and an augmentation pond on the property.
Assistant director of Community Development Neal Starkebaum said the applicants had been communicating with the developers of the nearby Foxtrot subdivision north of the Cypress property about coordinating with a possible sewer hook-up to the town of Crested Butte in the future.
Planning Commission chairman Kent Fulton said one of his most immediate concerns was the location of road access off Highway 135. “At night, vehicles entering the highway would have their headlights shining into an existing home,” he noted. “You may want to move that entrance closer to town.”
Adam Schichtel owns the home in question and said he appreciated the comment on the access point. “It is more appropriate that the access to the subdivision is through town,” he said.
Schichtel read a letter with several concerns including loss of wildlife habitat and travel routes, the potential of water degradation on his property, the loss of open space, further congestion at the north end of the valley, the negative impact on quality of life for current residents, a concern for impacts from things like adding more pesticides and fertilizer to the area, contamination of ground and surface water if the old dump is disturbed and a lot of additional traffic.
Schichtel said that in his view there was already too much development in the north end of the valley and the county should consider the carrying capacity before approving any new development at all. He said perhaps a more modest development on the east side should be considered and the west side of the property could be protected by a local organization such as the Crested Butte Land Trust.
Crested Butte resident Sue Navy reiterated concern over the elk herd that migrates through the area and wanted to ensure proper setbacks from wetlands. She suggested that during spring and fall migration periods, limits on construction times could be implemented.
Cypress attorney Marcus Lock responded to the concerns. He said this proposal was far less dense than recent proposals that have been made for the property. “Approximately 50 percent of the property would be open space,” he said. “And having 23 lots on 30 acres is much less dense than the previous proposal that called for more than 150 units. As for the west side, aside from the six lots we have, the town will go through its own approval process and I would urge anyone to take that up with the town.
“As for the traffic and access point from the highway, we will work with the county Public Works department and town to come up with the best traffic flow possible,” Lock continued. “Whether Eighth Street gets built, that will be up to the town. Wildlife issues are a significant concern and we have met with representatives of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and it was a productive meeting. We understand this development will have an impact on wildlife but we want to do our part to minimize the impacts on wildlife.”
Fulton said the Planning Commission was very close to where they needed to be for a formal recommendation on the project and asked the staff to begin drafting one.
County commissioners Jonathan Houck and Chamberland said they both appreciated the public access to the Slate River and overall felt the proposal was a good fit for the property.
The entire planning Commission made a point to advocate for an Eighth Street access to the property.
The public hearing was continued until Friday, August 5 when the Planning Commission will likely make a recommendation for the sketch plan phase of the approval process.
