The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
No interest in mega penthouses
By Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Town Council has asked the town staff to prepare an ordinance that would address the consolidation and vacation of condominiums and townhouses within the town.
This has been on the “To Do” list of the council for years and the staff brought a draft to the March 20 council meeting.
The rationale for the ordinance is that the council does not want to see people buying two or more condos and reconfiguring them into one luxury unit, thus reducing the number and affordability of free-market residential units in town.
“This is at the council’s request, so look over the draft and let us know if this is what you had in mind, especially the area of allowing an ‘out’ as part of the approval process that could occur if a deed-restricted unit is built to replace the loss of the free-market unit,” said Crested Butte building and zoning director Bob Gillie.
The staff had included a provision in the draft that would permit the council to approve condo or townhome consolidation if a like-sized free-market unit is created or acquired and subsequently deed-restricted for affordable housing. The council did not like that idea.
“I’m not crazy about that,” admitted councilman Chris Ladoulis. “It allows a condo complex in town to be irreparably changed. The original intent was to not allow mega penthouses in complexes even if the purchaser is kind enough to provide a deed-restricted unit in its place. We shouldn’t have mega penthouses in places with this sort of density.”
Mayor Glenn Michel said he agreed with Ladoulis.
“But people could buy two condos next to each other and put in a door or lock-out,” noted councilman Paul Merck.
“In theory they would have to adjust the condo plat,” said Gillie.
“The affordable housing component was added to allow a council in the future to make a decision based on unique situations,” said town attorney John Belkin.
“I’d rather constrict it tightly now and let a future council change the code in the future if the situation warrants,” said Michel.
“And they might if a purchaser offers to buy or build several deed-restricted units,” suggested councilman Jackson Petito.
“I’m with Glenn and Chris. If you allow someone to build an affordable housing unit you are still taking an affordable free-market unit off the market,” said councilman Roland Mason. “That is where the middle-class people in Crested Butte will be living.”
“This has been discussed for years by the council. It has been on the ‘To Do’ list for a long time so let’s move ahead without the affordable housing element,” suggested Michel.
Staff will take that section out of the proposed ordinance. The Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) will look over the proposal and make a recommendation to the council. The council set a public hearing on the ordinance for April 3.
