The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Town council review once conditions are met
[ By Kendra Walker ]
Last week, the Village at Mt. Crested Butte (previously known as North Village) moved one step further in the planned unit development (PUD) proposal process. In a 5-2 vote, the Mt. Crested Butte planning commission has recommended approval of the preliminary plan once their list of conditions are met, and it will go before the town council for consideration.
As previously reported by the Crested Butte News, the Village at Mt. Crested Butte proposal includes a new Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL) campus, a new visitor center, a year-round multimodal trail system, and new civic sites with potential for town facilities, a potential boutique hotel, residential and mixed-use development.
The project proposes 40 dormitory bedrooms, up to 100 accommodation units, 342 residential units, and up to 134,000 Gross Floor Area of commercial use. The dormitory units are the equivalent of 17 community housing units and the town council would need to approve the provision of dormitory units in lieu of the 17 community housing units required by the Annexation Agreement. If the accommodation units were not constructed, a total of 382 units would be permitted.
Town staff identified 20 conditions that the applicant, North Village Associates, must meet before going to the council.
Planning commission members Lisa Lenander and Nancy Grindlay opposed the recommendation to council, due to concerns about the amount of allotted commercial space.
“Based on the description of the project we’re making a new downtown in the Village,” said Grindlay. “I’m not sure that’s what the community wants,” she said, referring to the recent Master Plan community survey that prioritized revitalizing the current base area.
“The whole idea is to get people to come and stay in Mt. Crested Butte and that is not happening right now,” said lead planner Heather Henry. “And that is what is killing your base area. We’re doing everything to make sure we’re set up for the future that I think you guys are looking to create.”
“I’m still concerned about the amount of commercial that’s being proposed,” said Grindlay. “You’ve reduced the housing by 40% but maintained the same amount of commercial in the original plan.”
“The square footage is not required, it’s allowed,” noted council member Dusty Demerson.
“We’re seasonal, we’re always going to be seasonal,” said Lenander. “One coffee shop is all you need down there, and a few restaurants.” She also expressed concern that natural gas was not included in the application, and the planning commission included a condition recommending that the town council considers requiring gas utilities.
Once the applicant meets the conditions, the preliminary plan review will go before the town council for consideration of approval.
