Discussions continue with Mt. CB Upper Prospect development

Sewer capacity in Mt. CB still a wrench in new development

By Mark Reaman

Given the length of their May 7 council meeting, Mt. Crested Butte town council members delayed taking any action on the proposed Upper Prospect subdivision major alteration preliminary subdivision and preliminary PUD (planned unit development) plan. Council did hear details from both town staff and the developer, GCM2, for the preliminary plan for the 42-acre, 52-lot single family PUD that had lapsed. 

They heard that the planning commission had recommended approval of the proposed preliminary plan although that board recommended a house size limit of the lesser of 25% of the lot area or 8,500 square feet per house in circumstances when two adjoining lots were combined for a building parcel. While some of the lots are only big enough to handle a 5,000 square foot home, by combining two lots, the planning commission wanted to top out the house size at 8,500 square feet.

Council wanted more detail about traffic studies given the recent approval of the Village at Mt. Crested Butte that would also add density in the same northern part of the town. 

Sewer capacity remains a major issue in Mt. CB

Council raised questions and concerns about the capacity of the sewer lines in that part of town, but no representative from the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District were at the meeting. During the Village at Mt. Crested Butte review process, the Water and Sanitation district’s consultant raised the red flag that the main sewer line running the length of town is already near maximum capacity at certain times of the year and might not be able to handle a major increase in wastewater flows.

GCM2 attorney Aaron Huckstep said it was his impression that the district was asking for a similar restriction for Upper Prospect from the town as what was placed on the Village development in that no building permits should be issued until the district rectified the capacity issue.

Town manager Carlos Velado told the council that no solution has yet been worked out with the district and he could not speak for the district.

In a brief letter to the council concerning the Upper Prospect development, Mt. CB Water and Sanitation district manager Mike Fabbre reiterated that the district’s engineering consultant, HDR, believes “there is little to no remaining capacity (in the main sanitary sewer interceptor) to support additional development. Accordingly, HDR concluded that the interceptor will have to be replaced to increase its capacity to support additional development. The District intends for development to pay for itself. Accordingly, any new development, including this proposed major alteration to the Upper Prospect development must participate proportionately in the cost of design and construction of the interceptor line expansion and improvements… the District reserves all of its rights to prohibit a new development from tapping into the District’s water and wastewater systems until the construction of the interceptor line expansion and improvements have been completed.”

There was lengthy discussion over the size of houses. The proposed preliminary plan proposes maximum house sizes ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, depending upon the lot size. The planning commission wanted to thwart extremely large structures that could be allowed when two or more lots are legally combined.

Council members said there was a lot of information for them to digest so they agreed to continue the public hearing to the May 21 council meeting.