The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Council still has questions about public access, Water and San, home sizes
By Kendra Walker
The town of Mt. Crested Butte continues to review plans for a new subdivision development located at Upper Prospect. During their January 7 meeting, the town council held a public hearing for the Upper Prospect major alteration final planned unit development (PUD) plan, and after several hours hearing from the applicant, back and forth questions and discussion running until 11 p.m., the council in a split vote decided to continue the public hearing to the next meeting on January 21.
The proposed plan by developer GCM Squared LLC creates 52 single-family lots over approximately 42 acres of unplatted land within the Prospect subdivision in north Mt. Crested Butte. The land is located where Prospect Drive ends and becomes a dirt road, leading up to the Umbrella Bar at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR). The application proposes single-family homes, accessory structures, open space and recreational uses in Development Area E, and allows single-family homes, accessory structures, accessory parking, pump house and recreational uses in Development Area F. Development Areas E and F were never subdivided but previously entitled under the Prospect PUD, which expired in 2018.
Community housing obligations were also met with previous dedications and because the current plan does not propose a significant change in density based on those, there are no additional community housing units required to Development Areas E and F. There may be additional units required should Development Areas B and G be developed in the future.
The council approved the preliminary plan for the Upper Prospect subdivision last May, and according to the town’s planning consultant TJ Dlubac, the final plan is not substantially different from what was previously approved. The Mt. Crested Butte planning commission recommended approval of the final plan on December 18, along with a list of conditions.
Application representatives said that the land has been approved for a PUD for well over 20 years, and the location is primed and ready with utilities leading up to the site. They also said they agree with the conditions of approval from town staff and the planning commission.
Prospect attorney Carolynne White noted that the plan is designed to avoid natural hazards and be harmonious with all the existing land uses nearby. “It fulfills the goals of the town’s Master Plan: responsible growth and continuing the town’s role as a world class resort community,” she said.
Sotheby’s realtor Michelle Rampelt, who is involved with the project, was the only person to comment during public comment. “Homes are in incredibly short supply, for every group that is part of the community,” she said, noting working locals, visitors and second homeowners. She also pointed out that the property sits alongside an area that’s already been impacted for chairlifts, resort amenities and housing. “It’s a peninsula sitting inside the resort. There is infrastructure that runs to it and in it,” she said.
Trail access
Because the property sits adjacent to a CBMR ski easement, the plan will also require the potential relocation of current CBMR summer trails. The applicant said they are coordinating with CBMR about relocating and improving those trails. The PUD also includes public access trails among the homesites that lead into the resort.
One of the conditions for approval asks the applicant to ensure that the onsite trail access points located within the PUD boundaries provide functional connections to the offsite CBMR trail system as it exists or will exist on adjacent property. “To that end, (applicant) shall use its best efforts to secure agreement on the ski operations easement specifying the location and responsibility for construction of such adjacent and connecting trails.”
Council members expressed concern that the new trails wouldn’t get built, and that the new homes would prevent the public from accessing the mountain.
“There’s no guarantee those trails will be there in five years,” said council member Steve Morris.
“There’s nothing that the developer or the town could do to ensure there will be trails offsite within the Vail easement. The rights Vail has in the ski easement is potential to put in trails, but not the obligation to put in trails,” said White. “What we did commit to doing is to work with Vail and seek their agreement and see that they agree to the trail relocation to our access points. There have been some preliminary conversations with them and they are open to what we want them to do.”
“I have so much respect for how much faith you have in Vail,” said Morris.
“What I see here is public access points for the people who live there with no way for the general public to access it,” said council member Roman Kolodziej. “I’m trying to prevent 52 wealthy homeowners having exclusive access to this area.”
“I don’t think it’s accurate,” said Prospect attorney Aaron Huckstep. “Upper Prospect is a public road. People will be able to access those points.”
Council member Valeda Scribner asked if the applicant had considered public parking spaces for accessing the mountain, to replace where people currently park where Prospect becomes a dirt road.
Huckstep said they had not, but anticipated public parking will shift further up Prospect onto one of the cul-de-sacs created by the plan. “We understand there is space that has been used and assume it will shift,” he said.
“Are you claiming you have no ability to ensure the public can access those points in the future?” asked Kolodziej.
“You will not see public parking spaces on the application. There are no platted or approved parking spaces on that land. You all know that does not mean that public parking will not exist,” said Huckstep.
“I don’t think that space was intended to be a public parking,” town manager Carlos Velado explained to the council. “They are parking illegally as they are today.”
“You think somehow the public has an easement or right to park on private property?” White asked the council.
“We’re trying to ensure the public has a way of utilizing the area as it’s been utilizing it for 20 years,” said Kolodziej. “I don’t trust that we’re just going to say it’s going to work out.”
“Would you consider adding a number of public parking spaces to your property to ensure public access through your easements?” Scribner asked, noting there are currently four to five spaces there.
“I can’t answer that right now,” said Huckstep. “If we expand the property to incorporate four spaces, it’s not as easy as snapping our fingers and saying we can add four spaces. If we wanted to create legal parking spaces, we’d have to amend the application.” Where people are parking today is on the road right of way.” He also pointed out that the town would have to continue to agree to refrain from enforcing parking regulations.
“Any assurance you can give us that will enable that and support parking there would definitely be appreciated,” Scribner continued to press. “I feel like there’s some finger pointing here and it would really help us if you could take responsibility for the ask and say, yes, this is something that we will ensure and support because we are all being supported by being granted the ability to develop on this land and so we will ensure that community members can continue to access the mountain through these byways and with the infrastructure to do so with parking.”
“Some of this confusion is because the original PUD applicant was also the ski area operator at the time, and that’s why you have some of these trails, parking areas, etc.” noted Velado.
Water and San
Another condition for approval of the final plan is that the town will not issue any construction, excavation, land disturbance or building permits for the project until the developer obtains written approval from the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District of the developer’s final engineer stamped and construction-ready water and wastewater utility plans.
As previously reported in the Crested Butte News, the Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District has raised concerns that its main sewer line for the town is nearing maximum capacity at certain times of the year and might not be able to handle a major increase in wastewater flows. The district has asked that no building permits be issued for major developments coming down the pipeline until it has rectified the capacity issue.
The applicant assured they would pay their share to help with the line improvements, but also noted that the size of Upper Prospect is much smaller and less impactful than other major developments in the pipeline in Mt. Crested Butte. “Moving our project forward won’t impact any of the improvements needed to be made to the line. It should really be a non-issue to the town or the water district,” said GCM Squared developer Justin Biggs.
“What’s the point of us approving when I feel like the real constriction is the ability of Water and San to handle this additional flow?” asked Scribner. “Are they waiting on us to approve this final PUD or we will not approve this until we hear from Water and Sanitation? Why are we approving if it can all just be thrown out the window?”
“From the development process standpoint, I don’t think staff has any concern with this condition,” said Dluvac.
“I think we should make our decisions and not hold out on another governing body,” said council member Alec Lindeman.
“I hope you’re not going to wait to get some response from the district to wait on approving this application,” said Huckstep. “Your planning commission has reviewed and recommended approval, your staff has recommended approval. We know we have some hurdles to go through afterwards.”
Home sizes
In the PUD, three lots have a maximum of 9,000 square feet and six are for a maximum of 10,000 square feet. Some council members expressed concern about how the larger home maximums go against the town’s values, master plan and climate action plan. In 2022, the town reduced its maximum square footage for single family residences to 8,500 square feet, or 25% of the lot area, whichever is less. However, the Prospect PUD application was already under town review.
“The original PUD allowed for 10,000-square-foot homes,” said Huckstep. “That is not allowed throughout the entirety of the 52 lots. The density changes depending on the lot size itself…on an overall basis we think this is rational and reasonable. This application has been pending in front of the town for multiple years. Why is it that in two years no one has mentioned this issue? We’re at final plan.”
“You’re not willing to match our current guidelines?” said Kolodziej.
“I can’t answer that right now,” said Huckstep.
“This is a very big product that we’re looking at,” said Kolodziej. “You have all done a lot of work to get us here, so has the town. I’ve tried to digest as much of this as I can and ask the questions I have. I don’t know if I have capacity to move to our deliberation effectively,” he said, as the meeting neared 11 p.m. “In an effort to give this process the mental bandwidth it deserves I would move to continue this conversation to the next meeting.”
“I am comfortable moving forward and doing this first reading with current conditions,” said Morris. “I do have some concerns as well, but hearing the applicant and the team I don’t think some of these are their responsibility.”
The council voted 4-3 to continue the discussion and public hearing to their January 21 meeting, with Morris, mayor Nicholas Kempin and council member Bobbie Sferra voting against the motion.
