A mild winter followed by an early spring in Colorado’s mountains means the herd of slow-moving construction vehicles already are rumbling around the highways, as crews take advantage of the typically short outdoor work season.
The rebounding economy, along with once-again rising real-estate prices, means that developers throughout the resort areas are back in business — and some are up to old tricks.
In Summit County, for example, developers of two proposed housing projects dissatisfied with long-standing zoning density are pressuring town councils to give them more, despite efforts of the county to limit sprawl.
In Blue River, a modest collection of weekend cabins and homes in the woods adjacent to built-out Breckenridge, a developer is seeking to avoid county density limitations first by a rushed annexation into the town and now by asking to nearly triple the size of a proposed project, from 23 residences to 68.
Meanwhile, the owner of a ranch north of Silverthorne similarly is trying to increase the number of single-family houses allowed on the property, from 83 to 240, much to the consternation of local residents.
In both cases, the proposals are opposed by county planners, who have tried to taper development on the edges of existing communities to limit sprawl.
Similar dramas over large-scale developments are being played out in numerous Colorado resort towns and throughout the West.
The once-troubled Yellowstone Club, a private ski resort and ultra-upscale housing development in Montana, has sold nearly $1 billion in real estate in the last two years; Red McCombs finally appears to have the approvals in place for his proposed, controversial 1,711-unit Village at Wolf Creek; and The New York Times recently touted a new condo project in Snowmass Village with prices starting at $2 million for whole ownership.
Undoubtedly, the developers will give the streets and neighborhoods prosaic names like Elk Dropping, Coyote Den and the redundant Vista View, after the natural world that they displace.
It’s hard to say what’s worse: that the developers have the gall to insist on changing the rules because they didn’t like them anymore, or that, inexplicably, the towns are likely to grant at least some of what they’re seeking with little to gain in return.
While the sound of hammers and saws are good for the local economy in the short term, new development in the long run has a far greater, permanent and largely negative impact beyond just chewing up old ranch land and contributing to suburban-style sprawl.
It contributes to traffic congestion. It strains existing infrastructure. It drives greater demand for public services such as snow plowing, police patrols and emergency services. And it pushes the working class — the low-wage housekeepers and landscapers and police and teachers — further away to “affordable” housing down valley, where long commutes in essence add a full workday to their week.
The overreach of developers, however, is being met with pushback from locals, however ineffective.
In Silverthorne, dozens of residents crowded the town council chambers recently to object to the proposal for more houses north of town, forcing the elected officials to table the decision for 60 days.
In Blue River, a petition is being circulated to overrule the town council and place on the ballot the decision on whether to change the zoning to allow more homes.
Looking at the issue more generally than any one particular proposal, residents in Aspen have proposed a ballot measure that would prevent future town councils from granting variances to those who want to construct bigger-than-allowed buildings. In an effort to stave off the voter-imposed restrictions, the town council just passed its own ordinance allowing only small exemptions to height and square footage limits.
It was without any apparent irony that a Silverthorne Town Council member — who voted in favor of the development there — said: “Now you know how the Indians felt when they saw growth.”
Steve Lipsher (slipsher@comcast.net) of Silverthorne writes a monthly column for The Denver Post.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
