Kudos to the Silverthorne Town Council for listening to the Planning Commission’s concerns and voting to reject the condominium interim site plan. It was clear from the Planning Commission's comments that many people were uncomfortable with the proposed 69-unit development, but they did not hear from town staff to discuss whether the project was good or bad for the town. have been well taught that it is not their place. Simply check whether your project meets or fails the applicable code. So, after all the concerns expressed, the preliminary site plan was reluctantly approved 6-0 by the Planning Commission and sent to Town Council. The real underlying question here is not whether the town needs 69 more ugly apartments or workforce housing for town employees, but rather whether the town needs 69 more ugly apartments or workforce housing for town employees, but rather if the planning commission The project should have rightfully been rejected by the Planning Commission, not the Town Council. .
The logic behind the limited scope of the Planning Commission's review of whether a project meets design district standards is that it takes a lot of time and money to move forward with a development plan, and what the rules are. If they can't guarantee that, developers won't care. If the requirements are met, the project will be approved. When developers are exposed to inconsistent and emotional decisions, the process becomes dysfunctional and prone to favoritism, leaving the small group of people who can't afford to lobby for approval the most disadvantaged. It will be.
On the contrary, the purpose of creating a planning commission is to think forward and shape current development in a way that will benefit the community five, 20, and 50 years from now. Reviewing submissions takes time and planning commissioners must have reasonable discretion to consider the broad merits or demerits of a proposed development. If the planning commission is relegated to a mere rubber-stamp job, eliminate the planning commission and streamline the development approval process, allowing city planners to check off and send applications directly to town council. Let's do it like that.
Personally, I support the idea of ​​having responsible residents consider development plans. Town officials do a competent job, but it's good to have checks and balances. Therefore, it is time for the Town Council to empower the Planning Commission and revise the scope of project review.
A few weeks ago, I cleaned up a number of old files dating back to my time on the Silverthorne City Council. We have spent a lot of time and resources expanding the recreational trails along the Blue River. The challenge has always been how to make the river the center of the community, when access in many places is difficult or unintuitive. The town-owned parcel on the east side of Highway 9 at Annie Road will have access to the river, with parking for fishermen and people with mobility issues, whether in condominiums or in the workforce. is needed. It's a plan that will benefit the community for generations.
We also reconsidered the downtown design concept. The conceptual architectural renderings had a timeless and enduring quality and conveyed an innate sense of place. When the town built the Silco Theater, I was concerned that developers would take the building as a cue for future downtown design. Unfortunately, my fears have come true. The apartment complexes that erupted along the Blue River will be woefully outdated in a few years, and so will downtown. Perhaps it's too late to pivot to a more venerable architecture. Fifty years ago, the city of Dillon made the mistake of proliferating modern condominiums all over town, which were then located in the mountains. Since then, condominiums have had difficulty creating their own physical identity. Ironically, Dillon's Town Council is still struggling with the same dilemma 50 years later.
To all of you sitting in the big chairs at the front of the room, be humble and think about what your decisions today will mean 50 to 75 years from now. All these ugly condos will never be redeveloped until they are condemned. No one remembers who approved the various developments. Future residents will only know whether past planners had a lasting vision for the future and the foresight to make the right strategic decisions.
Bruce Butler's column, “Common Sense Conversations,” appears every other Tuesday in the Summit Daily News. Butler is a former mayor and city councilman of Silverthorne, where he has lived for 20 years. Please contact us at butlerincolorado@gmail.com.
