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CARBONDALE, Colorado — Carbondale trustees get their first look tonight at plans to turn a hay field along Highway 133, also the site of a controversial former big-box proposal, into a mixed-use commercial and residential development.
Now called the Village at Crystal River Planned Unit Development (PUD), the plan by Denver developer Rich Schierburg calls for a total of 125,000 square feet of new commercial, including a 60,000-square-foot space intended for a grocery store.
Under an amended PUD plan approved 5-2 by the Carbondale Planning and Zoning Commission in December, the proposal also includes about 16,000 square feet of office space and 268 multi-family residential units, including townhouses, condominiums, apartments and employee housing.
The town board has scheduled two consecutive regular meeting agenda times to consider the proposal, the first one during tonight's regular meeting. Tonight's public hearing is tentatively scheduled to open at 7:20 p.m. and last for roughly two hours.
The Village at Crystal River plan is scheduled back again on the Feb. 23 meeting agenda.
“The purpose of these meetings is to allow the developer the opportunity to present in detail its request for amending the zone district …for a mixed use development plan, and present its mitigation solutions for impacts,” according to a staff report for tonight's meeting.
The 24-acre development site is located on the west side of Highway 133 and north of Main Street. The site is where the controversial Crystal River Marketplace big box development plan initially gained the town council's approval in 2003.
The former plan called for an overall 230,000-square-foot commercial development with a 125,000-square-foot anchor space intended for a “big box” retailer. The plan was shot down in a public referendum election in July 2003.
One concern has been the amount of residential density for the center portion of the property, referred to as the “flex zone.” Schierburg had initially asked for up to 300 residential units, but P&Z recommended that number be whittled down to 268 in favor of more open space.
The latest plan also calls for roundabouts at two entrances along Highway 133, Industry Place and Nieslanik Road, rather than signalized intersections.
Just prior to the P&Z vote, Schierburg penned a letter to the town expressing his concern that the project review, which grew out of a mediated preapplication planning process in the aftermath of the Marketplace controversy, may again get bogged down in politics.
Specifically, he wrote: “I am concerned about the possibility that the project may not receive approval until after the current Board of Trustees term ends.”
The Carbondale mayor's seat, for which Mayor Michael Hassig cannot run again due to term limits, as well as three trustee seats, are up for election at the April 6 municipal election.
jstroud@postindependent.com
Now called the Village at Crystal River Planned Unit Development (PUD), the plan by Denver developer Rich Schierburg calls for a total of 125,000 square feet of new commercial, including a 60,000-square-foot space intended for a grocery store.
Under an amended PUD plan approved 5-2 by the Carbondale Planning and Zoning Commission in December, the proposal also includes about 16,000 square feet of office space and 268 multi-family residential units, including townhouses, condominiums, apartments and employee housing.
The town board has scheduled two consecutive regular meeting agenda times to consider the proposal, the first one during tonight's regular meeting. Tonight's public hearing is tentatively scheduled to open at 7:20 p.m. and last for roughly two hours.
The Village at Crystal River plan is scheduled back again on the Feb. 23 meeting agenda.
“The purpose of these meetings is to allow the developer the opportunity to present in detail its request for amending the zone district …for a mixed use development plan, and present its mitigation solutions for impacts,” according to a staff report for tonight's meeting.
The 24-acre development site is located on the west side of Highway 133 and north of Main Street. The site is where the controversial Crystal River Marketplace big box development plan initially gained the town council's approval in 2003.
The former plan called for an overall 230,000-square-foot commercial development with a 125,000-square-foot anchor space intended for a “big box” retailer. The plan was shot down in a public referendum election in July 2003.
One concern has been the amount of residential density for the center portion of the property, referred to as the “flex zone.” Schierburg had initially asked for up to 300 residential units, but P&Z recommended that number be whittled down to 268 in favor of more open space.
The latest plan also calls for roundabouts at two entrances along Highway 133, Industry Place and Nieslanik Road, rather than signalized intersections.
Just prior to the P&Z vote, Schierburg penned a letter to the town expressing his concern that the project review, which grew out of a mediated preapplication planning process in the aftermath of the Marketplace controversy, may again get bogged down in politics.
Specifically, he wrote: “I am concerned about the possibility that the project may not receive approval until after the current Board of Trustees term ends.”
The Carbondale mayor's seat, for which Mayor Michael Hassig cannot run again due to term limits, as well as three trustee seats, are up for election at the April 6 municipal election.
jstroud@postindependent.com
