July 15, 2021 |
A four-hour public meeting discussing plans for a residential and ski-area catering to the super-rich ended on Monday with county zoning and planning board tabling the decision.
Passions ran high at times as Encampment residents pushed back against a proposal by Brush Creek Ranch to develop a 620 acre parcel on Green Mountain into a residential area with 16 lots of 35 acres or more. The area is zoned residential with 285 lots. Brush Creek Ranch is seeking a zone change to a Planned Unit Development, or P.U.D.
The development would be located above Encampment, about four miles south of Highway 70 off U.S. Forest Road 550. Carbon County Planning Director Sarah Brugger said the application under consideration has two layers — recreational and residential.
The recreational component involves mountain top infrastructure for exclusive, high-dollar getaways aimed at well-to-do tourists willing to pay for catered outdoor experiences.
The residential component involves dividing the 620 acre parcel into 16, 35-acre or larger parcels on Green Mountain.
A series of representatives from Brush Creek Ranch talked about the long term vision of an open-ended plan in which some or all of what they proposed would be built over 25 to 50 years.
Consultants talked about their sensitivities to the landscape and the desire to preserve and improve on the pristine setting for the experience of their guests. Hydrogeologist, Ben Jordan with Western Engineers, spoke about the importance of protecting the watershed and the quality of the water to Encampment.
Jordan said he ran a series of tests and calculations, including worst case scenarios where every septic system on the proposed P.U.D. failed, and he concluded that Enampment residents did not have to worry about negative impacts in Willow Creek or the Encampment River. Residents were not comforted by much of what the ranch representatives said.
Nancy Anderson spoke in general terms about the social character and quality of life threatened by the kind of change the exclusive ski area poses.
One by one, speakers came to the microphone, many addressing specifics in the application packet. Encampment resident Bob Herring noted that the owners have no plans to run electrical power lines to the Green Mountain site. That means generators, lots of them. Herring said fuel leaks or spills could contaminate groundwater or Willow Creek.
Referring to the application packet, Herring said many as 40 generators would be needed for the buildings, ski lifts and other infrastructure.
Encampment Mayor Greg Salisbury said he supported the concerns raised by the residents of the community because the Green Mountain project poses serious implications. Mayor Salisbury said the hydrologist hired by Brush Creek Ranch minimized low water years on the Encampment.
The mayor of neighboring Riverside, Leroy Stephens, said Brush Creek Ranch was taking shortcuts, especially on the way it proposes to handle septic. Stephens said Green Mountain would take in money from rich adventure seekers while passing the burden of handling septic waste onto nearby towns. The Riverside mayor said Brush Creek Ranch needs to install a sewer system, including a lagoon and way to treat the outflow.
Questions about the informational material Brush Creek Ranch included in its application packet were also raised. For instance, maps of the area are from 2001. Outdated and designed to misinform, one resident said.
Meanwhile, the local conservation district provided new information and questions just prior to the meeting. Overwhelmed by the turnout and the pointed feedback from residents,the planning and zoning commission decided to take two weeks and digest what they heard, as well as the new information from the conservation district. Another public hearing on the Green Mountain P.U.D. is schedule for July 26th. More public comment will taken at that time.
Pictured above: File photo of Green Mountain. Photo courtesy of Brush Creek Ranch.
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