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Basalt is acting a lot like its old self these days, ushering large development proposals through the approval process with little consideration of citizen participation or long-term implications.
Last week, the Basalt Town Council rejected a request from residents that the town's master planning process be applied to the Meyer ranch property, which lies at the center of a proposal to add 24 fractional-ownership cabins and nine holes to the golf course at the Roaring Fork Club. The Town Council and planning commission decided that a nine-month delay in the approval was too much to ask of developer Jim Light.
It's beginning to look like some of the town leaders are marching in lockstep with the developers themselves. Planning and zoning Chairman Joe Zuena estimated 90 to 95 percent of residents "are obviously in favor of" the Roaring Fork Club application, because they haven't attended hearings on the plan, which proposes to increase the size of the club by 50 percent and allow development of 46 private residences.
Mayor Leroy Duroux said he didn't think the master planning process would change the use of the land in question. He also speculated that residents would allow a more intensive use of the property once they had put it through the master planning process.
Just how does the mayor know what will and will not change after a healthy dose of citizen participation? And should he really be suggesting such things for a property that's presently in the land-use approval process?
And in spite of support from key public officials, developer Light apparently can't tolerate a little dissent. Doubt that?
Look no further than Light's decision to call the top brass at the Aspen Skiing Co. - CEO Pat O'Donnell and Senior Vice President Dave Bellack - after Auden Schendler, a Skico employee and Basalt resident, urged the Basalt Town Council to move cautiously with the application.
Hurrying applications through the process, circumventing good planning practices, discounting the input of residents who question the proposal - it's reminiscent of the 1990s, when a series of large developments and annexations turned Basalt from a compact small town into a sprawling midvalley suburb.
If anything, that history should be guiding the Town Council toward more citizen involvement and responsible planning. Unfortunately, council members missed an opportunity with the Meyer ranch to ensure Light's proposal fits with the citizenry's vision for Basalt.
We hope this doesn't make it harder for the town and its residents to influence development on other large ranches at the town's edge.
Last week, the Basalt Town Council rejected a request from residents that the town's master planning process be applied to the Meyer ranch property, which lies at the center of a proposal to add 24 fractional-ownership cabins and nine holes to the golf course at the Roaring Fork Club. The Town Council and planning commission decided that a nine-month delay in the approval was too much to ask of developer Jim Light.
It's beginning to look like some of the town leaders are marching in lockstep with the developers themselves. Planning and zoning Chairman Joe Zuena estimated 90 to 95 percent of residents "are obviously in favor of" the Roaring Fork Club application, because they haven't attended hearings on the plan, which proposes to increase the size of the club by 50 percent and allow development of 46 private residences.
Mayor Leroy Duroux said he didn't think the master planning process would change the use of the land in question. He also speculated that residents would allow a more intensive use of the property once they had put it through the master planning process.
Just how does the mayor know what will and will not change after a healthy dose of citizen participation? And should he really be suggesting such things for a property that's presently in the land-use approval process?
And in spite of support from key public officials, developer Light apparently can't tolerate a little dissent. Doubt that?
Look no further than Light's decision to call the top brass at the Aspen Skiing Co. - CEO Pat O'Donnell and Senior Vice President Dave Bellack - after Auden Schendler, a Skico employee and Basalt resident, urged the Basalt Town Council to move cautiously with the application.
Hurrying applications through the process, circumventing good planning practices, discounting the input of residents who question the proposal - it's reminiscent of the 1990s, when a series of large developments and annexations turned Basalt from a compact small town into a sprawling midvalley suburb.
If anything, that history should be guiding the Town Council toward more citizen involvement and responsible planning. Unfortunately, council members missed an opportunity with the Meyer ranch to ensure Light's proposal fits with the citizenry's vision for Basalt.
We hope this doesn't make it harder for the town and its residents to influence development on other large ranches at the town's edge.
