Snowmass doesn’t need Base Village

Dear Editor:

Living as a resident in Snowmass for 15 years, I know the area very well.

This new Base Village proposal is not right.

Snowmass has been building tourist attractions since I was a 1-year-old. Currently I am 15 years of age, and the Snowmass Town Council, as well as the Aspen Skiing Company, is proposing to build an unreasonable number of new “tourist attractions.”

This plan includes 641,371 square feet of net residential space. That does not even include other residential space such as hallways, garages and other public spaces. The residential space would have 349 condos, 264 hotel units and 10 townhomes. The plan would also include 63,927 feet of commercial space. Most of this project would be lined up the base of Fanny Hill.

Locals have brought down the original proposal from 706,271 residential and 94,074 square feet of commercial space. This being that the council, and people of Snowmass, are still fighting to bring this plan to reality.

Snowmass has been building residential and commercial spaces for 15 years, and doesn’t need one more square foot of new space.

As reporter Steve Benson wrote, “an initiative does not kill Base Village; it gives the developer an opportunity to respond to an input, an incentive to downsize the project and avoids a future vote.”

Sure this new proposal would be good for tourists and locals. Do we really need all of this new unnecessary space? If this plan succeeds, it will take 10 years to be fully completed. Do I want construction going in my town for the next 10 years? No.

The people of Aspen and Snowmass will decide in the next year if this plan will be successful. Hopefully it won’t.

If you are really intrigued about this topic, you can write a letter of your opinion to the Snowmass Town Council.

Mark Kelly

Colorado Rocky Mountain School