Snowmass environmental board finalizes sustainability recommendations

Snowmass’ Environmental Advisory Board approved a series of emission reduction and sustainability recommendations on Tuesday that they will present to town council later this spring. 

The final draft focuses on seven key items, ordered in terms of priority: fire, building electrification, water, compost, construction and demolition, a sustainable transloading facility, and a sustainability coordinator position.

“I think this is really important stuff, you guys have done a great job, and this is exactly the kind of support council needs,” said Tom Fridstein, Snowmass Town Council liaison for the board. “I think it’s going to be really impactful.”

After review this spring, the town will decide if and how to act on the recommendations. 

Fire

The board recommended the town improve fire-defensible areas around structures through implementation of a four-phase approach in the next three to five years.

It asked that the town begin with a “pilot” phase where Snowmass would work with local fire mitigation and rescue organizations to increase public messaging around wildfire readiness. 

“Incentives” would be the second phase, where the town would offer financial incentives for wildfire readiness improvements to private structures and landscapes. 

“Code changes” would come as the third phase, altering local codes around wildfire readiness; the fourth phase, “applications,” would follow, where the town would determine how to enforce the new codes.

Building electrification

The board recommended the town increase funding by 20% to support building electrification annually for the next five years, giving building owners opportunity for “rebates, grants, and technical advising through the Community Office of Resource Efficiency (CORE) building performance hub” and other advising and outreach programs. Natural gas use in existing buildings accounts for 74% of greenhouse gas emissions in Snowmass, according to the board. 

“Reducing emissions in the existing building stock is imperative to meet the Town’s climate goals,” the letter states.

Water

The board recommended the town evaluate all of its irrigated spaces “for irrigation efficiency” within two years. Irrigation systems should also be upgraded to maximize efficiency, if not yet in place. 

“This should include weather-based controllers, rain sensors, and high-efficiency heads,” the letter states.

The board noted that further research must be done on ecological benefits of natural waterways, and recommended the town analyze stormwater systems.

Compost

The board recommended that the town require on-mountain restaurants to have clearly marked composting programs for its compostable materials, as “they do not have enough compostable bins to make it obvious as to where to trash your items.” It also recommended on-mountain dining be required to maximize its use of reusable tableware.

Additionally, the board advised that the town begin a program to understand “any operational hurdles to disposing of compostable materials.”

Construction and demolition

The board recommended that the town work with Pitkin County to track five construction jobs for waste management, with a goal of passing a Snowmass ordinance in 2026 or 2027 that would reduce construction waste and increase diversion.

Sustainable transloading facility

The board advised the town to pursue “last-mile delivery solutions,” reducing the amount of delivery trucks entering and exiting Snowmass. It suggested Snowmass works with a third party company to consolidate delivered goods in fewer trips and transport deliverables in energy efficient vehicles from an out-of-town facility. 

Sustainability coordinator position

The board advised the town to hire a position focused entirely on its listed sustainability items and more.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.