Snowmass has no plans yet for old dog-sledding property

Krabloonik Dog Sledding has almost entirely vacated the lot where it operated for nearly 50 years, two months after a settlement agreement with the town of Snowmass Village originally ordered it to vacate the property.

The restaurant and dog sledding operation was supposed to vacate the town-owned property by June 1, according to a 2023 settlement agreement. But after spending its last season working to rehome 150 sled dogs, Krabloonik needed extra time to remove its property from the lot. 

Owner Dan Phillips worked with the town to clear the site, after trash and personal property were strewn around the lot, according to email records between Phillips and Town Manager Clint Kinney maintained by the town.

Phillips hired a contractor to finish the trash removal, and the town spent $5,000 from its capital reserve fund to help complete the removal.

“I was up there yesterday, and they’re within inches of having (the clean-up) completed,” Kinney said. “I expect it to be completed in the near future, but they’ve made huge progress, and it looks to be in very good shape.”

After a long legal battle between Krabloonik and its landlord — the town — the two parties reached a settlement in July 2023 that allowed Krabloonik one last winter operating in Snowmass before being required to leave the property by June 1. 

Krabloonik has long caught the ire of animal activists for mistreatment of the more than 150 Alaskan huskies that run the operation. It first entered into a legal battle with Snowmass for violating the best practices portion of the lease concerning the treatment of dogs. The town began an eviction process before reaching a settlement with Krabloonik.

In November 2023, Snowmass Town Council discussed new land use plans for the Krabloonik land, including the potential development of affordable housing units on the 2.44 acres of land owned by the town. It also received a proposal in May from a Krabloonik kennel manager to re-establish a dog kennel on the property.

But Kinney said the town will not make any decisions on the land until Krabloonik is finally off the property.

“We don’t have a plan yet,” he said. “They’re finally just getting close to completing the clean-up. We’re going to have the buildings buttoned up in the next little bit, and we have not taken anything towards the next steps at all.”

Developing affordable housing would require changing the planned unit development (PUD) for the land. The current PUD allows only for restaurant or dog-sledding operations, or a single-family home, and changing the PUD would potentially require an arduous amendment process.

Any discussions to repurpose the land would need to include the Snowmass Divide Homeowners Association, which has maintained in several meetings with the town that it does not want the PUD amended.

Divide HOA Manager Deidre Boineau confirmed Wednesday that the HOA does not want the town to amend the PUD.