City isn’t powerless on Lift One mess

A $76 million land deal does not get done quickly. Jeff Gorsuch now disavows ever promising to build a lodge on the Lift 1A site. Putting both together a reasonable conclusion is that the Gorsuch group was possibly acting as a shill for a rich Russian even before the ink dried on contract with Aspen Skiing Co. to buy the parcel.

Irrespective of how this sorry mess evolves, at least the city is not powerless and should flex its muscles. If the newest Russian in town decides to back away from the approved project and not build a hotel, the city has the means to ensure that no monster single-family house is built on the site. We do not need Gorsuch Dacha on Aspen mountain.

Neil Siegel

Aspen