Letter: The importance of scale

There has been a great deal of debate regarding the possible new hotel in Basalt. Arguments pro and con have focused on the need for more business versus the value of open space next to the river.

Absent from this discussion seems to be a focus on scale. Basalt is fundamentally a one- and two-story Town Hall, and main street is primarily one- and two-story buildings.

A four-story hotel and condo complex above an underground parking garage is a completely different scale and incompatible with the character of Basalt. Aspen has been through the conflict many times with lots of dissatisfaction, from the St. Regis to the Aspen Art Museum.

Hopefully, Basalt will focus on the issue of scale along with other concerns. Out-of-scale can equate with out-of-character and forever change the town.

John McBride

Snowmass