Planning group to mull permit for Stoner golf course

Planning group to mull permit for Stoner golf course

October 23, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

The former Stoner Ski Area could be transformed into a deluxe 18-hole golf course with lodging, fishing access and home sites under a proposal being reviewed by the Montezuma County Planning Commission.

On Thursday evening, the commission will consider a high-impact-permit request from Stoner Creek Partners, LLC, to develop the 400-acre site. The planning commission will make a recommendation on the project, and a public hearing will then be set before the Montezuma County commissioners.

Dubbed the Stoner Creek Preserve, the development proposal is the last of eight items on the agenda, which begins at 7 p.m., upstairs in the Montezuma County building. The public is welcome to attend.

The proposed site is in the Dolores River Valley, 15 miles north of Dolores off Colorado Highway 145. According to development applications, what was the Stoner Ski Lodge will become the golf clubhouse, restaurant and lodge; 10 guest cabins will be installed on a portion of the old ski hill, and eight three-acre home sites are reserved for the southeast portion of the property.

The 10 cabins would collectively offer up to 20 rooms, and the clubhouse, which now has 11 rooms, would eventually hold up to 20 lodge rooms, pending remodeling. Building sites are generally clustered towards the southern end of the tract, with the rest of the land designated for recreation and open space.

The golf course is shown winding about the Stoner Ranch property, which is owned by Chicagoan Charles Allison, and along 50 acres of the adjacent Redburn, or Flying R, Ranch to the northeast. The course crosses the Dolores River three times, with the first 10 holes on the north half of the development property and the rest along the open meadows to the south. A fishing cabin, golf shelters, restrooms, pedestrian bridges, a golf maintenance building, ponds and a practice range are also in the plans, drawn up by PJA Land Planning out of Telluride.

The project requires a high-impact permit because it exceeds county threshold standards for development in four areas: roads, traffic, building height, and maximum building footprint:

• Traffic is expected to be more than 14 round trips per day.

• Upon remodeling, the clubhouse is expected to be 48 feet high, over the 35-foot maximum.

• The clubhouse will be expanded to 15,000 square feet and the golf maintenance building will be 8,500 square feet. Threshold standards for commercial buildings in the county are 7,500 square feet for any building and 15,000 square feet for total amount of commercial space.

• Roads are not all expected to meet county specifications for width, according to the application. They will be privately maintained with the overall goal to minimize impact on surrounding vegetation and topography. Narrow roads and rights-of-way will be used for a "dead-end system" with turnarounds and cul-de-sacs designed to accommodate emergency vehicles.

Housing will be single-family and clustered to maximize the open-space character of the river valley. Covenants will restrict homes to 3,500 square feet each. Septic systems will all be engineered, with no open lagoons.

Due to its large size, the project will also require a commercial Planned Unit Development permit from the county.

Water rights held by property owners total 7 cubic feet per second and will be drawn from the Moriarity Ditch to irrigate approximately 120 acres. Two existing wells on the property will provide potable water, which will be pumped to storage tanks, where they will be chlorinated and then piped to the clubhouse, maintenance buildings, homes and guest cabins. Additional wells are expected to be installed to meet the project’s full demands.

Numerous state and federal permits are required as well. A permit to develop wetlands on the property is needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Permits from the Colorado Department of Health, Department of Transportation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are also needed.

According to the applicant, use of the facility will likely require a membership. The Stoner Creek Preserve also hopes to provide other activities including rafting, kayaking, fishing, horseback-riding, hiking and biking, swimming, tennis and health facilities. Organizers hope to open for business by the spring of 2005.