Planning group OKs golf course

Planning group OKs golf course

Oct 27, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

A proposed private golfing resort in the Dolores River Valley sparked some controversy but garnered mostly support at a jam-packed public meeting Thursday evening before the Montezuma County Planning Commission.

After some hesitancy, planners unanimously recommended Stoner Creek Preserve be approved because the multi-million-dollar development plan is compatible with adopted county land-use codes. Now the request for a high-impact permit will be aired at a formal public hearing in front of the county commission, which will make the final decision.

"It is a very comprehensive plan that seems to comply with our regulations," said planning chair Dudley Millard before a crowd of 55. Commissioners Gerald Hart, Vern Aulston and Dwayne Findley also recommended conditional approval.

Project partner and planner Peter Jamar outlined the proposal to construct an 18-hole course on the 400-acre swath of river valley that was once the Stoner Ski Area. The large project includes an expanded lodge and restaurant, 10 deluxe rental cabins, eight designated lots for private homes, fishing cabins and a maintenance building.

Jamar stressed that the development would be environmentally sensitive, would preserve open space and would blend in with natural surroundings.

"Things change, but often it is the degree of change that counts," Jamar said. "With this, open space is protected, not chopped up into traditional housing lots. Our lodging is clustered in one place out of view, not rows and rows of condos along the river like the rumors are saying."

He said covenants would be "strict," night lighting would be kept to a minimal and irrigation would be very controlled and efficient.

But the exclusive nature of the resort drew the ire of many in the audience.

"You say you want to be a good neighbor. What will you be giving back to the community?" asked M.B. McAfee. "No one here will be able to afford the membership fees."

Jamar conceded that the resort area, which is on private land, would not be open to the general public, but "if (former vice president) Dan Quayle invites you for a drink then you’re welcome," he said, responding to a half-joking question.

He and others in the audience asserted that the project would benefit the community because alternative development options for the mountain-meadow site would be unattractive.

"I would much rather see this than a gravel pit," said Carol Stepe, a nearby landowner who is challenging a county-approved gravel mine next door to her home. "It does not threaten property of neighbors, so I’m for it."

"It is too valuable land to think it will remain a cow pasture and never change," stated Jimmy Rogers. "This looks prettier than a housing subdivision would with all those septics."

But it is exactly the ranching value Stoner has now that the county should protect, wrote Wade Wilson in a letter urging denial.

"Playgrounds for rich playboys are not what we need," Wilson wrote. "Agriculture jobs is what the county needs in order to secure our traditional lifestyle."

Concern was expressed that once an area is "discovered" by the wealthy, "Aspenization" soon follows with its class division between the privileged few and the low-paying service industry.

"I think it would set a bad precedent for valley development and forever alter its rural character. Do we want that?" said Nina Williams, co-chair of the Montezuma County Land Conservancy.

On the other hand, the economic stimulus that the project will bring is needed in the depressed region, said audience member Dave Wuchert. Jamar said that in addition to hiring local contractors, the Stoner Creek Preserve would staff between 40 and 50 employees during the five-month golfing season.

In response to environmental concerns, Jamar downplayed the potential for groundwater and river contamination from herbicides and pesticides. He said over time the golfing industry and environmental community have developed proven land-management techniques that both groups feel comfortable with.

But neighbor Daniel Brodkowitz disputed the assertion that pollution would not be a problem.

"You make it sound like no golf course has ever polluted and that is not true, they do pollute," he said.

Brodkowitz sought denial of the project, arguing that a natural floodplain area with wetlands is not a smart place for a golf course. He further suggested that state and federal permits be obtained prior to board approval because those studies reveal information critical to the decision-making process.

County administer Tom Weaver said typically high-impact permits are approved on the condition that the necessary state and federal permits are granted.

"The way it works is, a county permit has no value unless all the other permits are in place," Weaver said.

Brodkowitz requested that the planning commission adopt standards for golf courses similar to what San Miguel County has done.

Millard agreed it was a good idea to create golf-course standards, but added that such codes would only affect future proposals, not the current one.

A canoer and fisherman wondered about access. The section of Dolores River meandering through the proposed golf course could only be reached for fishing by paying members. However, Colorado’s "right-to-float" laws allowing boaters to pass through private property along rivers would be respected, Jamar said.

The board did not quibble much over four threshold standards exceeded by the commercial project. Standards for traffic, road width, building height and building footprint could be reasonably mitigated, they said.

Lodging facilities that total over the 15,000-square-foot maximum and which are higher than the 35-foot height limit are mitigated by their substantial setback from the highway, the property’s large acreage and a 1,500-foot hillside, the board said. Road easements would be lower than the 60-foot standard to reduce impacts on the natural landscape.

"We know the burden is on us to comply with everything," Jamar said. "We look forward to many more discussions on the plan as we go through this multi-year process."