Sun
Sopris Carbondale’s
weekly, non-profit newspaper
Volume 2, Number 34 | October 14, 2010
Chippin’ in for the Rams
Jerry Cheney attempts a long chip shot on the ninth hole during last Friday’s Ram Classic golf tournament at River Valley Ranch. A total of 52 golfers entered the fundraising tournament for Roaring Fork High School sports programs. Avalanche Property Management took first place, followed by R&A Enterprises. The corporate sponsors were R&A Enterprises and Western Slope Materials. Photo by Lynn Burton
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Ex-mayor drops bomb on trustees By Lynn Burton The Sopris Sun Just when you thought the years-long debate over the Historic Commercial Core (HCC) overlay-zoning ordinance was finally over, along comes former mayor Michael Hassig. At Tuesday night’s trustees meeting, Hassig cited Roberts Rules of Order and asked the board to reconsider two provisions of the new ordinance, which trustees approved on Sept. 28. With three board members absent Tuesday night, the remaining trustees voted 3-1 in favor Hassig’s request to lower the ordinance’s resident occupancy (RO) requirement and eliminate the 5 percent escalator clause for feein-lieu of parking. “(This looks like) a pretty hard core political move,” said KDNK deejay Bob Schultz on the station’s weekly Trustees Report show on Wednesday morning. Deejay Jeff Dickinson during the show characterized Hassig’s move as “clever.” Hassig, an architect, has represented the Town Center downtown property owners in the past. Voting with the majority Tuesday night were Mayor Stacey Bernot, John Foulkrod and Ed Cortez. John Hoffmann voted against the change. Frosty Merriott, Pam Zentmyer and Elizabeth Murphy were absent. On Wednesday, both Merriott and Zentmyer said they were surprised the trustees took such an action with only four members present. “I don’t think it should have been opened back up for discussion with three members not there,” Zentmyer said. “It seems irrational and unwise.” Merriott said the vote violated the spirit of the board’s last retreat, which addressed “distrust,”“mistrust” and inconsideration of other people’s time. “So yeah, I’m a little put off (by the board’s action),” Merriott said. Trustees originally approved the HCC overlay-zoning ordinance 4-2 with Foulkrod absent. Proponents say the ordinance is meant to offer incentives to developers to create a more vibrant downtown. Tuesday night, Hassig told the trustees if the RO component stands at 60 percent, “it means the overlay will never be used. There’s no market for that kind of development.” Cortez made a motion to reopen discussion on the ordinance, which Bernot seconded. The trustees then voted 4-0 to reopen discussion. In outlining his complaints with the ordinance as written, Foulkrod said he’d never liked the requirement that at least 60 percent of the zone district’s residential component be occupied by full-time residents. “People who come here as second homeowners become full time over time,” he said. The 5 percent escalator clause applies to a baseline of a $30,000 fee-in-lieu-of parking requirement. RESIDENT OCCUPANCY page 9
Ram girls roll
Democrats defect
Election info
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