PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION

 DRAFT MEETING MINUTES

 

EDELWEISS LODGE AND SPA

TAOS SKI VALLEY, NEW MEXICO

 

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011 10:00 A.M.

 

 

I.          CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL

Commissioner Tom Wittman called the meeting to order.  A quorum was established with Commission members Elisabeth Brownell, Richard Duffy, Mary Mortimer, Chris Stagg, and Tom Wittman present.  Susan Nichols and  Steve Ruppert were absent.  Staff members Don Schieber and Ann Marie Wooldridge were in attendance.

 

II.         APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

MOTION:  To approve the agenda. 

Motion:  Mary Mortimer           Second: Elisabeth Brownell                Passed: 5-0.

 

III.        APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 6, 2011 MEETING

MOTION:  To approve the minutes as presented. 

Motion:  Chris Stagg                Second:   Mary Mortimer                     Passed: 5-0.

 

IV.        NEW BUSINESS

A.  Discussion: Proposed Change for Supplementary Regulations in the Village Core Area.

Don Schieber explained that there has been a lot of work completed on a Village core area revitalization master plan and accompanying infrastructure plan.  The next step will be for the Village to firm up the regulations in the planning and zoning code that address the Village core area. 

Gary Derck from Durango Mountain Resort began a presentation of the new plan that is being coordinated between his group and the other stakeholders, namely Mickey Blake and Gordon Briner from TSV, Inc., Jerome and Helga de Bontin, and Peter and Linda Talty.  Derck explained that there has been much consideration of various factors influencing the overall master plan concept including traffic circulation, parking, walking distances, views, and Village character.  Specific items of note in the plan include an expanded Thunderbird Road/Ernie Blake road area that could more readily handle two-way traffic, a grand plaza, a riverwalk, and a community center.  There will be a redesign of the resort center and the lower ski area, and other private property improvements include commercial/residential buildings at the old Thunderbird sites and at the Ski Mastery site.  The Ahole-in-the-ground@ property will become a parking structure and fitness center, with residential units to follow at a later date. 

As part of coordinating all of this, the group has created an infrastructure plan, a master grading plan, a master snow removal plan, a master wet utility plan, and a master dry utility plan.  They have separated the core area into four Azones@, each with its own infrastructure cost estimate and finance plan.  These four zones are the entry road and arrival area, the core Village North, core Village East, and core Village West.  The cost estimate for each infrastructure zone is approximately $2 million.  The building of the community center alone is estimated to be at $3 million.

This master plan will in some manner get integrated into the zoning ordinance to insure that the plan will be carried out as designed for the core area.  The association of property owners will be the ones to regulate  design guidelines, but other development standards can be regulated by Village ordinance such as land use, density standards, building height, mass, and scale, open spaces, and setbacks. It is questionable as to whether the Village, or the Planning and Zoning Commission, would want to, or be able to, regulate design standards, but hopefully other properties would follow similar designs when re-building, in order to fit in. 

The Commission members told Derck he was headed in the right direction, and that the plan looked good.  The Durango Mountain group will be working with the Village on possible creative financing measures to build the necessary infrastructure.  Village staff will include the various related infrastructure projects in its Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan each year, as this document is submitted to the State for possible funding awards.  

 

V.         OLD BUSINESS

 

VI.        MISCELLANEOUS

 

VII.       ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DATE, TIME & PLACE OF THE NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will take place on August 8, 2011at 1:00 p.m. at the Edelweiss Lodge & Spa Conference Room. (Note: this meeting was cancelled and the next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.)

VIII.      ADJOURNMENT           

MOTION:  To adjourn.

Motion: Mary Mortimer      Second: Richard Duffy      Passed: 5-0

 

 

______________________

Tom Wittman, Chairperson