Summit County Development Director Pat Putt says he’s been peppered with e-mails and phone calls about the plan for over 200 avalanche fences to be placed above two homes in the Colony.
Putt says they’re going to talk to the stakeholders about the controversy. But he says the process leading up to the fences involved more than the Low Impact Permit approved last summer.
During his regular visit to KPCW last week, Putt said the fences are proposed for the Dream Peak subdivision, which includes residences, the Cloud Dine Restaurant and a number of avalanche areas.
When the Canyons SPA was approved in 1999, precautions against snow slides were contemplated. Putt said they were set forth in a Memorandum of Understanding between American Skiing, the resort operator at the time, and the Colony developer, Iron Mountain Associates.
A Low Impact Permit doesn’t require a public review and was approved by Putt in June of last year. But he said it also was recommended by the Colony’s Site and Architectural Review Committee and the Canyons Village Management Association.
Putt said they are going to respond to the outpouring of protests over the fences.
“We’ve reached out to Vail. We’ve reached out, I believe, to IMA. And I believe we’re gonna have some sit-downs and discussions with those to see if we can go back and take a look at what was approved, can there be any changes, amendments, other forms of mitigation. And so we’ll be working on that in the future.”
He said he respects the concerns expressed by the critics.
“Some of the concerns are the visibility. Some of the concerns are the wildlife. All those are valid. What the end result of those discussions are, and what changes might occur—a bit premature for me to speak to. I do know that everyone that everyone that I have spoken with who are involved in this--whether the operators of the resort, County Council, members of the public—everybody’s concerned and wants to make sure that we have the best solution.”
We asked if the county could revoke the Permit or issue a stop-work order. But Putt said it’s premature to go that route.
“The whole reason that we’re having this conversation is about public safety. And we wanna make sure that both the resort employees, the people on the mountain, the people servicing the restaurant up on the top of the mountain, the property owners, are adequately safely protected from the potential of an avalanche. Are there additional measures, are there different measures? Perhaps, but we’re gonna have those conversations here directly.”
County Development Director Pat Putt.
