Clark's Market expansion sent back to HARC
By Douglas McDaniel
Immediately after the Telluride Town Council remanded the Clark's Market expansion application back to the town's Historic and Architectural Review Commission, regional grocery store magnate Tom Clark, his architect, Dan Hunter and his associates could be found outside Rebekah Hall in a circle, wacking away at the project's blueprints.
Their goal: to reduce the "mass and scale" of the project's western facade in order to pass the scrutiny of HARC, which previously denied approval for the three-story, 50,000 square foot grocery store and condominium project.
This effort by Clark's was launched after the council asked the applicants if they would be willing to reduce the section of the building that drew the most objections from the public, and, members of HARC, the so-called "Western Elevation."
After an extensive, three-hour worksession Tuesday, the impasse over the project was given new life when the council granted the applicants permission to reduce the square footage for affordable housing which it had previously required.
The impasse was broken with a simple question by Telluride Mayor John Pryor.
"Is there anything you can do with the west end to change how it's perceived from the Bachman Village side?" he asked.
Put on the spotlight at the tail end of the meeting, Clark responded, "What are you asking us to do? You tell me, John. What is it that the community wants us to do?"
When the applicants went before HARC previously this month, they had refused to reduce the square footage of the project based on the economic necessity of using the sale of free-market condos to help fund the expansion. But after Town Councilman Mark Buchsieb offered the pivotal suggestion that they "knock off portions of the employee housing, and a couple thousand from the commercial," project architect Hunter seized the opportunity.
"If we do away with a couple of thousand, does the council have the ability to excuse that amount of employee housing?"
Clark said he would be amenable to the idea since "we don't lose the economic units," that is, six new free-market condominiums for the two floors above the 20,000 foot grocery store expansion.
"I think we can make a substantial reduction in the west side roofline," Hunter told the council. "This feels to me like there is a fairly substantial mass that's going to go away."
With that, Pryor moved to remand the matter back to HARC, with the council voting unanimously 6-0, with Councilman Bob Saunders recused due to the close proximity of his home to the Clark's property.
"I'm very eoncouraged by our community working together," Pryor said at the end of the worksession.
The meeting began with an apparent air of intractibility.
Town Attorney Kevin Geiger told the council HARC's denial, based on the subjective interpretation of the project's mass and scale, is "aspirational, but clearly not absolute."
Town Historic Planner Mike Davenport, in an overview of the history of the application, said such aspects of the project as the maximum allowable height "does apply with the land use code with the waiver allowed by the council," and that another sticking point, parking, actually includes "eight more spaces," for a total of 88, "than what is required by code."
But while he said town planning staff recommended approval, "subject to certain conditions," the majority of a room full of more than 70 citizens in attendance plead with town officials to uphold HARC's denial and send it back for more work.
"you cannot go against your boards, otherwise you will drive away community participation," Peter Pitts said.
HARC members were also there to speak their peace.
"I did my job," said Sonchia Jilek, HARC board member. "Are you doing yours?"
Robert Balkind, representing Bachman Village, said most of the residents objected to the visual impact created by the western facde, asking council to demand a "trimback."
"The impacts are tremendous," he said. "It's going to block the view."
In response to the apparent comunity support for HARC's denial, several members of the council stated their preference to send it back to the board one more time.
"We are not ignoring what HARC has done," said Councilman Stu Fraser, who with Councilwoman Andrea Benda had called up the application, with the council acting as HARC. "The denial of this application was the only way for us to move forward," he said.
But Councilwoman Roberta Peterson said the only way to move forward was to move back.
"Remand it back to HARC," she said. "They are the experts."
Those who came to support the original HARC decision gave a positive response to the council's remand of the application back to the board with the direction that the developer "significantly reduce" the western facade.
"This is certainly moving in the right direction," Balkind said.
Summing up the results of the meeting after criticizing the council for calling up the matter in first place, resident David Oyster said "This whole meeting has reinforced my faith in the process."
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Immediately after the Telluride Town Council remanded the Clark's Market expansion application back to the town's Historic and Architectural Review Commission, regional grocery store magnate Tom Clark, his architect, Dan Hunter and his associates could be found outside Rebekah Hall in a circle, wacking away at the project's blueprints.
Their goal: to reduce the "mass and scale" of the project's western facade in order to pass the scrutiny of HARC, which previously denied approval for the three-story, 50,000 square foot grocery store and condominium project.
This effort by Clark's was launched after the council asked the applicants if they would be willing to reduce the section of the building that drew the most objections from the public, and, members of HARC, the so-called "Western Elevation."
After an extensive, three-hour worksession Tuesday, the impasse over the project was given new life when the council granted the applicants permission to reduce the square footage for affordable housing which it had previously required.
The impasse was broken with a simple question by Telluride Mayor John Pryor.
"Is there anything you can do with the west end to change how it's perceived from the Bachman Village side?" he asked.
Put on the spotlight at the tail end of the meeting, Clark responded, "What are you asking us to do? You tell me, John. What is it that the community wants us to do?"
When the applicants went before HARC previously this month, they had refused to reduce the square footage of the project based on the economic necessity of using the sale of free-market condos to help fund the expansion. But after Town Councilman Mark Buchsieb offered the pivotal suggestion that they "knock off portions of the employee housing, and a couple thousand from the commercial," project architect Hunter seized the opportunity.
"If we do away with a couple of thousand, does the council have the ability to excuse that amount of employee housing?"
Clark said he would be amenable to the idea since "we don't lose the economic units," that is, six new free-market condominiums for the two floors above the 20,000 foot grocery store expansion.
"I think we can make a substantial reduction in the west side roofline," Hunter told the council. "This feels to me like there is a fairly substantial mass that's going to go away."
With that, Pryor moved to remand the matter back to HARC, with the council voting unanimously 6-0, with Councilman Bob Saunders recused due to the close proximity of his home to the Clark's property.
"I'm very eoncouraged by our community working together," Pryor said at the end of the worksession.
The meeting began with an apparent air of intractibility.
Town Attorney Kevin Geiger told the council HARC's denial, based on the subjective interpretation of the project's mass and scale, is "aspirational, but clearly not absolute."
Town Historic Planner Mike Davenport, in an overview of the history of the application, said such aspects of the project as the maximum allowable height "does apply with the land use code with the waiver allowed by the council," and that another sticking point, parking, actually includes "eight more spaces," for a total of 88, "than what is required by code."
But while he said town planning staff recommended approval, "subject to certain conditions," the majority of a room full of more than 70 citizens in attendance plead with town officials to uphold HARC's denial and send it back for more work.
"you cannot go against your boards, otherwise you will drive away community participation," Peter Pitts said.
HARC members were also there to speak their peace.
"I did my job," said Sonchia Jilek, HARC board member. "Are you doing yours?"
Robert Balkind, representing Bachman Village, said most of the residents objected to the visual impact created by the western facde, asking council to demand a "trimback."
"The impacts are tremendous," he said. "It's going to block the view."
In response to the apparent comunity support for HARC's denial, several members of the council stated their preference to send it back to the board one more time.
"We are not ignoring what HARC has done," said Councilman Stu Fraser, who with Councilwoman Andrea Benda had called up the application, with the council acting as HARC. "The denial of this application was the only way for us to move forward," he said.
But Councilwoman Roberta Peterson said the only way to move forward was to move back.
"Remand it back to HARC," she said. "They are the experts."
Those who came to support the original HARC decision gave a positive response to the council's remand of the application back to the board with the direction that the developer "significantly reduce" the western facade.
"This is certainly moving in the right direction," Balkind said.
Summing up the results of the meeting after criticizing the council for calling up the matter in first place, resident David Oyster said "This whole meeting has reinforced my faith in the process."
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