Store limits debated in Steamboat

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS – Steamboat Springs continues to debate how it can avoid the homogenization of so-called formula stores without becoming irrelevant to changing needs.

This debate began at least in the late 1980s, when the town resisted the arrival of Wal-Mart. It finally acquiesced but not before imposing restrictions. In more recent years, it has more tightly capped the size of stores, most protectively in the downtown core.

But with 90,000 square feet of retail space coming on line in a wave of redevelopment, the city of 11,000 is now talking about restrictions on even small franchises, reports theSteamboat Pilot & Today. The city government’s preliminary definition of a formula store is a store or restaurant among a chain of 10 or more that contains standardized merchandize, façade, décor, uniforms and signs.

The city already has several such stores, including Images of Nature, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Blimpie Subs.

Restrictions being reviewed would limit one such store per corner, or at least mandate 75-foot separations.

Brad Maxwell, owner of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, told the newspaper that property-defined restrictions would help preserve the small-town feel. And some locally owned stores believe that existing franchises draw visitors, which helps them.The drawing power of familiar names was also alluded to by Ty Lockhart, owner of Steamboat’s iconic F.M. Light & Sons, a century-old clothing store. “People do not want the Gaps and the Ralph Laurens, but then there is the question of how many ‘mom and pops’ will be able to afford that new space,” he says.

Anonymous blogs monitored by theThe Pilotreveal a spirited and sharp discussion. Some espoused unfettered free trade. “These so-called formula stores seem to have much higher standards than the moms-and-pops; just makes it easier to keep the food down,” says one. “Do-gooders and the protectionists are going to get to get their way,” predicted another.

But another blogger argued that the “ideal of a town” trumps business models. Others fretted about whether the new ski area owner, Intrawest, will impose economic dominance and blandness.

Carbondale debates Home Depot

CARBONDALE – The spirited, sometimes bitter, debate about whether to allow The Home Depot under the municipal tent continues in Carbondale.

For a community dominated by global-warming activists, Home Depot is offering to create an 80,000-square-foot “green” big box that would become the model for other stores in the chain. Perhaps the greatest lure, however, is the prospect of up to $1.2 million in annual sales tax, possible double other potential retail uses of the land. With that money, town officials believe they could create more affordable housing and other community infrastructure.

Even so, the town staff is recommending the Town Board walk away from the proposal. Besides being a “volatile and contentious” issue that divides the community, the Home Depot-anchored proposal may not be successful for other reasons, says Tom Baker, the town manager.

However, theValley Journal reports that town trustees remain divided. The only clear consensus is that a 60,000-square-foot grocery store is OK. That a chain-owned grocery store is OK and a bigger chain-owned building-supply store is not illustrates the murky issues. One fear is that Home Depot will eliminate existing hardware, paint and rug stores.

Hope springs eternal for rail line

I-70 CORRIDOR – Will it be possible to eventually hop on a train in Denver and zip to Frisco, Vail or beyond? That tantalizing idea has been roaming along Interstate 70 for a decade as mountain communities, particularly around Georgetown and Idaho Springs, have argued for a monorail.

In a story headlined, “Railroaded,” Denver’sWestword revisits the idea, arguing that Colorado’s Department of Transportation has been unfairly pushing, i.e. “railroading,” highway widening to the exclusion of rail-based mass transit.

In particular, the article gives credence to a revival of passenger rail. Pushed by Gov. Bill Richardson, New Mexico now has passenger rail near Albuquerque with plans to connect to Santa Fe. A vision beyond that imagines the rail loping across Raton Pass and then northward along the Front Range of Colorado and into Wyoming at Casper.

Bill Briggs, a former state legislator from metropolitan Denver, is also expanding the vision westward from Denver to Dotsero, at the mouth of Glenwood Canyon. The group is called Rocky Mountain Rail Authority. Financial supporters include the Aspen-based Roaring Fork Transit Authority and the Wyoming Legislature.

The current plan is to ask Colorado voters in 2008 to approve a so-called statewide passenger rail system. The group is focusing on three technologies, one a mag-lev system used in China and Japan, and the second used in Switzerland. Backers insist both technologies can be used for the steep inclines of the I-70 corridor.

Telluride passes hat to buy open space

TELLURIDE – Telluride is now within striking distance of assembling the $50 million needed to condemn a 570-acre property at the town’s entrance to preserve as open space.

The Telluride Watch reports that open-space supporters must come up with the final $5.6 million by March 30, the Town Council’s deadline. The town government has committed $25 million, with the expectation that private donors would also rustle up $25 million.

The judge in the case had set the deadline of May 21 for the town to come up with the money. However, interest is accruing at a rate of $300,000 per month, and there are enormous legal bills on top of this.

In the meantime, the Town Council has been thinking about who will manage the vacant land. Only one organization, a local conservation group, has shown interest, although there seems to be some continued interest – a distinctly minority view, it would seem – of turning the land over to the Utes. There’s no report of whether the Utes, who maintain a headquarters 100 miles south of Telluride, share the interest.

Additional litigation in the case remains possible. The landowner, Sun Valley Land Corp., has indicated a potential challenge of the condemnation. But some lawyers within Telluride, including former mayor John Pryor, have indicated they will challenge the $50 million valuation established by a jury in nearby Delta.

Higher court upholds ban on mining

SUMMIT COUNTY – Summit County’s right to forbid cyanide heap leach mining has been upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals. This ruling rejects an earlier decision that favored the mining industry.

The Summit Daily News explains that mining officials see the regulation as a possible first step to more restrictions. Stuart Sanderson, president of the Colorado Mining Association, which had sued to block the regulations, said regulations should be set by the state government, not local jurisdictions, to avoid a “patchwork.”

State law requires mining operators to comply with local land-use regulations. Four other counties in Colorado have passed similar land-use regulations, including Gunnison and Gilpin, site of the Central City and Blackhawk casinos. Ouray County considered such regulations but rejected them.

Two other counties, Conejos, and Costilla, were heavily impacted by the Summitville mining disaster that resulted from cyanide heap leach mining.

Some towns see declining population

REVELSTOKE, B.C. – New census figures show several ski and resort towns in western Canada are actually declining in population. The population of Fernie has dropped 8.5 percent, while Kimberly dropped 5.3 percent and Golden 5.2 percent.

Banff declined 6.1 percent in the first half of the decade, ending up at 6,700 residents, although down-valley a few miles, the city of Canmore grew nearly 12 percent, surpassing 12,000.

The population at Revelstoke seems to be staying steady at 8,000, despite some conflicting reports from the census, reports theRevelstoke Times-Review. Curiously for a city of that size, the first birth of the year didn’t occur until mid-March.

– compiled by Allen Best