Snowmass Town Council, Planning Commission worry proposed project will be difficult for residents given the lack of services
The Aspen One housing team proposed an employee housing project to the Snowmass Town Council and the Snowmass Planning Commission in a Monday work session.
Aspen One, SkiCo's parent company, looks to create 36 affordable units for employees on a parcel of land off of County Road. 11, just west of the intersection of Divide Road and Divide Drive, near the Ditch Trail.
Aspen One Vice President of Employee Housing Heather Henry said there is a substantive gap in workforce in the upper Roaring Fork Valley. The entire Roaring Fork Valley lacks 5,000 work units while the upper valley lacks 3,000 units, according to a 2023 study by the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition.
"This is about people," Henry said. "So while we do start to talk about buildings and units and parking spaces ... we're also talking about people."
She said they would primarily house full-time, year-round employees and operational managers with the proposed project.
"For us, world-class operations are as good as its people," she said. "(It) comes back to people. Our people really now need somewhere to live."
She said SkiCo's goal of creating more employee housing aligns with the town's goals outlined in the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, to "be the leading, multiseason, family oriented inclusive resort community."
Snowmass imposed zoning restrictions in 1989 and 2001, so the parcel of land targeted by SkiCo may contain a new building with no more than 14,000 square feet, no more than six units, and no more than 30 parking spaces as per their Planned Unit Development (PUD), which sets a goal to creatively plan for the overall development of land. There is an existing building on-site that they plan to convert for mountain operations, storage and an additional six units.
SkiCo hopes the town will be flexible so they can provide more units given the employee housing shortage in Snowmass. The three-floor employee housing project would consist of 27,186 square feet, containing 30 units. They estimate it would be less than the 41-foot height PUD limitation. They also propose adding 30 parking places to the 30 that already exist at the site, for a total of 60.
Henry thinks now is the time to build more housing, urging the town to consider their proposal.
"We need your help, and we believe you need our help," Henry said, referring to their request that the town be flexible, and to the town's own goals of housing more employees. "So that's kind of the basis into this project."
Snowmass Mayor Bill Madsen said for the most part, they are preaching to the choir because creating more employee housing is one of their goals as well. But he said he's concerned about the lack of access to their proposed housing site.
"We don't have a bus route up there," Madsen said.
Henry said they hope to create a shuttle system to and from the area run by SkiCo. They also plan to minimize the need for cars on the road by providing on-site bicycle facilities like We-cycles, as well as e-charging bicycles.
Councilmember Alyssa Shenk said she worried that even with the added bikes, the road is not built for non-vehicle transit.
"Occasionally you'll see someone biking," Shenk said. "But you don't really see a lot of walkability on that road."
Planning Commissioner Matthew Dube asked if they'd considered bringing essential services to the site, such as grocery stores, bodegas, and shops, so residents don't have to leave to get basic items.
Henry said they could consider adding additional local services, but it would have to be in another proposal because they are focused only on getting approval to build the employee housing project for the time being.
Snowmass Planning Commissioner Doug Faurer noted that there is a lack of cell phone service at the site, which is a legitimate safety concern.
Senior Vice President of SkiCo Planning and Development Chris Kiley said they hope to make distinct and noticeable improvements in cell phone coverage in the area.
"We presented and got approval for some cell phone towers that we're looking to implement over the next couple of years," Kiley said.
They already have one up at the Spider Sabich area, and are looking to hire cell carriers, he said.
Snowmass Councilmember Tom Fridstein raised concerns about the attractiveness of the current design.
"It's going to be a challenge to make this attractive," Fridstein said. "So I hope that as you develop it, you'll really spend some effort and some money on the exterior treatment."
Aviel Rappoport, project architect from building designer EVstudio, said they plan to design the building after a modern mountain and mining aesthetic, using an earthy color palette. Many of the colors and materials they presented to Snowmass are still preliminary, he added.
They will also embed the building into the hillside so hikers using the Ditch Trail will see over it, and to minimize the size and scope of the buildings so as not to dwarf the architecture already on-site.
"Just because it's workforce housing doesn't mean that it can't be livable, it can't be efficient," Rappoport said. "And it can't be a place (people) really want to live at."
Construction of the building, which would be entirely electric, would mostly occur off-site to reduce climate impacts.
Next, SkiCo will present their sketch plan for approval by the Snowmass Planning Commision on Dec. 4.
"There are consequences to inaction," said Henry, adding, "If we say no, we are saying yes. We're maybe saying yes to our workforce driving further cars on the road, (to) less community in your community, when people can't live where they work."