Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Mountain Town News


By ALLEN BEST - MTN TOWN NEWS SERVICE

Regulation "getting weird" in Aspen

ASPEN, Colo. -- Aspen's efforts to control the commercial mix in its dynamic downtown district has had unintended consequences, interfering with the creation of the unique mom-and-pop businesses that were the intended beneficiaries.

The story goes back to 2006. At the time, some long-standing commercial businesses—a locals' lower-cost eatery, a theater and a bookstore—were all threatened with replacement by other uses, possibly of the chain-store variety.

In response, the City Council adopted a moratorium on remodels. Landlords were permitted to allow different businesses, but not the remodels that might allow different uses—a retail store, for example, as opposed to a restaurant—to operate.

But Chris Bendon, the city's planning director, concedes that the freeze has had the opposite effect. One case cited to illustrate the folly was of a new coffee shop, called Parallel 15, which was ordered to shut down because it had painted the walls, in violation of the remodeling moratorium.

Bendon told the City Council he couldn't explain the cause for the moratorium with a straight face.

"It's getting weird," he told The Aspen Times. "Regulation is not a tool of creation—it's a limitation. There is no bright, gleaming purpose at this point."

The council, by a 4-to-1 vote, agreed. Instead of a stick, the city staff is talking about offering carrots, in the form of public-private partnerships, to keep unique stores owned by locals and often catering to locals in the commercial mix.

Breckenridge joins bag rivalry

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. -- Last summer Aspen engaged in a friendly competition with Telluride and its sister slope-side town, Mountain Village, about which could do the best job of getting grocery store shoppers to reduce the number of plastic bags used for grocery shopping. Patrons were asked to reuse plastic bags or perhaps use cloth bags.

Telluride and Mountain Village won the challenge, but the three towns altogether eliminated 140,000 plastic bags during the three-month contest.

Other towns in the tribe of Colorado ski towns—but also Jackson, Wyo; Ketchum, Idaho; and Park City, Utah—have been invited to join in a more extended rivalry called BYOB, for Bring Your Own Bag. The yearlong contest is set to begin Jan. 1.

Breckenridge has been among the first to enlist in the contest. "It's the right thing to be doing," Mayor John Warner told the Summit Daily News.

Town officials are approaching the town's two grocery stores to ask if they will contribute 5 cents per bag toward a community fund for providing bag handouts and educational documents.

Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne, Colo., were also considering being in the contest. The facilitator of the contest is the Colorado Association of Ski Towns, which counts 18 ski towns in Colorado as members.

Rio Grande bridge is a suicide magnet

TAOS, N.M. -- San Francisco has its Golden Gate Bridge, and Taos has its Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, a place where those who see no reason to see tomorrow make sure that they don't. The latest person to choose suicide was identified as a 44-year-old man from Albuquerque who indicated in notes that he was "pretty much tired of being unemployed and living off his girlfriend." The Taos News said his body landed 600 feet below in the river.

Carbondale hopes to keep local biz local

CARBONDALE, Colo. -- Two years ago, with The Home Depot and other big-box stories knocking on the door, Carbondale was being picky about what businesses it was willing to let in. Now, with the economic slowdown, it's concerned about what businesses it may lose.

The Carbondale Valley Journal reports that a gathering of financial analysts at a recent meeting urged a shop-local outlook. But businesses, they said, may have to adjust, too, and figure out better how to meet needs of customers.

"One of the things we can do is keep things local, and work together to encourage people to shop local and focus on our local economy," said Farrah Roberts, senior vice president of Alpine Bank.

Seasonal workers lose to scam artists

PARK CITY, Utah -- It's scam time in Park City. At least two groups of South Americans have lost major sums of money after placing deposits on what they believed would be housing needed during their winter employment.

In one case, a couple of Peruvians were apparently fleeced by Colombians who sent a key to a house and gave an address. But alas, when the Peruvians tried the key, it didn't work, and the person who answered the door knew nothing about the deal.

In the other case, 13 Uruguayans lost $5,000. The Park Record indicates no suspects




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.