Come spring of 2026, Gunnison County will begin the undertaking of creating a major, multi-year plan that will lay ground rules for the future development of Gunnison Valley’s main thoroughfare: the Highway 135 corridor.
Although the county is leading this endeavor, the “Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte Comprehensive Corridor Plan” will be a close regional collaboration with the Town of Crested Butte, the Town of Mt. Crested Butte, the City of Gunnison, Crested Butte South Property Owners Association, Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority, RTA and Mountain Express.
The extensive plan is not proposing construction on the highway itself, but rather a set of regulatory guidelines for the future development of the entire highway corridor, informed by the valley communities’ values. The plan will be shaped by the collective vision and input of the involved community partners in accordance with the needs, challenges and values of the affected communities. It will set guidelines in place for legislation and development of the corridor for years to come.
“Right now the county, because we don’t have zoning, development is really shaped by the applications that are received,” explained Gunnison County Planning Director Hillary Seminick, who will be spearheading the project. “The market and private developers submit applications and that is reviewed against the Land Use Resolution (LUR) to determine whether or not it meets the applicable standards of the LUR. And so right now, we don’t have the policy piece to recommend more compact development patterns, inappropriate locations served by transit, etc.”
The county is requesting proposals from consultants to aid in the development of this extensive project, which will essentially lay out plans for all of the main sectors affecting the Hwy. 135 corridor. This includes land use, transportation, utilities, housing, schools, recreation, agriculture and environmental protection.
A Request for Proposals (or RFP) has been put together for prospective contractors by the county with assistance from the project advisory committee, which is made up of representatives from the collaborating partners. The collective goals that were decided upon for the corridor are the following:
● Develop a land use vision and plan that aligns future development with community priorities.
● Build and sustain community. Implement thoughtful long-term planning and design to support affordable housing choices, walkable streets and thriving neighborhoods.
● Improve transportation, transit and multi-modal connectivity along the corridor.
● Identify infrastructure needs and constraints to support responsible development.
● Ensure environmental resilience by minimizing development impacts on natural resources, wildlife and agricultural lands and create compact, connected communities. Take steps to protect environmental assets and adapt to the unfolding impacts of a changing climate.
● Support the continued operation of agricultural lands in Gunnison County and reduce and/or mitigate impacts from development on these operations.
● Streamline regulatory processes in areas appropriate for responsible development and constrain development in areas not appropriate for development and increase predictability for community members, landowners and stakeholders regarding where and how development will occur.
● Understand, identify and recommend tools to mitigate development impacts. These tools are expected to be high level recommendations and are not expected to include fee-in-lieu or nexus studies as part of this scope of work.
● Identify priority areas and how they integrate into an overall vision for housing, infrastructure, commercial uses, schools, recreation and land conservation.
● Deepen regional coordination among jurisdictions and special districts to support consistent land use and infrastructure decision-making.
● Create a more equitable and inclusive region.
“The RFP in the corridor plan is a policy document, it’s not a regulatory document. It doesn’t make any rules at this time, but rather it sets the policy for future legislation and rule making,” Seminick said.
The county is asking prospective contractors to conduct scenario planning of what development and growth in the corridor could look like if nothing is done and things continue on the track they are currently on.
“We do want to understand what happens if we do nothing. If we do nothing, does [the outcome] align with the values of our community? Does that align with what we want to see in terms of development within the corridor?” Seminick said.
Contractors will also be asked to assess data from throughout the region and aid the county in identifying specific regulatory strategies and action-steps to fulfill the agreed-upon goals. Once a contractor is selected, the strategies that align most with the project goals will be put into legislation.
“These strategies would then be drafted and implemented to create legislation that results in development outcomes that are agreed upon by our community, are reflective of our shared values and have the ability to connect to central services such as water, sewer and transit facilities,” Seminick said. “If you build a house you will probably live in it longer than 20 years. And so this plan will create a policy piece which will lead to the legislation piece, which will lead to the built environment. What gets constructed and the utilities that get extended—they will be here a long time and I think it’s reasonable to look at a 20-year development horizon.”
Members of the corridor plan’s project advisory board will be conducting community pop-up events to involve the public and factor in community engagement.
“The members of the advisory committee are members of this community too,” said Seminick. “We plan on meeting the community at events to help inform, involve and collaborate with community members, help people understand what this document is and, importantly, what this document is not. I think that’s a really important piece of the public engagement process is to help address any concerns the public might have or misconceptions as we walk through this really large planning effort.”
The RFP has been issued and there is a deadline for questions and responses that are provided publicly that ends Jan. 16. The proposals are due from prospective contractors by Feb. 15, after which interviews will be scheduled for sometime around February or March.
“We estimate that we will award the contract in March 2026 and then kick off the projects sometime in the spring of 2026,” said Seminick.
According to a press release, this project will be funded by a $200,000 state grant as well as contributions from regional partners. The estimated budget will be approximately $635,000.
“This will be the most comprehensive and inclusive planning process Gunnison County has ever undertaken,” Assistant County Manager for Community and Economic Development Cathie Pagano said in a press release. “This effort is about clearly defining our collective vision for the next 20 years—grounded in the communities’ priorities and values and taking into account where growth is appropriate and where it isn’t. The goal is to work with the community to identify where future growth makes sense and how it can best serve the communities’ needs, priorities and goals and ensure we’re making thoughtful, coordinated decisions that serve the entire valley over the long term.”
(Gia Wright can be contacted at 970-641-1414 or jwright@orourkemediagroup.com.)
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here