68 residences, fishing cabins and glamping proposed in Basalt

Reporter

The Jadwin property is mostly vacant land west of the Basalt Post Office and north of Highway 82. The Black Mountain proposal would add 68 residences, 12 short-term rental fishing cabins and seven glamping pads.

The developers of a proposed project west of the Basalt Post Office say physical constraints of the 9-acre property forced them to get creative, including a plan to build 12 fishing cabins and seven pads for glamorous camping or “glamping.”

The Black Mountain project site is sandwiched between Highway 82 to the south and the Roaring Fork River to the north. Some of the property is in the 100-year floodplain, and wetlands and a pond also restrict development, as does a utility corridor. The site is accessed from Emma Road.

Bridger Smith, a member of the ownership group, told Basalt officials on Tuesday evening that the proximity of Highway 82 also restricts the potential of the property.

“With the noise of the highway, we knew there would be no luxury housing there,” he said. Instead, the residential component will be “modestly priced” by the design of smaller units, he said.

Smith and his team formally introduced the project to the Basalt Town Council and Basalt Planning and Zoning Commission in an hour-long meeting. The project — which includes an annexation request and a specific type of proposal called a planned unit development — must receive three rounds of approvals by both the council and planning commission to advance.

Basalt once was known as the town where development plans go to die but that stigma has changed in recent years. The Basalt River Park development and a project where Clark’s Market was once located both sailed through Basalt’s process relatively quickly in the last five years.

This map shows the Jadwin property, west of the Basalt Post Office and separated by the Stott’s parcel. The finger to the north connects to the Roaring Fork River.

Black Mountain features a total of 87 units, including the fishing cabins and glamping pads. There will be four buildings of multifamily housing with a total of 56 units. Two buildings will have 12 units each of deed-restricted, affordable housing. That exceeds the affordable housing required by Basalt land use code by 10 units.

Two other buildings of 16 units each will be free market. All buildings will have a mix of efficiency, one- and three-bedroom residences with sizes ranging from 461 square feet to 1,222 square feet.

The plan also includes 12 free-market townhomes that range in size from 1,829 to 2,034 square feet on three stories.

Smith said the 12 fishing cabins and seven glamping pads are designed to leave a lighter touch on the land and provide vitality.

“They fit in with the small-town character of Basalt and they’re authentic,” Smith said.

They will be short-term rentals for one- and two-bedrooms units with one being three-bedroom. The cluster of cabins will include an “amenity cabin” that includes a lounge area and gathering spaces for renters. They will likely be popular with anglers because the property provides access to the Roaring Fork River.

Smith said the glamping pads will likely be fitted with canvas tents and provide a unique experience in Basalt. The tents would be rented out for roughly four months of the year and would minimize the impact on the land. The tents would be removed during cold-weather months.

“You see it in a lot of other places and people enjoy it,” he said.

About four acres of the property would be open space and public recreational uses. The proposal would make trails and river access available to the public.

The owners are offering to give the town of Basalt 0.84 acres of a dogleg portion of the property that extends west of the main parcel. The long, narrow piece could be used for whatever community benefit the town sees fit, according to the application.

The property currently is open land except one single-family home and one trailer house. They would be removed if the development is approved.

The site has been known as the Jadwin property after the family that previously owned it for several years. Smith and his partners in Jadwin Park LLC got interested in the site in 2018, put it under contract that year and started assessing the development potential. The partners include Bridger’s brother, Colter Smith.

One key to their interest, Bridger Smith said, is that the property was identified as one of seven key parcels in the most recent Basalt Master Plan. The general consensus of community members who worked on the master plan was they didn’t want sprawl and foresaw some level of density on the property, Smith noted.

The Black Mountain plan proposes less density than envisioned as possible in the master plan. Planning commission member Bill Maron noted that the master plan envisioned getting as much housing in the urban core as possible.

Smith said one constraint is parking. The proposal meets Basalt parking requirements. Adding units would make it tough, Smith said.

Council members didn’t tip their hand or share thoughts on the proposal. Basalt staff asked the planning commission and council members not to voice any opinions about the project at Tuesday’s meeting because it was intended as an introduction and wasn’t posted as a public hearing.

The review starts within a week, first with the Basalt Affordable Community Housing Commission and then advancing to the Parks Open Space and Trails Committee before heading to the planning commission and council.

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