Planning commission OKs preliminary plat for Silverton condos

Posted by Erin Eddy

By Mark Esper, editor
Silverton Standard
Wed Sep 24, 2008, 01:08 PM MDT

A proposed 8-unit condominium project on Cement Street near 14th was given the go-ahead Tuesday night by the San Juan Regional Planning Commission.
The panel approved a preliminary plat for the project in a unanimous vote. The proposal now goes to the Silverton Town Council for action.
The planning commission and town council had approved a sketch plan for the project last fall.
Planning Director Adam Sickmiller said the project is consistent with zoning in the area, which allows multi-family dwellings
Kelsey Dreery of Reynolds & Associates of Durango, said the project will have two one-bedroom units, five two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom condo.
She said the building will be built of stone, board siding and corrugated rusty metal for a “modern mining feel, as in a lot of architecture around here.”
She said the developer, Greg Drakos “has put this off until now, given the current real-estate market,” but hopes to break ground on the project in the spring of 2009.
Robert Winn, who owns property that would be across the alley from the condos, told the planning commission that he was “surprised to see such a great big building” being proposed.
“It looks out of proportion to the neighborhood,” Winn said. “These units do not add value to nearby properties.”
Winn suggested zoning in the “Poverty Flats” section of Silverton needs to be revisited.
“Somebody needs to get ahead of the ball and figure out what this place will look like 20 years from now,” Winn said.
Planning Commission Chairman Fritz Klinke said those in the neighborhood could ask the town to change the current zoning.
“When you get to what things should look like, everybody agrees and disagrees at the same instant,” Klinke said.
“If the current zoning is not the desire of those in the neighborhood, you can petition to have it re-evaluated,” he told Winn.
He noted that the current zoning there was adopted in the 1970s and allows light industrial activity such as machine shops.
“You could get together and say ‘let’s change this,’” Klinke said. “At some point, light industrial could be banned.
“Zoning and land use needs to be dynamic and keep up with what’s happening,” Klinke said. But he added “it’s too late in this case” and that the developer has rights to build the condos in compliance with the current zoning.