Mayor's Minute: December 2021

Hello Neighbors,

With the holiday season in full swing, it is wonderful to see many valued community residents returning to town to enjoy the winter amenities our community has to offer, not least of which, of course, is our beloved ski hill. A special thanks to the hard-working staff at TSG who were able to get the mountain open despite less than ideal early season conditions.

Comprehensive Plan Amendment

The Town of Mountain Village has been engaged in a year’s long effort to amend the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, which was originally adopted in 2011. November 18 marked the end of a three-week public comment period with respect to proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Amendment.

The public comment period is one of the most important steps in the Comprehensive Plan amendment process as many suggested changes will ultimately find their way into the final draft of the amended Comprehensive Plan. It is a testament to our community’s engagement that the Town received over one hundred and thirty public comments. All of Town Council, as well as certain members of Town staff, have reviewed all of the submitted public comments.

Although the public comments encompassed a wide array of topics, there were five topics that were clearly of most concern to members of the Mountain Village community:

• Hotbeds
• Density within the Meadows
• Open space
• Duplex development
• Community housing

On December 9, Town Council will conduct a worksession on the proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, with a specific focus on the five topics identified above. Town Council’s discussion will be significantly informed by the public comments received to date. Town Council will also be taking public comments during the meeting. The agenda and Zoom log-in information for the December 9 meeting can be found here.

Due to the number of comments received and the number of issues to be addressed, Town Council will discuss the proposed amendments at its December 9 meeting, but will not adopt an amended Comprehensive Plan until its January 20 meeting at the earliest.

Holiday Prelude Celebration

The annual Holiday Prelude celebration will take place on Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12.

This year’s Prelude will include train rides, photos with Santa, ice skating and children’s holiday surprises around every corner. For both Saturday and Sunday, children of all ages will be able to sit with Santa in Heritage Plaza from 1 to 5 p.m. An adventurous scavenger hunt will take place on both days from 1 to 5 p.m. as well, and visitors can expect many surprises on the train ride throughout the twinkling Mountain Village.

On Saturday there will be a Tree Lighting Ceremony with Santa and carolers in Heritage Plaza at 6 p.m. Following the lighting, head to the ice-skating rink where the Telluride Figure Skating Club will present its annual holiday performance. The show is set to begin at 6:15 p.m. A public skate party with a DJ will follow.

Coffee With the Interim Manager

If you have something on your mind that you would like to discuss with the Interim Town Manager, or you just want to learn more about what is going on with the Town, please stop by our new Coffee with the Interim Town Manager, which will be held on a monthly basis. The next one will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 22 at Telluride Coffee Company.

We wish everyone a fun and wonderful winter!

Laila Benitez
Mountain Village Mayor

Paul Wisor
Interim Town Manager