Mayor's Minute: Spring Forward

Hello neighbors,

With 2020 in our rearview mirror, we are cautiously optimistic that the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic will soon reach a more manageable level and allow the Town to refocus on some long-term Mountain Village planning goals that were put on hold due to the pandemic. As we launch into spring, I want to bring you up to date on one such key initiative.

As I shared in the last Mayor’s Minute, the Town of Mountain Village Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2011 and was written to be a thirty-year roadmap envisioning the future use and needs of the community. Town council's goal at the time was to encourage future development while controlling unbridled growth. In the ten years since the plan's inception, our community has evolved and grown, as have our needs and priorities. Updating the Comprehensive Plan will provide future town councils, property owners, and community members long-term guidance to inform the critical decisions they will face in years to come.

Two major goals of this year's update are:

1. Balancing the economic growth every community needs for long-term health while addressing our infrastructure needs and quality of life. We are revisiting both Mountain Village’s economic and growth models to better understand our current and future needs. We also will review and possibly amend the Comprehensive Plan to reflect current economic realities (e.g., VRBO/Airbnb) that have transformed communities throughout resort towns since the Comprehensive Plan’s adoption.
2. Analyze and review the Comprehensive Plan to amend prescriptive and complicated development tables that do not allow for the flexibility needed by the Town or future developers. We will simplify and modernize the Comprehensive Plan to serve as a guiding document versus a regulatory document, which is more in line with traditional community comprehensive plans. Additionally, we will align the Comprehensive Plan with the Town’s Community Development Code to provide clarity and consistency.

The Comprehensive Plan amendment process is being led by MIG, a national firm with extensive experience developing and updating comprehensive plans for resort communities. Over the next six months, MIG will be gathering input from the community, businesses, key stakeholders, and Town Council via virtual public forums, interviews, and public meetings. MIG will present an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for Town Council consideration for adoption and potential approval later this summer or early fall.

MIG has launched a survey to capture community feedback. Please help us by filling out the survey and sharing your thoughts and hopes for our Village as updating the Comprehensive Plan - our Town’s future growth, goals, and vision - begins with hearing from our residents, property owners, and businesses. The survey will be open through March 31.

Additionally, MIG will host work sessions at the upcoming Town Council and Design Review Board meetings to introduce both groups to the amendment process and begin to gather input from both Council and DRB. Those meeting dates are:

• Town Council Meeting: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 9:05 a.m.
• Design Review Board Meeting, Thursday, March 25, 2021, 10 a.m.

To take the survey, learn more about the process, and sign up for dedicated newsletters and updates regarding the process, please visit townofmountainvillage.com/comp-plan.

On another note, I’ve recently started doing a monthly radio show on KOTO-FM, each Wednesday prior to our regular town council meetings. The next show will be this Wednesday, March 17, and it starts just after the noon news, around 12:06 p.m. Each month I’ll be interviewed by Town Public Information Officer Kathrine Warren and joined by different guests to discuss the latest news and initiatives happening in Mountain Village. You can tune in locally on 91.7 or 89.3 FM, online at KOTO.org, or tune in via Zoom.

Lastly, through the support of this community, our restaurants and retailers have been able to keep their doors open and kept many of our neighbors employed throughout this challenging year. Small choices matter - please continue shopping and eating locally whenever possible. And thank you for volunteering and working together to keep Mountain Village safe, healthy, and open for our full and part-time residents, businesses, and guests.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of your other Council members with any questions or concerns you may have.

Warm regards,

Laila Benitez
Mountain Village Mayor