County eyes renewable energy rules

Code changes would emphasize the 'general right' of property owners to use renewable energy.

In an article in the Summit Daily News, penned by Bob Berwin on November 27, 2009, it is reported that, even though still subject to additional review and public comment, local officials are revamping development rules to establish guidelines for renewable energy systems including solar arrays, wind turbines and small wood-burning furnaces.

Currently, county codes don't spedifically address some key questions about these emerging technologies. Updated code language could help foster more installations of small-scale, renewable energy systems.

The general thrust of the discussions is to give property owners the right to use these resources as long as there is no significant impact to neighbors or the environment.

For solar arrays, the code changes would allow erection nearly anywhere on the property other than in the front yard between the house and the street. The systems would be allowed to exceed the maximum allowable building height by 10 percent. Solar panels would also be allowed in setbacks.

Wind turbines are not anticipated to be much in demand because there simply aren't many areas where adequate winds are sustained. They would be allowed in some rural areas. Quieter, vertically mounted turbines would be allowed in all zoning areas, not to exceed maximum building heights by 10 percent.

Small-scale, wood-fired burners that could make use of some of the beetle-killed pines would be limited to side and rear yards with stack height permitted to exceed maximum building height by 10 percent. The county would like to encourage the use of wood-burning energy systems as long as they meet applicable clean-air standards and other environmental requirements.

Small-scale hydropower installations would also be allowed in all zone districts under regulations aimed at protecting stream flows, water quality, aquatic habitats and impacts to surrounding areas.

Copper Mountain under new ownership

This is a complete reprint of an editorial that appeared in the Summit Daily News, November 19, 2009, entitled

New Copper owner looks like a good fit

After months of speculation and rumor, the announcement came Tuesday that Intrawest will sell Copper Mountain in a deal expected to be completed before the start of 2010.

If this had occurred in the not-too-distant past, one might expect the eventual buyer to come from the hotel or real estate sector, but times have changed. Ski companies that once relied on real estate revenue to provide a financial base have recognized what truly made the real estate valuable in the first place: prime locations, great skiing mountains and a strong “guest experience.”

Powdr Corporation, a privately held company based in Park City, Utah, appears to be a good fit as Copper's new owner (the purchase still requires Forest Service approval). It is an American company that apparently knows skiing and has a solid reputation in the industry. Its other resorts are ones with which skiers and boarders are familiar: Killington and Pico in Vermont, Mt. Bachelor in Oregon plus a couple in California and one, believe it or not, near Las Vegas.

We'll continue to follow this story and will publish more stories about Powdr Corp, its management and plans for Copper in the coming months, but at first glance this looks like a ski company on the rise and, one hopes, a company coming to the Copper table ready to listen.

One of Intrawest's mistakes (which it shared with the ownership before it) was to corporatize Copper's base village — a move which drove out independent retailers and restaurants in favor of Intrawest branded storefronts. All one need do is look at places like Breckenridge, Aspen and Vail to see how much more robust a base village is with independent businesses at its core.

Times being what they are, we don't expect Powdr to come in with millions of dollars in improvements right away. What is hoped is they come in willing to learn as much as they can about the resort and the greater Summit County community, which takes a great deal of pride in its ski areas. There aren't many full-timers at Copper, but there are plenty of homeowners and a handful of longtime business owners with strong opinions about what's worked and what's not worked over the years: free lessons for the newbies they'd be well advised to heed.

Powdr would also be wise to recognize the many fine individuals who are part of the Copper team — people who should not be cast aside when the new owners take over.

In the meantime, Powdr Corp, welcome to Summit County. We look forward to meeting the Powdr team and seeing what it can do with one of our county's crown jewels.

—The Summit Daily Editorial Board consists of Jim Morgan, Alex Miller, Ryan Wondercheck, Matt Sandberg, Morgan Liddick and Howard Hallman.

For information about Summit County Real Estate, go to http://www.breck4sale.com/.