ADVOCATES FOR MAMMOTH INFORMATION BULLETIN – MAMMOTH CROSSING

The Town Council has done it again! *On September 16 the Town Council snuck through a General Plan amendment that changed the zoning on the four corners of Main Street and Minaret Road to Resort Plaza, thus permitting a density increase from 48 units per acre to up to 80 units per acre.

By Resolution they certified the EIR and its mitigation plan and amended the General Plan to increase density by over 300 units and by Ordinance changed the North Village Specific Plan to permit height increases (from the current 55 feet to a possible 83 feet) and decreases in building setbacks from the streets.

We do not agree with these changes. We feel the additional units are completely unwarranted and that the heights are excessive and violate the “village in the trees” concept of our General Plan. These changes do nothing to solve the infrastructure problems now existing in the Village, i.e. parking, pedestrian flow, connectivity to the gondola, etc. In fact we anticipate these changes may exacerbate these problems.

The Advocates considered a Referendum to require a Community vote on these changes. We have decided not to proceed at this time because:

1. The proposal for the Mammoth Crossing project itself must return to the Planning Commission and the Town Council for final approval, providing an opportunity at that time for the Community, and the Advocates, to oppose the project. At that time you can let the Council know the restrictions you want to put on this project

2. An already very limited time for gathering signatures for a Referendum (one month) was restricted even further because the Town did not make available to us the formal text of their Resolution which is required for signature gathering. Although advised by our Attorney the Town was required to give us the extra time we anticipated the Town would force us into a costly lawsuit on this issue, as they had rejected the Clearwater referendum petition on technical and questionable grounds.

3. We feel the Town Council did try to compromise. However we need to add that we also strongly feel that the compromise favored the developer more than the community of Mammoth Lakes. There are many concerns that will arise when the project plan is presented to the Town. We believe that the “amenities” the Town will ask the developer for in exchange for rewarding them with the increased height and density will be amenities that the Community has already said it does not value, i.e. conference rooms, plazas, shops, etc., and in fact are amenities that are only of value to the project applicant.

This is in addition to our ongoing and strong concerns about water, traffic, views, etc.

PLEASE STAY INVOLVED AND LET THE TOWN KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FOR MAMMOTH

FOR NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE…Because of the economy we do not anticipate any construction to begin soon. However, the decisions the Planning Commission and Town Council make today are permanent. They become a part of a developers rights to be used in the future, or to be passed
on with the sale of the property, thus increasing its value. This is why today’s project applicants are nailing down as many bonuses as they can get.

UPCOMING: The Town is proceeding with writing a Neighborhood District Plan for Main Street and meetings will be held starting Tuesday, October 13 at Little Eagle Lodge from 6 to 8 pm. This is an opportunity for public input. The Town is also proceeding with a

> Neighborhood District Plan to cover the Sierra Valley Estates (commonly referred to as the Ghetto) site.

FURTHER NEWS:
Clearwater – (corner of Old Mammoth and Sierra Nevada) has a new name “Old Mammoth Place” and supposedly a new design and appears to be reconsidering for now its construction plans and are concentrating on renovating the existing facilities on that property.

Sherwin – We understand that plans for the Sherwin project (corner of Old Mammoth and Minaret) have been withdrawn at this time.

IMPORTANT! Three Town Council seats will be up for election in next June’s Primary election. Making some changes in these seats could mean Council decisions that more closely align with the spirit and the guidelines of our General Plan.

ADVOCATES FOR MAMMOTH

Page last updated Friday, May 28, 2010

Information Bulletin

OLD MAMMOTH PLACE APPEAL

OLD MAMMOTH PLACE PROJECT (FORMERLY CLEARWATER)

MAMMOTH CROSSING