Billionaire's Wolf Creek plans foiled again

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, September 20, 2007

A Texas billionaire's grand plans to develop a village near Wolf Creek Ski Area met more resistance today when a Colorado appeals court upheld a ruling that threw out zoning approval for the project.

The decision, which comes almost two years after the initial court action, represents another setback for developer Billy Joe "Red" McCombs and a victory for the ski area and two environmental groups fighting the scale of the project.

The Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver agreed that Mineral County's board of commissioners "abused its discretion" in granting zonining approval for a development that lacked year-round access.

The ski area and the environmental groups sued the county after its 2004 approval of McCombs' plans to build about 2,100 residential units and 250,000 square feet of commercial space on a 287-acre parcel in one of the snowiest parts of the state.

The only access to the land is via a Forest Service road that closes during most months of the year because of heavy snow. A county judge concluded it was not possible to use the road for the type of development envisioned by McCombs.

The low-frills ski area, owned by the Pitcher family for more than three decades, initially supported the plan to build a ski village at an elevation of about 10,300 feet. But the Pitchers later backed away from it after deciding it would not be compatible with the ski area.

Located about 75 miles from Durango and 250 miles from Denver, Wolf Creek has no lodging at its base. The closest accommodations are about 20 miles away in South Fork or on the other side of the pass in Pagosa Springs.