Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The city Planning Commission gave a condominium complex at the corner of Village Drive and Medicine Springs Drive the go ahead to finalize its plans Thursday night after a short preapplication hearing.

Commenting mostly on the mass of the structure, which sits near similar developments such as Trappeur's Crossing and the recently approved Blackhawk development, Planning Commission told applicant Eric Smith it would not need many major adjustments before it can be approved.

Base Meadows South Lot 7 Condominiums, a 32-unit condominium project, was originally approved for development six years ago but was never constructed. The development permit the applicants received in 1994 has since expired.

Because the city has instituted stricter architectural guidelines since its last approval, Smith went in front of Planning Commission to try to decipher what to do to make the project acceptable under the new standards.

Among city planner Leif Myhre's concerns were the mass and scale of the project, which he feels could be lightened by adding more variation to the building's fae. Myhre wrote that the building has too little variation in its fae and is not graceful enough for a complex so close to the skiing area.

"I definitely think this project needs to comply with the existing architectural guidelines," said Planning Commissioner Kathi Meyer.

Commissioner David Baldinger Jr. said he thought the project ought to use more "natural" materials to fit in with the surrounding projects.

The three-story, L-shaped building will have an underground parking structure, a big plus for many of the commissioners.