Basalt is getting closer to updating its master plan, a community vision that guides the town's leadership in making decisions about land use and development. Wednesday night, residents got to throw in their chips, literally, with some ideas gleaned from previous community outreach and stakeholder meetings.
Different development options for four key areas in Basalt were displayed around the lunchroom of Basalt High School last night.
Attendees were given four poker chips to place by their preferred options. So many people attended that CTA Group and Connect One Design, the consultants helping the town develop the new plan, almost ran out of chips.
Wayne Freeman, a principal at CTA, says the firm has tried to encourage community participation by making meetings like these fun.
"Throughout the entire process, we’ve tried to inject creativity and make it interesting," he said.
Both medium- and high-density development options were given for Southside, the Jadwin-Stott parcel across from the post office and library, and the Meyer’s property lining highway 82. Three possibilities for the old Clark’s Market space included retail, hotels and even a parking structure.
A survey about the land-use options can also be found on the “Let’s Talk Basalt” websitestarting Friday.
The final plan is expected to be released by the end of the year.