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RIDGWAY, Aug. 7 7:25 a.m. – “It’s always a pleasure when we get this kind of a response to an issue,” Ouray County Commissioner Don Batchelder said at the start of an emotionally charged public hearing at the Ouray County 4-H Events Center in Ridgway on Tuesday, July 31.

But for those in attendance – over 100 residents of Log Hill Mesa and the Divide Ranch & Club resort Planned Unit Development – the pleasure was all theirs when a special use permit was approved detailing which amenities would be included in the developer’s proposed two-phased clubhouse design.

The resolution approving the special use permit for the Strategic Real Estate Group, which is managing partner in the project, would “satisfy the clubhouse requirement.” The permit includes a Phase I plan providing for an increase in the clubhouse square footage from 4,800 to 5,600, which includes a spacious member’s club of not less than 800 square feet. Phase I also calls for flexible space at the pro shop for off season uses; an additional 360 square feet to be added to the kitchen bar and grill, containing a commercial kitchen; and the applicant complying with all pertinent provisions of the Ouray County Land Use Code, including visual impact regulations and signage specifications along with paying a road maintenance fee for construction traffic impacts.

The kitchen is to include a grill, commercial stove, oven, refrigerator, and an “impromptu meeting place” for members. The resolution also includes a one-year time limit for Strategic Real Estate Group to apply for a building permit from the county.

Phase II will include a pool, 75-plus capacity restaurant, spa and fitness facility, locker room, and a courtyard and kiosk that would provide additional seating for the restaurant.

For residents, the meeting signaled the end of nine years of frustration. A clubhouse had been in the planning stages by former owner Fairway Pines, but confusion over the specific amenities of a clubhouse, due to a 1998 planned unit development approval that did not define what a clubhouse would contain, and a 2002 amended planned unit development agreement with the county that was both “vague and non-binding” as pertaining to the clubhouse, hindered progress, according to Ouray County Attorney Mary Deganhart.

The agreement reached on July 31 was the product of several meetings, including a three-hour negotiation between Strategic and the Divide’s property owners association on the afternoon of the hearing, with the owners association asking for more kitchen and member’s club space.

Divide Homeowners Association president Dick Caldwell said there was “significant difference” in the amount of available space being provided. “It’s not that different in design and concept,” he said. “The clubhouse needs a place to have member meetings or an annual board meeting. There is a strong sense of community there and a need for a space for the bridge club or a pot luck dinner.”

At a previous hearing on July 23, the county commissioners made it clear that while they did not want to take on the role of arbiter in the matter, the need for clarification was crucial for all parties concerned before a special use permit could be issued.

“There is a need for more specificity so we don’t come back with more questions.  I think we’ve defined those conditions that’ll satisfy the BOCC’s requirements,” Commissioner Keith Meinert said on Tuesday.

Paul Stashick, president of Strategic Real Estate Group, said the project was broken into two phases because membership dues would be a component in underwriting the second phase.

“We don’t want to trigger Phase II because it’ll be their choice as to whether they want those amenities,” said Stashick. “All club members and 50 off-site members would pay an undetermined amount of dues.”

Or rather, the facilities would be tied to an increase in dues, according to C.J. Julin, vice president of marketing for Strategic Real Estate Group. “We need operating budgets and capital costs to know what the dues structure will be,” Julin said.

Some members of the owners association complained that they had not been notified of the negotiations by the association’s officers and had been excluded from the process, asking for a vote from the outstanding membership of the owners association for an independent approval of the conditions of the special use permit.

“There was no advance notice” of the meeting between the developer and homeowners, said County Planning Commission Chair Bob Luttrell, who is also a member of the owners association. “I heard about it from a phone call.  It’s unfortunate these things happen. It’s what this meeting is about.”

Caldwell argued that the owners association “only represents” the homeowners, and that the meetings during the week were proper. When Caldwell asked for a show of hands from those in attendance who favored the changes, nearly all raised their hands. Following that, the county commissioners went forward with the resolution, and the special use permit was approved.

This special use permit process follows a unanimous approval of a preliminary plat on June 25 for the 677-acre, 400-lot residential resort. The special use permit was to be ratified at the board of county commissioners’ regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 6.