Proposed Development Old Mammoth Rd & Minaret Rd

Newt Waldman a Mammoth Second Homeowner Since 1981 wrote us this letter.

Re: Cardinal Development

I have been an owner in Mammoth Lakes since 1981. I am not a NIMBY and have written to the Mammoth News in opposition to the people who want Mammoth Lakes to remain in a time warp of fast food outlets and tee shirt shops. I have never been concerned about rezoning because the Town of Mammoth Lakes Vision Statement calls for new construction to be compatible with the area to be built in.

Perhaps the Planning Commission can explain to me and others how a 70 or 80 foot high building is considered compatible with the surrounding complexes. If the proposed height were not enough of an outrage, the proposed building is completely out of place in the proposed area. It looks like something one would see in Disneyland or in Los Angeles as a Law or Medical building.

It would appear that Cardinal Development over-paid for the property and is now seeking the Planning Commission’s help in bailing them out. I do not believe that is the role of the Commission. I asked myself the following questions;

1. Why is the Commission ignoring present zoning for the proposed construction site?

2. Why is the Commission ignoring the Mammoth Lakes Vision Statement?

3. Can the Town itself be trusted when future buyers relying on the zoning in place when they buy are subsequently confronted with outrageous changes or non-conforming variances next door?

4. Does the Commission as a whole or do individuals on the Commission have some vested interest in the Cardinal project that is or might color their decisions, and

5. Is the Commission prepared to bail out by zoning changes or variances anyone who has overpaid for a particular property in Mammoth Lakes?

I do not know the answer to any of the questions propounded. However, I do know this; there is no logic in approving a project, any project which is so out of place with the surrounding area without some ulterior and suspect motivation. The lot remained unsold for years and years because much of the lot is unusable. It is not the job of the Planning Commission to turn a “sow’s ear into a silk purse”. It is the job of the Commission to protect the Town of Mammoth Lakes and its homeowners and see that development progresses in a rational and orderly manner compatible with the Mammoth Lakes Vision Statement. You have taken it upon yourselves to turn Mammoth Lakes into some thing it is not. I consider your actions self-serving and selfish in the least and perhaps actionable in the main.

Newton I. Waldman, Sunrise homeowner since 1981.

Visit Meadow Stables and Turn Around

This letter just in from Julie Beck, who's been visiting Mammoth regularly for over 40 years and owned several pieces of property in Mammoth for much of that time:

As this debate over views and height restrictions regarding the development of the Minaret and Meadow Lane corner evolves through the politics of Mammoth Lakes residents and city representatives, it might be beneficial for all to make a trip out to the meadow stables, turn around, face Mammoth Mountain and take in the view of the surroundings. What you will see are 2 and 3 story developments. From this point of view, even the height of The Village - the ONE exception for height restrictions as promised by the town leaders - seems to blend into the surroundings because of one thing and only one thing - its location on the upside of the hill above town. As your eye travels left and right, all you see are 'mountain' inspired buildings, open spaces and the lovely vistas of Sherwin Mountain, Mammoth Mountain, and the others.

No where do you see a massive 7 or 8 story glass, stucco, view-blocking condo-hotel tower. Vertical slabs of a sky-high condo-filled building stacked to the skies would obliterate the once all-scenic mountain views.

The people at Cardinal Investments should be ashamed of the themselves. Property is private and open spaces are public. You are not only destroying the ambiance of the entire area, you are creating an eyesore equal only to the disgusting high-rises found in Miami Beach - NOT Mammoth Lakes!!! And, it is not only an eyesore for the immediate surrounding area, but for the entire town.

I have several friends who are more than willing to shuttle these malignant view blocking vultures, power point presentations and all, to the airport, bus station or car rental agency and out of our town!! There are plenty of flights from LAX, John Wayne, Long Beach, Burbank, San Diego, etc. to cities who, over the last decades, have embraced greedy investors and builders. I'm sure that they would be welcome in any of these concrete jungles - just not in Mammoth Lakes. If we, as visitors and residents, wanted to live or visit another high rise, we wouldn't make the 6-hour drive to a place of wonder - trees, mountains, and lovely vistas - sans the high rise condominiums.

So, to the City Council, the Planning Commission, etc. - do the job that you were elected to do. Stop this ridiculous development in its tracks. That property was clearly zoned with a maximum of units and height. Show Cardinal and any other investment company that Mammoth Lakes can't be bought, threatened or conned into changing zoning just to insure their profit margins. Owners and visitors come to Mammoth Lakes for what Mammoth Lakes is - an escape from the rampant urban defiling of nature and its beauty. Keep it that way!

Amen.

Keeping The Town on its toes

Commentary
Keeping the Town on its toes
By Lara Kirkner Monday, September 18, 2006 5:16 PM CDT
Mammoth Times Staff Writer

No decisions have been made, no variances given, but people in the Town of Mammoth Lakes are nervous. So nervous in fact, that talk of Town staff allowing developers to run rampant fills conversations, even though many of the major projects have not even been through official public hearings, let alone been finalized. I understand the concern and I too get caught up in the fear of skyscrapers in Mammoth, so when neighbors of the Sherwin, a condo-hotel project that is being discussed for the corner of Old Mammoth Road and Minaret Road, expressed their concern that Town officials are breaking away from the vision of Mammoth and not listening to the community, I listened and began to believe... and then I made a call to Chair of the Planning Commission Roy Saari.
A calming presence on any occasion and a very levelheaded man, Saari explained that he didn't even have an opinion of the project yet, much less a final decision."Cardinal Investments (the proponent of the Sherwin), has gone back to the drawing boards and won't be presenting the project again to the public for another month or two," Saari said. "People around the project want sprawl and not height, but sprawl may not be accessible for the public. I need to hear public comment because as of now we have only heard from the neighbors of the property, not the whole community."
Yet the neighbors of the property speak with a strong voice-approximately 60 of them showed up at a neighborhood meeting regarding the Sherwin on Aug. 4, according to Janna Kiraly who owns a condo at Mammoth Creek Condos with her husband Karch." When I bought my condo, my real estate agent told me it was zoned for 35-foot [high] condominiums," Kiraly said. "I believed I would never lose my Mammoth Mountain view." At this point Kiraly says she feels very ripped off by the Town.
"They are allowing the builders to make money and I will lose money," she said. Local realtor and resident at Sunrise Condos, another neighbor of the Sherwin property, Steve Schwind, who has been in Mammoth since 1981, claims that the "major heartburn we are having is that nothing else in the area is above 35 feet. The property should be laid out comparable to the rest of the area." When asked how he would lay out the Sherwin, Schwind said, "Mammoth Creek Condos have a great layout on a piece of land that is about the size of the Sherwin lot. Mammoth Creek has 60 units and the Sherwin is zoned for 63, so I would probably lay it out similarly to Mammoth Creek." Schwind emphasized that the neighbors around the Sherwin are not opposed to development on the lot, and Kiraly seconded the idea when she said that she always knew something would be built there." We believe in private property rights but we also believe in following the guidelines," Schwind said. The catch in all of this is that Cardinal Investments is asking for the height variance in exchange for offering open space around Mammoth Creek for the public. Basically dangling a carrot in front of our noses in order to get what they want." To get a variance you have to offer something to the community," Saari said, and I'm not sure yet if the height they are asking for is a good tradeoff for the open space. Schwind adamantly feels it is not. "We are surrounded by open space, they (Cardinal) shouldn't get extra height for it." Cardinal Investments requested a maximum height for the Sherwin project of 75-85 feet at a Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 9 in order to keep 45 percent of the property available for a conservation easement. What we all have to remember is that things have not been set in stone yet. Luckily (in this case) our Town government moves at a slow pace and major projects such as the Clearwater, the Sherwin and Mammoth Crossing still have a long way to go before they are finalized, and will definitely go before the public first. It's hard to say at this point whether Town officials are turning a deaf ear on the public and straying away from our vision statement when they haven't made any major decisions yet. It is great to know, however, that our community is paying attention and is not afraid to speak its mind since Town officials are taking these major projects into consideration. Now is the time to make concerns known. Let's keep sending them back to the drawings boards until they get it right.

Mammoth Times Report

On August 9th, Jesse Langley and Kyle Ransford of Cardinal Investments made a second presentation regarding the 5.24 acre Sherwin parcel to the Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission. Here is the pertinent excerpt from the Mammoth Times report (by Lara Kirkner, Aug. 17-23, 2006 edition, bold emphasis added by us) about the event:

The Sherwin Lands again

Jesse Langley and Kyle Ransford of Cardinal Investments brought updated information to the Commission regarding the Sherwin project, which is still in the pre-application process. Aug. 9 was the second workshop for the project planned for the 5.24-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Old Mammoth Road and Minaret Road.

Since the first workshop on April 19 the proposed project has been shown to neighbors surrounding the property in order to receive their feedback. One of the biggest problems with the project when it was first presented was the wall of three- to four-story buildings that it planned to create. The unit size and number, site configuration and building orientation of the project drove the long wall, according to the Town's Advisory Design Panel (ADP).

With 45 percent of the site being planned for a conservation easement, plus the need for setbacks from Mammoth Creek, Langley and Ransford stated they are looking at a challenging location with a buildable area of 35 percent once all is said and done. According to the two men, they could balance the setbacks on the site by going higher with the structures. Instead of three to four story buildings, they are now opting for seven- to eight-story buildings, which, while breaking up the wall effect they had at first, would make the height of the buildings between 75 to 85 feet. A maximum height of 45 feet with a parking inducement is allowed at the site.

Bill Fishbeck, speaking on behalf of the homeowners surrounding the project site, stated that the project looks like a prime example of the tail wagging the dog. According to Fishbeck, the site is zoned for condominiums, not condo-hotel as the applicants are designing it.

"Sixty-three units are allowed under the condo zoning, which would put the project at 95,000 square feet," Fishbeck said. "The applicant is proposing 93 condo-hotel units," which would put the project at over 100,000 square feet. Basically the applicants are putting twice the mass on half the lot compared to half the density on the entire lot, he added.

"Now is the time to let developers know what you want and that this is not acceptable," Fishbeck said.

Again, the plans are still in study session mode. Dr. Anthony Nagy pointed out that the type of height being proposed may not even be feasible and stated that a group called Test America was actually drilling at the site to test the water levels in order to make sure that the ground could handle the mass of the project.

Note that Cardinal Investments wants to build a seven- to eight-story hotel with bar and restaurant, which would be utterly out of character for this part of Mammoth Lakes. This area instead is composed almost solely of condominiums.

Neighborhood Meeting with Cardinal Investments

On August 4th two men from Cardinal Investments made a presentation to neighbors regarding their proposal to develop the 5.24 acre parcel at the northeast corner of Old Mammoth Road and Minaret Road. Several of us attended this presentation and here are some of the impressions we came away with:

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First Light

Almost up and running, testing a post and a picture here.