Who will be the first to implement the vision
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Architect
renditions of the patio restaurant as well as one of the courtyards in
the middle of the resort core
PHOTOS COURTESY OF INTRAWEST
“We
appreciate what they are trying to do,” said June Lake resident Ian
Fettes at the June Lake Community Advisory Committee meeting on
Saturday June 7.
“They have responded to the concerns we all had
at the last meeting,” added resident Duncan King. “Some of us still
have a few reservations about what we are seeing versus what will
actually happen.”
When and if the Rodeo Grounds project becomes a
reality is still of great concern to many residents and business owners
of June Lake but it seems as though Intrawest is bending over backwards
to implement all the community’s concerns into their development plans.
“At the last meeting we had more of a focus on the resort core and
introduced architect Mike Huggins with Burrowes-Huggins Architects who
talked about mountain architecture,” said Director of Development
Brianne Parham. “It was about finding the character of June Lake,
introducing the players to the community and telling them where the
team was headed.”
After the last meeting Intrawest went back and ran workshops with
consultants who took all the comments made by the community. “We heard
that they really wanted to see the visual simulations and what the
architecture would look like,” Parham said. “We came back with a lot
more information in terms of the sections in elevations, how the
townhomes will be layered and how it will look in terms of the ‘camp’
concept that has a rustic elegance feel to it.
The
community seemed to really resonate with that concept. From the
architecture to the landscape and nature surrounding the project we
wanted to bring in the feel of the resort to the community this
meeting.”
Concerns such as overflow parking, traffic, services to
the people, the size of the development and how it will affect the
drainage in the Mono Lake Basin aside, the entire proposal is like a
Catch 22. Intrawest wants to make sure that the much-needed
improvements to June Mountain Ski area will be a go and Carl Williams,
General Manager of June Mountain, said the ski area won’t start with
improvements until Intrawest breaks ground across the street.
“We
would need a guarantee that there will be improvements at June Mountain
Ski Area before we can break ground,” said Douglas Ogilvy, Vice
President of the Southwest Region, Intrawest. “We need to know what
Carl is going to do in terms of keeping the mountain running for the
community.”
“I like what they’ve done so far,” said Williams. “They
are on the edge of making it all work, including the idea of adding
1,000 beds to the area. They’ve reduced the square footage
significantly to reduce the impact but if they make it any smaller it’s
not going to work for us.”
Once plans get approved and the permits are pulled from the County, both sides will come to the table and work out the details.
Community
member Tony F. doesn’t own a business in June Lake but shared the
sentiments of many business owners in June Lake who were at the
meeting. “We need this business and we need this project. We need
people here for the businesses to survive.” |