VILLAGE CHAIRLIFT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Bear Valley's Master Plan has always included a
chairlift from the village to the downhill ski area, but it's never made it off the
drawing board. No one is too eager to pay for it. Ski area owners have never been
convinced of the importance of that lift to their operation. The commercial community in
the village would like to see it, as would most of the homeowners, but not enough to
volunteer to pay for it.
This is partly a result of Bear Valley's split personality. When modern
Bear Valley was founded, the ski area was created as a separate business from the village.
When you view Bear Valley as a whole, it seems clear to most that the village lift would
be a positive link between the ski hill and the village. It would open new ski terrain and
make it easier for skiers to take a side trip into the village for shopping or dining. It
could be used in the summer by hikers, sightseers, and mountain bikers. And it could be
used for access to an all-year restaurant on top of the ski area, with spectacular views
available.
In 1997, Alpine County got a $35,000 state grant for a feasibility
study on the lift. TBH Partners, owners of the Bear Valley Lodge, paid the $8,750 match
requirement. The study was in 2 parts. The first part was an engineer's analysis of what
kind of lift might be desirable, how much it could cost, and what the physical
requirements for construction were. The second part was an economic analyst's study on how
to pay for the lift and what the effects on the community would be. A committee of Bear
Valley citizens was convened to guide the study process.
The engineer concluded that there were no insurmountable physical
obstacles. The lift could cost anywhere from $4 to $7.5 million, depending on how fancy
the chairlift is. These costs are for a detachable high speed chair. It would cost
$250,000 a year to operate.
The economic analyst said, to no one's surprise, that the chairlift
would have a positive effect on Bear Valley's economy. Depending on how it was financed,
in some scenarios it could pay for itself within 3 years by stimulating business and
employment. He qualified it, though, saying that it only made sense as part of a greater
development scheme with expansion of terrain and facilities at the ski area, along with
buildout in the village of more hotel space, condos, homes, and commercial development.
This may have been the most important revelation of the study: that the lift by itself
would make only a modest marketing splash for a couple years, and that, to be worth doing,
it should be accompanied by a significant improvement in the overall service level in Bear
Valley.
He outlined possible funding mechanisms. He said that it looked as if a
mix of private and public funds would be needed, since no one party seemed willing to take
on the whole thing. Grants up to a million dollars, tied to job creation, may be
available. A special assessment of property owners is a distinct possibility. The creation
of a corporation and sale of stock was discussed.
And that's where the study ended up. The lift is feasible. It will
benefit Bear Valley, on the whole, including property owners, businesses, and visitors.
We're still not sure how it will be paid for, but we assume it will be a coalition of
public and private entities. And that's what led to...
THE BEAR VALLEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
The most tangible result of the feasibility study, besides the
study itself (available at the Bear Valley Library), was the creation of a Community
Development Corporation (CDC). It is the answer to the question, how can we blend private
money and public grants and loans, while orchestrating a performance involving federal,
state, county, and community agencies, along with private businesses, to get the lift
built?
A CDC is a powerful and flexible non-profit agency which is eligible
for public grants and loans but can also pursue private enterprises. It is especially
well-suited for the lift project because of its potential mix of players.
The Bear Valley CDC has a 9 member Board of Directors, representing
Alpine and Calaveras Counties, local home and condo owners' associations, and Bear
Valley's business community. The CDC split up into areas of interest: the lift, employee
housing, and recreation projects.
The committee on the chairlift is pretty much treading water. The study
is done and no one is stepping up to pay for the lift. Chuck Toeniskoetter of TBH Partners
says a chairlift expert told him that we could build a simple fixed grip lift for $1.5
million, a lot less than the detachable lift. The Bottomleys, owners of Bear Valley
Mountain Resort - the downhill ski area - say they are not enthusiastic about
participating in a lift construction project anytime soon. They have an approved expansion
plan from their U. S. Forest Service landlord, and they have other lifts they would rather
build first.
EMPLOYEE HOUSING
The CDC Board correctly recognized employee housing as one of the most
serious economic problems in Bear Valley. In the late 70's, Bear Valley had nearly double
its present population of 206, consisting mostly of employees. This meant 2 seats on the
County Board of Supervisors instead of the present one. It meant that more restaurants and
bars could be supported, and they could stay open more. Local employers had a more
reliable labor pool on site, and didn't have to worry how many employees would show up
during winter storms. Stores and restaurants had less spoilage because they had a more
predictable and consistent flow of business. And employees could count on more predictable
work hours and a longer work season. It was all reflected in a higher and more diverse
level of service available to property owners and visitors.
The picture changed in the '80's, for at least two reasons. First,
reliable inexpensive 4-wheel drive transportation became available, thanks mostly to
Subaru. Low-income ski area help could afford, for the first time, to buy a good mountain
car, using the money they saved by renting cheaper housing in the Arnold area. Second,
fewer and fewer home and condo owners in Bear were willing to rent out their property on a
long term basis. Some cited bad experiences with past renters. And many of today's more
affluent property owners simply don't need the income.
Bear Valley's Master Plan at first had employee housing where the
Tamarack Condos now stand. In fact, the Tamarack condo project was started by the Bear
Valley Development Company as employee housing . But midway through construction, the
Company went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and became desperate for cash. The County let
them shift the employee housing zoning to another parcel, the Benchmark, and turn the
Tamarack project into condos.
In 1983 the County Board of Supervisors took a small step toward easing
the shortage of employee housing by legalizing "granny units", small 1 or 2
bedroom apartments inside single family houses. There were already about 35 of them in
town. The County didn't go as far as Aspen, Colorado and offer tax incentives for people
to add granny units as employee housing, since there was some debate about whether to
legalize them in the first place. Homeowners with granny units pay extra for sewer service
and parking impact.
In 1990 the County used another $35,000 state planning grant to study
employee housing throughout the county. The study went a lot like the lift study. The
conclusion was, yes, there's a crying need for employee housing, and, no, there's no one
on the horizon ready to pay for it. There are low interest loans available but grants are
hard to find and harder to make work.
So Bear Valley has a parcel zoned for employee housing, the Benchmark
property just west of the Tamarack Condos on Quaking Aspen Road. It's privately owned, and
the owners have said they'll cooperate with proposals to develop employee housing there,
but they haven't been inclined so far to do it themselves.
Bear Valley homeowner Phil Hagar has proposed a new angle to the CDC
Board involving enterprise zones and tax credits, which might actually get us employee
housing before we see the village chairlift.
RECREATION
Another committee of the CDC is investigating a little park between the
South parking lot and the highway. The idea is for picnic tables, horseshoe pits,
volleyball, barbecues. There may be grant funding available for this in the near future.
It may also fold into a longer term plan involving National Scenic Byway status for
Highway 4, which could bring funding for a rest stop there with an RV dump station and
bathrooms.
Eric Jung June 2000