Twenty-eight homes plus some caretakers’ units could freckle the Alta Lakes landscape in the future under a development plan that San Miguel County Commissioners will soon weigh.

What will happen to the nexus of trails that snake on and off private property, however, is unclear.

After pulling an ambitious annexation proposal from Mountain Village, the Alta Lakes landowners — Silver Mountain Industries — say they’re ready to develop under the umbrella of what’s considered use-by-right, or one house per 35 acres.

This plan, however, will ask to cluster that development from two tracts of land onto one, allotting for a more dense development in order to keep from building in the High Country Zone District.

“We’re back at it,” said Mark Oligschlaeger, vice president of the Leucadia Financial Corporation, SMI’s parent company. “We’ve formulated this plan to be as smooth as possible.”

The plan is essentially a clustered use-by-right that would see 28 homes plus caretakers’ units with as many as 20 of the homes. The company owns 800-plus acres in the Alta Lakes basin and the development would be concentrated on the 540-acre tract called the Turkey Creek Mesa property, near the historic townsite of Alta.
Upgrades to the existing road — namely the first mile or so — are in the works, too.

Under the plan, Boomerang and Alta Lakes roads would be preserved as recreation corridors, though what could become of the lattice of trails in the area is murky. Trails on public lands would remain open but those that scratch into private property could be closed off behind fences.

“The trail networks on Forest Service property are already extensive,” Oligschlaeger said. “We believe that the trail networks will continue to be extensive and don’t require further access through our property … There are some trails that clearly go through the property.”

“We’re sort of victims of our own largesse,” he added.  “We’ve never GPS’d those trails. We’ve just allowed trespassing.”

This iteration of Alta development comes months after the company announced it was withdrawing its proposal to annex into Mountain Village, citing a lukewarm town council.

SMI had sought to annex its 540-plus developable acres into Mountain Village and develop the property outside of its use by right under San Miguel County land uses.

Under the old plan, SMI would preserve access to a snarl of trails in the area. They would restore the historic mining structures and offer a small museum, a testament to the town of Alta.  A new mining village would rise, this one of quaint gingerbread houses for area workers.

SMI proposed 71 developable lots, 71 employee units within the Alta town site, 12 resident-only units in the same place, a lodge with 45 rooms and 45 more cabins.

What that plan had in ambition it lacked in support from Mountain Village officials.

“We thought the plan we put forward to Mountain Village was a thoughtful plan, and it was good at meeting the employee housing needs within the community.
Unfortunately, others didn’t feel the same way,” Oligschlaeger said. The new plan, he said, is “acceptable” though the company had initially sought to build something more creative.

“In many ways this plan that we’re putting forth now is easier and equally acceptable,” he said. “This is a reversion.”

The area’s wandering trails and myriad lakes — however marred by mining’s scars — are beloved by the region’s mountain bikers and hikers, which could mean an uphill battle for SMI.

“I think most people in the region would rather see no development in Alta Lakes,” said Joan May, one of three San Miguel County Commissioners. “I’d rather see nothing up there, but we have to work within the law.

“We’ve come to think of that area as public trails and public land, and that would mean retaining the trails… whether or not that’s possible, whether or not some of that can be replaced later … that’s something that may be negotiated.”

The commissioners will have a look at the plan on June 4, though it’s not yet in a formal review process.