After being sued, Georgetown agrees to let development move ahead

Two months after they prompted a lawsuit by voting to block a partly built development in their small mountain hamlet, leaders in Georgetown reversed course Tuesday night.

The Georgetown Board of Selectmen, its governing body, voted unanimously to approve a settlement that ends the legal case and allows Bighorn Crossing to keep being built.

Just off Interstate 70 and just west of Georgetown Lake, Bighorn Crossing is a mixed-use development that broke ground in 2018 and currently includes seven townhomes, a Wyndham hotel and a brewpub. Five apartment buildings are still to be built there.

But that future construction was threatened when, on Nov. 14, Bighorn Crossing developer Kurt Soukup asked the Board of Selectmen to slightly amend the development’s plats. Several selectmen, frustrated with the project, took that opportunity to sound off.

“You should be absolutely embarrassed with the quality of work,” Selectman Rob Connell said as he gestured towards Soukup, as seen in a video recording of the meeting.

“When it rains, there is water coming out of the electrical outlets,” Connell said of buildings at Bighorn Crossing. “I mean, would you live in a place like that? I don’t think so!”

Another critic, Selectman Mary Smith, didn’t like that the plat amendment would allow for 50 micro apartments where 20 townhomes were initially planned. She said that the project should return to town-planning and design boards for their approval. Others agreed.

“This needs to do a do-over,” said Selectman Dienne Powell. “This isn’t acceptable.”

Georgetown’s de facto mayor, who has the unique title of police judge, disagreed somewhat.

“Yes, it feels like we thought we were buying a bill of goods and that’s not what we ended up with, but that’s not what we’re being asked about tonight,” said Police Judge Lynette Kelsey. “I don’t think we should be holding our expectations for the rest of the development — this plat amendment shouldn’t be held hostage for that.”

But when it came time to vote, it was unanimous. The entire board voted not to amend the plats,  effectively revoking the town government’s approval of Bighorn Crossing. (Under town rules, the police judge votes only if the six-person Board of Selectmen is tied.)

So, Soukup sued Georgetown and its Board of Selectmen on Dec. 14. He asked a judge in that town to reverse the board’s decision before it caused “irreparable financial harm.”

Later that month, the Board of Selectmen met with Soukup to discuss a settlement. If the board would allow the project to move ahead, Soukup agreed to stop suing and to set aside one unit in each of the five proposed apartment buildings as rent-controlled, to keep those units affordable. Their agreement came up for a public hearing and vote Tuesday night.