Fire station proposed for Starwood area
The Aspen Fire Protection District and Starwood Metropolitan District are jointly proposing the construction of a new substation to serve the high-end neighborhood and McLain Flats area. The 4,300-square-foot facility also would provide housing for first responders.
Courtesy Aspen Fire Protection District/Charles Cunniffe Architects
Fire station proposed for Starwood area
By Chad Abraham 02/05/2018 Originally published on aspendailynews.com
A proposal for a new fire substation to serve the exclusive Starwood neighborhood and the McLain Flats corridor will go before the Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday.
The Aspen Fire Protection District and the Starwood Metropolitan District are jointly submitting the proposal, which is backed by a $3.1 million bond measure the homeowners association passed in the November election.
The two-story, 4,300-square-foot building also would include two two-bedroom apartments for firefighters and their families, said Aspen Fire Chief Rick Balentine.
While the substation is to primarily serve homes worth millions of dollars — Balentine calculated there is $1.2 billion worth of residential property in the area northwest of Aspen — the fire chief emphasized the importance of the affordable-housing units. Such housing is critical for “maintaining a stable, in-district volunteer firefighting and first-responder force,” he said.
Balentine said Starwood and the McLain Flats areas were identified some time ago as needing additional services so blazes, particularly wildfires, can be attacked more quickly and easily.
“We’ve always been proactive when it comes to fire risk and mitigation,” he said. “Sometimes getting engines up Trentaz [Road] can be really tricky.”
The metro district would pay for construction of the substation and own it, and the fire district would operate it through an intergovernmental agreement.
One Type III engine capable of fighting wildland fires would be stationed at the new facility, which is to be located at the intersection of Kessler Road and Whitehorse Springs Lane. The homeowners association, whose voters passed the bond measure 25-12, owns the 9.5 acres of land.
According to a memo from land-use consultant Chris Bendon, the Colorado State Forest Service has identified the area as having a moderate to high fire risk, and response times are not ideal.
“Incident response times to Starwood and the surrounding McLain Flats neighborhood will be greatly improved, and the living quarters will assist the overall emergency response mission,” the memo says.
There are two garage bays proposed, with the other to house a medical/emergency response vehicle eventually, and specialty equipment necessary for fire operations is incorporated into the facility’s design, Bendon wrote.
While the fire district has a substation in Woody Creek, the new facility would improve response times for properties along McLain Flats Road from roughly Slaughterhouse Bridge to the south and Star Mesa Drive to the north, the memo says.
“Fire protection provided by this facility is not limited to the boundaries of the Starwood Metropolitan District,” Bendon wrote.
There are available utilities to serve the building, but an on-site wastewater system will be required. That system will be combined with an existing septic system nearby that likely will need to be updated and enlarged.
If approved, construction could begin this spring and be ready for occupancy in 2019, Balentine said.
“The two units at the Starwood station will help in the short term, but we hope to find other ways in the future to continue to support our mission for the long haul as the local housing market continues to get ever more challenging,” he said.