“A guiding principle behind the various changes to the land use code, as expressed by Pitkin County’s growth (sic) advisory committee, is that “as homes get bigger, things should get harder. The burden for what that home should do in terms of mitigation and giving back to the community should increase”. For property owners, says Sotheby’s agent Tim Estin [and member of the committee], “It’s fuelling the sense that . . . the land use code is going to become more restrictive”. Anyone determined to build bigger could try developing two homes on one lot that, together, would exceed the 9,250 sq ft limit, says Estin, “If the lot size were big enough and the land use code permitted it”, he adds. “In the historic West End, a 12,000 sq ft lot would permit a home with two attached residences or two detached single-family homes, and in the Cemetery Lane area of West Aspen, where lot sizes are generally larger, on a common-sized 15,000 sq ft lot, one could build a single-family home with two separate residences that share a common wall or garage wall,” he suggests.”…
