After an extensive RFP process, the FFF/Goody Clancy team was selected to conduct a comprehensive assessment and feasibility analysis for options  to restore state office workers to permanent facilities including the re-use of the complex. This fast-tracked project will ultimately help the Vermont Legislature make decisions about how best to proceed to move the nearly 1,500 dislocated state employees into permanent office spaces.

SE Group has been assisting on site planning and visioning in close concert with design team leads FFF and Goody Clancy. The work was completed in March, identifying a range of options that the Vermont Legislature are considering.

The Land Use Plan Update involved a creative and engaging public process that was facilitated by SE Group, but driven by the community. Stakeholder interviews, three public workshops (including one charette), and a Citizen Task Force carried the plan forward continuously within a compact timeline, and ensured that the plan is a true reflection of the community’s vision for the future.

The resulting plan is a guidebook-style land use document, with illustrative concepts and forward-thinking policies. One important overarching goal of the community’s is to focus growth inward to preserve surrounding agricultural lands and to strengthen quality of life, environmental sustainability, and character of the town. In order to achieve this, the plan includes incentive-based density bonuses, new land use classes to encourage compact development and mixed uses, and policies to support high quality development projects.

The Ridgway Land Use Plan Update is expected to be completed in January 2012.

Please contact Melissa Sherburne (msherburne@segroup.com) for more information.

The Hunter-Smuggler Plan included an extensive visioning process, which resulted in the completion of a Vision Document. The Vision Document represents common values shared amongst most stakeholders, and provides a foundation for identifying opportunities, or actions, to meet that vision within the planning area.

The Hunter-Smuggler Plan is currently in the Opportunities Phase of the process, in which the plan document will be drafted, and include recommendations for forest health, wildlife habitat, recreation, and education projects within the planning area. Following the completion of that document, the projects will be evaluated through a public National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

The Vision Document, a process overview, and other planning materials are available on the project website: www.hunter-smugglerplan.com.

Please contact Travis Beck (tbeck@segroup.com) or Melissa Sherburne (msherburne@segroup.com) for more information.

This article focuses on how resorts can increase profits through improvements to operational efficiency. Three fundamental aspects of the concept are discussed: operations, sustainability, and design. Operations includes components such as snowmaking, grooming, lift ops, and food service. Examples of sustainability initiatives include installation of wind turbines and reduction in power use through more efficient snow guns. The design aspect is where the biggest long-term gains can be seen. The goal is to ensure that all components of the resort are correctly sized to the visitation levels and market position of the resort.

Click on the following link to view the article in its entirety: Cleaning House_Operational Efficiencies

Visit the Ski Area Management website for more ski industry news.

The plan, which features a Snowflexâ summer terrain park, a challenge course, mountain bike skills area, zip line and alpine coaster, is already creating significant buzz in the Minneapolis area—especially the summer terrain park.  Please follow the links below for local press coverage of the multi-season proposal.

Please follow the links below for local press coverage of the multi-season proposal.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/125863733.html

Skiing or snowboarding in July? It could happen at Hyland

The focus of the RDC is recreation-based second home communities and resort/leisure communities and facilities.

In addition to presenting scientifically objective information, transparency and public engagement are paramount to a proper NEPA process. SE Group has developed a website—www.breckenridgepeak6.com—to provide the public an opportunity to review the project document online. The website also includes project information, site photos, status updates, etc. Essential to the management of public comments on this project, the project specific website interacts directly with a custom Comment Management System. SE Group has recently developed this functionality to allow key stakeholders, agencies, and the public to efficiently review and comment on the Draft EIS. This Comment Management System allows the website user to explore and comment on all sections of the Draft EIS and categorize comments by topic. This system will expedite efforts to review and track comments to create a more timely transition into the Response-to-Comments phase of the project. To see how this process works, please visit www.breckenridgepeak6.com.

SE Group anticipates using this website format for future projects that involve presenting information and engaging stakeholders in a process.

The master plan approval allows the project to move forward on detailed design and permitting of specific construction phases at the state and local level.  SE Group continues to work with the team to refine the first phase of construction.

SE Group, working with the developer of the project Cross Pollination, has provided aesthetic and land use compatibility analysis and testimony to the Board.

After much interaction with local and regional planning committees, the developer was able to reach a stipulated settlement with a broad array of stakeholders that greatly expediated the approval. The project is expected to be under construction in Fall 2011.

For more information, visit the project’s website at www.iwantmygreenpower.com

SE Group has worked closely with the Gunstock team for over a decade. Our most recent collaboration with Gunstock, resulting in the 2010 Master Plan, focused on increasing the multi-season recreation program for the area, and expanding the existing business into a more sustainable, year-round operation. SE Group congratulates Gunstock for moving forward with the implementation of their multi-season recreation program, and looks forward to product testing later in the year!

More details on the roll out of Gunstock’s multi-season plan may be found in the following article: http://citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110302/GJNEWS02/703029911/-1/CITIZEN. For more information on Multi-Season Recreation Planning, please contact Claire Humber (chumber@segroup.com) in our Burlington, VT office.