United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Loveland Valley Lodge Expansion Environmental Assessment Recreation Resource Report Clear Creek Ranger District, Arapaho National Forest, Clear Creek County County, Colorado January 2017 For More Information Contact: Deb Ekstrand Clear Creek Ranger District 101 HWY 103 Idaho Springs, CO 80452 1
Introduction This report analyzes the effects of a lodge expansion at Loveland Valley Ski Area. Two alternatives are being analyzed as part of this report. One alternative proposes an approximately 20,000 square foot expansion, and the other alternative proposes an approximate 10,000 square foot expansion. Both alternatives propose 2 stories with an additional 3 rd story loft. None of the alternatives are designed to increase daily or annual visitation. Loveland s limiting factor is parking which effectively limits the number of daily skiers Loveland can accommodate. The Valley Lodge was last expanded in 1989, when Loveland hosted approximately 240,000 skiers. During the 2015-2016 season Loveland hosted just under 400,000 skier visits. 94% of all lesson products originate at the Valley. The Loveland Valley Lodge expansion project is needed in order to: Meet current and future demand at Loveland Valley for ski and ride school services, food and beverage consumption, and rental operations; Enhance recreational and guest service experience on NFS lands at the Valley. The 2013 MDP (SE Group 2013) identified the greatest deficiencies at Loveland being restaurant seating, ski school, rentals, and public lockers. Existing facilities and infrastructure at Loveland Valley cannot support the current demand. In the last eight years, Loveland Valley has seen marked increases in ski school (176% increase), rental growth (167% increase), and food and beverage consumption (71% increase). This has resulted in congestion and frequent overcrowding at the Valley lodge creating an undesirable guest experience. The EA contains more detail on the each alternative being analyzed. Relevant Direction The 1997 Revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (Forest Plan) defines management objectives for the Loveland Pass Geographic Area which includes Loveland Ski Area. The Forest Plan directs the US Forest Service to continue to provide day use developed alpine skiing and snowboarding opportunities and facilities. Loveland Ski Area s 2013 Master Development Plan (MDP) serves as a conceptual planning document for future improvements at Loveland. The MDP establishes the direction and priorities for physical infrastructure improvement of mountain and base area facilities over the next decade. The Forest Service accepted the MDP in 2013. Affected Environment The Valley Lodge was constructed in 1961, and was expanded in 1989 to its existing size of 18,300 square feet. The Loveland Valley facilities support the majority of the Loveland Ski and Ride School services and is specifically the starting location for all beginner and lower level lessons. Based upon the Comfortable Carrying Capacity (CCC) formula for restaurant seating in the Accepted 2013 MDP, any day in excess of 834 skiers at the valley exceeds the CCC. The Valley Facility exceeded this limit on all but 4 of the weekends and all of the holidays it was open during the 2015-2016 season. 2
The Master Development Plan determined that the comfortable carrying capacity for Loveland Valley was 1340 guests and the upgrade plan didn t include any change in the comfortable carrying capacity. Comfortable carrying capacity refers to a level of utilization that provides a pleasant recreational experience, without overburdening the resort infrastructure. Accordingly, the design capacity does not normally indicate a maximum level of visitation, but rather the number of visitors that can be comfortably accommodated on a daily basis. Design capacity is typically equated to a resort s tenth busiest day, and peak-day visitation at most resorts can range between 10% to 25% higher than the design capacity. The model used for carrying capacity is lift-based. No new lifts are proposed in the upgrade plan for the Valley; therefore, the carrying capacity was unchanged for future growth at the Valley. However, recent improvements to lesson terrain, expanded guest offerings and expanding population growth in the metro-denver area have led to unprecedented growth for requested services at the Valley Lodge. In the last 8 years, there has been a 40% increase in skier visits, 176% increase in ski and ride school, and 167% increase in rental operations. These increases have resulted in overcrowding, congestion, and an undesirable guest experience as the building lacks the capacity to support the current demand. During the 2015-2016 season skier visits bumped up to nearly 400,000. The five year average for skier visits at Loveland is approximately 340,000. The ten year average in the MDP was approximately 275,000. This is a marked difference between the existing numbers and the numbers in MDP of about 23.5%. Skier visits in 2013/2014 season in Colorado added 1.6 billion dollars to the state s gross domestic product (RRC Associates, 2015). Due to lessons and racing, the turnover of seats at the valley is not at the rate estimated in the MDP as parents and visitors generally spend more time at the valley facilities with much less turnover than at the Basin. Environmental Consequences Effects to the recreating public Meet current and future demand at Loveland Valley for ski and ride school services, racing services, food and beverage consumption, and rental operations; Enhance recreational and guest service experience on NFS lands at the Valley; Expand and improve the guest service facilities in the Valley to complement the improved teaching terrain; Improve the first-time and learning progression ski experience at Loveland by providing an appropriate learning progression in an uncongested area and developing additional Beginner and lower ability level terrain; Install ADA accessible heated ramp between the first floor and second floors (accessible parking) on the west side of the building. Alternative 1 Alternative 1 would approve an approximately 20,000 square foot addition to Loveland Valley Lodge, which would provide for increases in food/beverage seating, ski/ride school services, and rental shop accommodations. Alternative 1 would meet the current demand for space at the Valley Lodge and allow 3
for the smooth excecution to provide a seamless guest experience and would also provide for anticipated growth at the Valley for services specific to the purpose and need. Currently, the guest service experience has been less than desirable as lines can extend outside (and often in inclement weather) for parents, racers, and children in addition to having to visit each department and purchase services separately which requires going up and down stairs and having to walk the back and forth along the the length of Valley complex repeatedly. Ski lessons and racing are two activities that bring parents and children to the lodge, and seating at lunch time is often over-crowded due to turnover occurring with less frequency than predicted in the Master Development Plan (SE Group, 2013). Supplementary room is necessary to create a centralized flow for customers. One central Sales/Check in desk would alleviate confusion and expedite the registration process while allowing the guest to purchase all available services at one location. Critical to the seamless flow of provided services for the guest is having all lessons including child age ski lessons contained on the first floor level and leading directly out to the snow lesson without having to navigate different levels. To reach this desired condition the first floor requires remodeling and expansion. The east end of the addition would have a multi-service sales desk on the lower level which would flow into the new enlarged childrens center, currently on weekends over 400 lunches served in the childrens center have to be served in shifts due to lack of room. A kitchen would be added to the new childrens center, currently there is only room for a warming bin, all food is prepared on the upper floor in the cafeteria. The current under sized childrens center would become the employee locker room, a missing feature in the current complex. With over 250 ski instructors operating out of the valley this would be a much needed improvement. A laundry room would also be added in this space to alleviate Loveland having to truck the Day Tripper rental clothing to Idaho Springs to wash. The enlarged rental area would also be easily accessible from the new Sales/Check in desk. The rental area would expand to the current east end of facility on the lower floor. This expansion would improve the boot fit area, with 700-800 rentals on weekends the current rental area is not adequate. The food/beverage seating on the upper level would expand to include what is now the bar area. The bar would be located in the addition on the upper level. The third level loft would offer overflow seating for race weekends and would be able to accommodate increased future visitation. This would meet the current needs of the congestion at the valley and allow for future growth. In addition this layout would alleviate the need for clients to report to different locations on different floors for rental, ski clothes and lesson sign up. This will ensure a safer, more pleasant environment for guests, and building capacity codes would not be exceeded. Alternative 2 Alternative 2 would approve an approximately 10,000 square foot addition to the Loveland Valley Lodge, which would increase food/beverage seating, ski and snowboard school, and rental operations, but only to accommodate the existing capacity issues. This alternative does not accomodate the flow required for the lower level floor plan to keep all services for ski and ride lessons on the ground floor for ease of access to get the children prepared and out to the beginner terrain. Alternative 2 would not allow Loveland the extra space to accommodate anticipated future growth. 4
Guest services would be improved for some guests for a period of time; however, the growth that Loveland is anticipating in the future would not be met with this alternative. Under alternative 2 a portion of guests would have in some respects an enhanced experience, however the main purpose of the Valley facility is to accommodate the kid s ski and ride school and the experience of the parent. This alternative would fall short of improving the parent and guest experience overall and for the future. Other Alternatives Considered but Dropped From Further Analysis Three other Lodge designs were considered by Loveland Ski Area for lodge expansion to meet the purpose and need for meeting guests expectations without impacting the wetlands to the east of the current Lodge. Option 1 considered expanding the Lodge to the north to avoid wetland impacts. This is not a viable option as the current Lodge sits on the edge of the CDOT right-of-way for HWY 6 and immediately above that is I-70. There is no room to expand to the north. Option 2 considered expanding to the South, in front of the current lodge. This is not viable for three reasons; 1) Clear Creek parallels the front of the lodge and is located approximently 70 feet from the current patio foot print; 2) Constucting to the south would impact the riparian area and wetlands associated with the creek as well as the creek itself; 3) The bottom of Lift 7 terminal is in close proximity of the lodge patio and terrain must be left open for skier flow to and from the lift to the lodge. There simply is not room to expand the Lodge to the south. Option 3 considered expanding the Lodge to the west. This is problematic for a couple of reasons. The MDP stated the limiting factor at Loveland ski area is parking. The MDP proposes 135 additional parking spaces for Loveland ski area. Expanding the Lodge to the west would remove 60-70 parking spaces. Expanding to the west does not meet the purpose and need requiring a design for a facility that allows for all ski and board lessons to be implemented on the ground floor with easy access to the beginner terrain. Due to terrain on the west side of the building, the expansion would be elevated and attached to the second floor. This does not allow for the simplified one stop sales desk and flow from service to service and ease of getting the students to the beginner terrain all on one level. Cumulative Effects for All Alternatives In a cumulative context Forest Service decisions within Loveland s SUP area spanning eight decades have altered the recreational setting at Loveland. The following list includes those actions that have occurred at Loveland Valley in the past years. These all have affected the recreating public, and in many cases have resulted in a benefit to the recreating public by improving infrastructure, guest services, accessibility, and more. Loveland Valley opens with shelter house 1961 Lift 5 (transport lift between Valley & Basin) 1975 Chair 7 1982 Loveland Valley Lodge expansion and sport shop in 1989 Additional parking lot in 1990 5
Upgrade of lift 3 in 1996 to Poma quad chair Installation of two conveyor systems (2008 & 2014) CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS All of the previously discussed projects have cumulatively affected the recreational opportunities and experiences at Loveland. These activities coupled with the lodge expansion alternatives all improve the accessibility, the guest experience, and overall experience on National Forests Systems Lands cumulatively. References Cited Economic Impact of Skiing in Colorado, RRC Associates, 2015 Loveland Ski Area 2013 Master Development Plan, SE Group, 2013 USDA Forest Service 1997, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee national Grassland Lands and Resource Management Plan, 1997 evision, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO 6