A request by a private landowner to rezone thousands of acres in the Ruby Mountains was shot down by the Elko County Planning Commission on Thursday evening — the latest in a series of failed attempts to build a ski resort there that date back to the 1950s.
Peter Christodoulo, a Bay Area resident, avid skier and investment firm employee, was requesting the commission rezone nearly 3,000 acres of land. Earlier this year, he closed on his purchase of Ruby Mountain Ranch, which included a lower 900-acre parcel and an upper, 2,296-acre parcel. The property extends from near the Spring Creek subdivision up to the crest of the Ruby Mountains, known as the “Swiss Alps of Nevada.”
Read more: Could Elko’s Ruby Mountains be home to Nevada’s next ski resort?
The range is revered for its beauty and remoteness — while a popular but off-the-beaten-path destination for backpacking and hiking in the summer, it is difficult to access in the winter. Despite receiving an average of more than 300 inches of snow per year, there is no ski infrastructure, and the mountains are primarily accessed by helicopter and snowmobile.
Christodoulo was seeking to have some of his land, currently zoned as open space, rezoned to accommodate future development that could include a ski resort with an old-school vibe, he previously told The Nevada Independent.
The commission voted 4-1 to deny the application; two commissioners were absent.
The request garnered support from some Elko County residents and skiers across the West; others staunchly opposed the proposal. The Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter collected comments from 500 community members collectively opposed to the zoning change.
“Building a ski resort in the Ruby Mountains would be like putting a Walmart in Yosemite Valley,” Olivia Tanager, director of Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter, said in a written statement. “We are thankful the Commission agreed with the community voices opposing the ski resort.”
Along with his proposal for the ski resort, Christodoulo submitted an application to rezone his 900-acre parcel near Spring Creek, a community outside Elko. That application was approved with stipulations limiting lot size, according to Corey Rice, senior planner for the county.
A vocal group turned out Thursday afternoon to oppose both rezoning requests. Public comment extended into the night as residents spoke against the projects, with reasons ranging from the importance of preserving the mountain range to concerns about traffic and road access.
“All I am asking is that the planning commission support keeping the current open space designation the owner purchased the property under,” Spring Creek resident John George wrote in a letter to the commission.
Richard Genseal, chair of the commission, was not at the meeting Thursday night and therefore declined to speak with The Nevada Independent. Attempts by The Nevada Independent to reach several other commissioners Friday morning were unsuccessful.
Christodoulo declined to speak with The Nevada Independent about the vote.
He previously told The Nevada Independent he’s comfortable with whatever the planning commission decides.
If the commission had authorized a zoning change, he would have sought capital partners and investors with the goal of “putting together some sort of ski resort,” he previously said. If not, the property can still be skied, he said, by using a snowcat or installing a private lift for himself, family and friends.
The Rubies stretch for nearly 100 miles and include 10 peaks above 10,000 feet. The range is home to one of the state’s largest mule deer herds, as well as mountain goats, bighorn sheep and Lahontan cutthroat trout. In 1989, a portion of the range was federally protected when the more than 92,000-acre Ruby Mountains Wilderness was designated.
