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Belly Up’s Buttermilk concert hailed as success; county weighs multiyear permit for 2026 and beyond
Summary
County staff and event operators debriefed the Board on the first Buttermilk concert series held in August. Agencies reported largely successful traffic, medical and safety operations; staff recommended consideration of a multiyear permit (three years discussed) while tracking noise, dust and parking impacts.
Pitkin County staff, public safety agencies and the event operator Belly Up debriefed the BOCC on the August concert series held at Buttermilk on Sept. 9. County permitting staff said the event conformed to land‑use code requirements (sanitation, safety, waste management, traffic controls and noise variances) and that multi‑agency pre‑event planning and on‑site coordination reduced impacts.
Presenters said water and sanitation were adequate after quick adjustments; on‑site medical and detox services operated successfully; RAFTA, Snowmass and Brush Creek Park & Ride shuttles performed as planned and helped avoid large crowds at the highway; bike valet and marked bike routes were used by several hundred bicyclists; and staging of post‑concert activities at the venue helped reduce egress congestion. Public safety representatives praised clearly marked emergency exits and said they saw no major crowd control incidents; cultural and business stakeholders reported positive economic effects.
Concerns raised at the debrief included light and dust mitigation at remote lots, drone operations and the ability to scale shuttles if attendance reached higher projected levels. Commissioners and staff discussed granting multi‑year approval to help secure artists and vendors; the code currently authorizes multi‑year permits up to three years and staff said a code change would be needed to extend beyond three. Commissioners signaled general support for a three‑year permit but requested more post‑event data (hotel occupancy, business receipts, transit/parking counts) before a longer‑term commitment. Staff will return with a draft multiyear permit approach and suggested conditions that would allow the county to revoke or limit future permits if impacts exceed thresholds.
Ending: The BOCC signaled support for staff continuing to negotiate a multi‑year permit (three‑year window discussed) and asked for additional data on economic impacts, dust/noise mitigation and shuttle scalability before a decision on longer commitments.
