Proposed entryway monument size decreased
By Taylor Anderson
The group that has worked for two years to get new directory signs and an entryway monument in Big Sky jumped another hurdle on May Day after getting final approval from the Big Sky Planning and Zoning Advisory Committee.
The group, led by Ryan Hamilton, will next meet with the Gallatin County Planning and Zoning committee for approval in early- to mid-June before it can stop worrying about its last obstruction of zoning and planning and focus on funding the 30 aesthetically pleasing signs and large monument at the intersection of Highway 191 and Lone Mountain Trail.
The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce has asked for $400,000 for the signage construction, from the Big Sky resort tax board as well as funding its staff and the Biggest Skiing in America marketing campaign. That decision will be made June 13.
At the May 1 meeting, most of the questions from the committee concerned the size of the typeface on the signs, as well as the enormous size of the proposed monument welcoming visitors to Big Sky.
At 100 feet long by 35 feet tall – roughly the length of three billboards – the original proposal would have been too large for the board to accept.
“Simple I can understand, but humongous is another story,” said committee member and longtime Big Sky resident Becky Pape.
The board agreed to a smaller, 90-foot by 35-foot tall monument. Hamilton suggested that at 30 feet wide (as is the final proposal), the monument could be an attraction that visitors would want to stop at and take pictures in front of.
At current, the group has its eye on a strip of land on the Conoco property at the intersection. Any specific ideas for what to do with the welcome monument would come up during the planning stages for construction.
“These will come before the community again in the near future for review and comment for both wayfinding and the entry monument,” Hamilton said. “The public will still have the opportunity to review and comment.”
