Eagle Town Council still needs convincing about the proposed West Eagle housing project
Eagle County/Courtesy image
There’s still some convincing to do before the town of Eagle residents and elected officials approve the proposed West Eagle housing development.
Eagle County has proposed 113 units of deed-restricted, for-sale housing in a mix of duplex, triplex, townhome and six- and eight-unit buildings.
The site is on county-owned land surrounded by town property, and county officials have requested annexation into the town. The Eagle Town Council on Tuesday delayed until Dec. 10 deliberations on annexing the county-owned parcel into town. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods have questioned the proposed neighborhood’s density, the building heights, increased traffic and other issues.
Council members on Tuesday questioned the development’s fiscal impacts to the town, including the proposal to adjust the way the county would pay the town’s Real Estate Transfer Assessment.
In addition, Eagle County Resiliency Director Tori Franks, who’s acting as the developer’s representative, also noted that county and town officials have talked about the county building department handling its own building permit and plan review.
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But Council Member Bryan Woods wondered how that might work in the case of possible conflicts between town and county building officials.
Town Planner Peyton Heitzman said that hadn’t yet been fully discussed, but Public Works director Tom Gosirowski noted that the same arrangement in reverse worked fine during the construction of the Eagle River Park.
The project also brought continued questions from residents who would live near the new neighborhood.
“A lot of people aren’t saying no, they just want to do it right,” resident Devin Duval said. Duval said he’d appreciate it if Franks or members of the development team would “knock on my door” to talk about the project, adding that there are several community members who could offer ideas to make the project “less impactful” on the surrounding neighborhood.
“Let’s make it a meaningful process,” he said.
But several people spoke in support of the project.
Gary Brooks, a former member of the Eagle County Housing and Development Authority Board of Directors, was recently elected to a seat on the Avon Town Council. Brooks noted that the town has created a special zoning district to speed the development of workforce housing, and urged Eagle’s council to approve West Eagle “in a timely fashion.”
Elyse Howard, the director of development for Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley, called the West Eagle project “really important.”
“We don’t have any naturally occurring affordable housing stock in this valley anymore,” Howard said, adding that West Eagle presents a “unique opportunity” for the community.
Mayor Scott Turnipseed noted that he’s “fully supportive of affordable and attainable housing,” adding that the town has worked “pretty diligently” on its efforts to bring more such housing to the town. But, he added, he remains concerned about the density of the West Eagle project. And, he acknowledged that county and town officials haven’t done a great job of engaging the neighbors regarding the project.
And, Turnipseed added, the town’s efforts to adjust its building codes to promote more density over the past few years “didn’t mean you could max out everything you could.”
