After another long hearing, Eagle County commissioners need more time to ponder Edwards River Park

After more than two hours of public comment and a little more than three hours in an increasingly warm meeting room on Wednesday, the Eagle County Board of Commissioners needs more time to ponder the Edwards River Park plan.

After a three-hour hearing in May in which county staff and developers laid out changes to the plan that was originally approved in 2021, the commissioners on Wednesday reserved time for public comment on the plan. There was plenty of comment before the hearing — almost 400 pages of it.

Attendees at the public hearing at the Eagle County Building had to deal with a stuffy room, since the building is undergoing a replacement of its aging heating and cooling system with a new geothermal system.

Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney reminded the audience that the topic before the commissioners wasn’t the project itself, but the changes proposed by the developer, Aptitude Development.

While there are several changes to building heights, road widths and other details, the basics of the plan remain the same.

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The project will offer a total of 440 housing units, with a minimum of 270 units subject to deed restrictions. The original plan’s vision for retail space has been replaced by a 10,000 square-foot child care center, which will be occupied by the Family Learning Center. That center has to move from its current home on the nearby Saint Clare of Assisi campus, but the facility recently reached an agreement that it can stay until it has a new home at River Park. Aptitude Development has pledged to lease that space to the Family Learning Center for $1 per year.

Several residents opposed to the amendments worried about narrowing the streets in the project and the potential for ice buildup in the winter.

Is it ‘entirely new’?

Edwards resident Ken Sortland said the amendments, in his view, constitute “an entirely new project” that should go back to the first stages of the county’s approval process.

Edwards resident Kara Heide worried that moving a proposed dog park to the boundary of the Eagle River Preserve would threaten wildlife in the area.

In a detailed series of comments, Eagle Valley Land Trust Executive Director Jessica Foulis asked the commissioners to decline height increases in several planning areas and remove a proposed seasonal event center from the project.

Other residents questioned having just five parallel parking spots for dropping off children at the child care center.

Edwards resident Don Welch noted that the plan approved in 2021 was already a “stretch” for the commissioners to approve.

“This is even more of a stretch,” Welch said, calling it “more of an affront to the people of Edwards.” Citing the Edwards Community Plan, Welch asked how the plan reflected a “small-town feel” or “pedestrian-friendly” environment called for in that plan.

Welch and others called for the developers to build what was originally approved.

Among those speaking in favor of the plan were representatives from the Family Learning Center.

Is it a ‘smart project’?

Sarah Robinson, a board member of the Family Learning Center, said the amendments to the project ensure a “smart project.”

Robinson noted that the valley is growing, and River Park will help families stay in the valley. In addition, having the project at a transit stop will also help employees.

Robinson noted that many people who would benefit from the project weren’t able to attend Wednesday’s meeting, adding that River Park is a “diverse” housing option for the valley’s workforce.

Family Learning Center Director Cristina Betancourt Santos said River Park hits the “trifecta” of “housing, child care and workforce.”

The people served by River Park aren’t new, but are “already here,” Betancourt Santos said, and are the “backbone” of the community.

After closing public comment, the commissioners said they have a lot of questions for the developers.

Commissioner Matt Scherr said he wants to see more details about building heights, how they were determined, and why they’re different than the ones in the original approved plans.

Commissioner Tom Boyd said he’ll want to know more about height and density among buildings but also about how people will get around within the development, particularly with the proposal to disperse parking around the project.

McQueeney noted that several reports regarding parking and other topics are still pending. The results of those reports pose a risk that the developers will be able to build the buildings they’re proposing.

McQueeney also wanted more information about sidewalks and parking.

The commissioners and developers will talk more about the project on July 14.