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Appeal filed over Middle Creek

Geraldine Haldner

A 32-page appeal was filed Thursday, the last day to appeal a Sept. 23 approval of the 142-unit project west of the Mountain Bell tower at the entrance to Vail. Prepared by Vail attorney Art Abplanalp, it requests a hearing before the Vail Town Council within 30 calendar days.

The appeal cites 36 points in which the appellants believe the Vail Planning and Zoning Commission erred when it approved the $23 million affordable housing project 10 days ago.

Among other complaints, the appeal states the appellants are “aggrieved” and “negatively affected” by the proposed project because it “will destroy the views of the appellants.”



The appeal goes on to say that as a direct result of impaired views “the appellants’ ability to enjoy their properties will be damaged and properties of appellants which are rented will become less likely to be rented.”

Aside from views, the planning commission, according to the appeal, ignored that the proposal has no “compelling architectural predecessors in the surrounding neighborhoods,” and the permitted massing of low-income tenants on the site would lead to “aggravation of social, economic, and public safety conflicts among tenants … because of the excessive intensity of the homogenous population and use.”

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Additionally, the appeal cites “inadequate landscape and open space buffering” and “the absence of a safe pedestrian route between the project and the areas in which (tenants) are likely to be employed” as reasons the council should overturn the planning commission’s approval.

The appeal names Fred Steingraber, Ronald and Kristine Erickson, Lee Raymond, Franco D’Agostino, Rajendra Singh, Bjorn Borgen, Richard and Gay Steadman, and William and Julie Esrey as individual property owners; Sonnenalp Properties, owner of the Solar Vail Condominiums, as well as the Spraddle Creek Maintenance Association and Spraddle Creek LLC, are named as business entities.

Geraldine Haldner covers Vail, Minturn and Red Cliff. She can be reached at (970) 949-0555, ext. 602 or at ghaldner@vaildaily.com.


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