Avon moves ahead with plan to annex smaller State Land Board parcel to build housing
Town of Avon/Courtesy image
Avon is once again moving forward with its plan to annex land in EagleVail to build affordable housing.
The Avon Town Council on Tuesday completed the next step in the process to annex the 35-acre parcel of State Land Board property in EagleVail.
Avon plans to use the land to build community housing units, making a dent in the large countywide need for affordable housing. The 2025 Eagle County Regional Housing Needs Analysis found that the county has a “gross housing need of 6,375 units, with about half of net need located in Vail and Avon.”
According to the analysis, these units are needed in the next 10 years.
Background of the property
The 35-acre parcel of land to be annexed was carved from a larger, 98-acre area the town had initially been eyeing to build a prospective 700 units of housing over the course of 25 years.
Support Local Journalism
While the council initially found that the larger parcel was eligible for annexation and an annexation petition was submitted by the State Land Board, the petition was withdrawn and replaced with a petition for the smaller parcel after further talks between the town and the state.
The smaller parcel will accommodate approximately 100 units of community housing.
The town will still be able to annex more land at a later date by going through the process again if it so chooses.
Why is Avon able to annex the land?
The town became able to annex the land following Senate Bill 23-001, which gave the state government the ability to build partnerships with local governments, nonprofit organizations and private developers to construct affordable housing.
Sen. Dylan Roberts and Rep. Meghan Lukens, who both represent Eagle County in the state legislature, sponsored the bill, which was specifically designed, in part, to help Eagle County municipalities annex part of the State Land Board’s EagleVail property for community housing.
How annexation works in Colorado
The Colorado Municipal Annexation Act of 1965 lays out the three-step process for a municipality to annex land.
First, the town must officially receive a petition for annexation from the landowner, the State Land Board. This occurred in August.
Second, the town must find the property eligible for annexation according to the annexation act. This happened on Tuesday.
The land was found eligible for annexation because it meets the conditions for a “community of interest” between the town and the land to be annexed, as defined by the annexation act. The land also connects with the town of Avon through the Village (at Avon) Planning Area I on the north side of the Eagle River.
“It is an area of interest,” said Matt Pielsticker, Avon’s community development director. “This is also in the three-mile plan recently adopted by Town Council. All those things add up to eligibility, and we’re comfortable and it meets the state statute requirements for annexation.”
The five present members of council all approved finding the property eligible for annexation.
“I’m all in favor of it,” said Council member Gary Brooks.
“I, too, am all in favor of more access to potential land for development that helps the town,” said Council member Kevin Hyatt.
At this point, the land has not been annexed into the town and no zoning has been approved.
The third step in the process is for the town of Avon to annex the land. Before this can happen, both the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission and the Avon Town Council will undertake a full review of the proposed zoning and development plan for the property. This will take place through a series of public meetings.
