Avon’s proposed Downtown Development Authority likely heading to voters in special election
The top priority of the authority is to provide workforce housing
Town of Avon/Courtesy photo
The Avon Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a proposal that defines the boundaries for a Downtown Development Authority and refers the organization of the authority to a special election. This was the first reading for the Downtown Development Authority proposal, following an April 25 work session on the process of forming the authority.
Zoned for a combination of mixed-use commercial, residential housing projects, and an early childhood education facility, among other entities, the Downtown Development Authority would encompass an area of 294 acres, or 5.5 percent of the total acreage of the town, which measures at 5,391 acres, according to Town Manager Eric Heil.
“Businesses that don’t have employees to fill vacancies hurts businesses,” Heil said.
The top priority of the Downtown Development Authority is to provide workforce housing. According to the plan, half of the funds generated over the lifetime of the Downtown Development Authority will be allocated to community housing projects or other programs related to increasing workforce housing in the area.
“Having a critical mass of residents in our downtown core will help support those neighborhood-type businesses, whether they’re restaurants, liquor stores, retail,” Heil said. “That’s natural in a lot of our planning documents. Even though we’re in the mountains, we recognize that we want more of an urban village style of development, with higher density, very walkable, everything’s close.”
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By statute, the Downtown Development Authority has to be a separate board from the Avon Town Council, and is designed to be made up of five to 11 members. This number is flexible for the purpose of promoting inclusion so that a greater number of seats can be filled if there is greater interest in participating. For voting purposes, a quorum will be a majority of seats that are filled. Only one member of the board can be an Avon Town Council member, and everyone else has to be residents who are eligible to vote within the Downtown Development Authority area.
All residents, landowners, and lessees within the boundaries of the Downtown Development Authority area are eligible to vote in the special election to select the members of the Downtown Development Authority. The special election will take place on Aug. 29, 2023.
