Community housing is on the agenda in Avon this week
Town Council to review potential projects, zone districts to create more affordable housing

Town of Avon/Courtesy image
This week’s Avon Town Council meeting, which takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 23, will focus heavily on planning future opportunities for the town to create more community housing.
Tuesday’s meeting will include a second reading of an ordinance amending code text to create community housing zone districts, a first reading of an ordinance adopting amendments to the Avon comprehensive plan to designate more land for community housing, and a comprehensive review of community housing opportunities, according to the Town Council packet.
“56.5% of all dwelling units in Avon are owner-occupied by year-round residents,” according to the Avon Community Housing Plan, which was adopted in 2018 and updated in 2021. One of the town of Avon’s goals, as stated in the plan, is to “stabilize or increase” that percentage.
Most community housing in Avon is available to those working 30 hours per week or more in Eagle County, unless otherwise stated. In August, Avon adopted a resolution stating that all future community housing constructed should be all-electric and net-zero.
Community housing zone districts
Following review of the Avon comprehensive plan, which was drafted in 2021, and direction from council, Avon town staff found that to proceed most effectively with the creation of community housing, land within the town needs to be specifically zoned for community housing.

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The second reading of the ordinance adopting code text amendments allows for the creation of community housing zone districts. The council will be voting on this ordinance on Tuesday, and approved the first reading during its Jan. 9 meeting.
The Jan. 23 meeting will also see the first reading of an ordinance to adopt amendments to the Avon comprehensive plan, designating certain town properties for future community housing use in Avon’s future land use map. The first three parcels of land proposed to be given the new zoning designation are Hidden Valley Estates at 382 Metcalf Rd., the East Avon Preserve on Wagon Trail Road, and Slopeside on Swift Gulch Road. The council will be voting on this ordinance on Tuesday.
Community housing opportunities
Slopeside, the Wildwood Annex, and the East Avon Preserve are deemed eligible by Avon town manager Eric Heil in the Town Council packet for proceeding with next steps. Slopeside, located on Swift Gulch Road, has the potential to hold 80 units of housing by 2027. The Wildwood Annex can fit four units of housing, available only to town of Avon employees, and would be ready as soon as 2026. The East Avon Preserve, along Wagon Trail Road, could hold 120 units of housing, and is estimated to be completed by 2030.

The Avondale Apartments project at 375 Yoder Ave., and early childhood education center and adjacent housing, located at 4468 E. Beaver Creek Blvd. in the Village at Avon are also approved by Heil in the packet. Combined, the two projects would create 72 units of housing, with the possibility of being completed by 2026.
The review of potential community housing sites will include a 20-year look into the future, including an assessment of the possibility of creating community housing on several parcels of land that are currently privately held. These include Sun Road, East Avon, and Nottingham Station, among other options. The Bear, Elk, and Wolf lots at Beaver Creek, which are privately owned and adjacent to Avon but do not lie within the town, were also proposed as potential future areas for housing. The third-party owners of private property would need to consent to partnering with Avon to build community housing in these areas.
The Jan. 23 meeting will also include a work session with Avon’s town lawyer, Nina Williams, on Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate’s new parking management program, which began in November and has been greeted with unrest by many residents and business owners in Avon.
The Avon Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23 begins at 5 p.m. in Avon Town Hall, and can also be attended virtually on Zoom.
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