Draft plan of Avon’s downtown development authority to be presented to Town Council in June
Community housing at heart of draft plan set to set up the authority
Town of Avon/Courtesy photo
A downtown development authority is in the works for the town of Avon. With a draft in process, the document would outline means of preserving the designated sector of town’s property value as well as increasing the availability of housing in the community housing in its plans for the area’s development and re-development.
In Glenwood Springs Law Office Karp Neu and Hanlon’s Sept. 2022 letter to Avon Town Manager Eric Heil, a downtown development authority was defined as follows: “a creature of state statute, with the purposes of promoting the general welfare, halting deterioration and blight and assisting municipalities with redevelopment.”
In October of 2022, the Avon Town Council expressed support for the eventual formation of a downtown development authority, and after conducting analysis and collecting data relating to what improvements could be made through a blight study, town staff will present the downtown development authority draft plan to the Avon Town Council in June.
On April 25, Heil presented an update to Town Council.
“We’re implementing it, we’re very busy doing that and we’ve got a lot of work in motion,” Heil said.
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The areas the downtown development authority will likely include are the East Town Center, West Town Center, Nottingham Station, the valley floor from Post Boulevard to City Market, Walmart, Home Depot, Cherry Creek Plaza, and the planning area to the North of the Interstate 70.
We’re preparing a draft plan and presenting this as the primary purpose is for workforce housing. I think we are all recognizing how critical workforce housing is to just being able to have a functioning business community.”
Heil said the intent of staff working on the downtown development authority is to dedicate half of the funding to workforce housing and the other half to the public facilities and infrastructure that would continue to promote the area’s flourishment.
After the downtown development authority is presented, Heil said Town Council members would then decide whether to adopt an ordinance that would refer the establishment of a downtown development authority to a special election. The special election date is anticipated to be on Aug. 29.
The special election will have a special set of eligible electors, made up of residents, owners and people with leases within the designated boundary of the downtown development authority. Ahead of the special election, Heil said the public is welcome to ask questions and share feedback either online or at a Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting or an upcoming Town Council meeting.
