Eagle County commissioners and Avon like what they see in State Land Board proposal

Eagle County may be asked to supply water to a 96.7-acre, 700-unit workforce housing development on the east end of EagleVail and property on the north side of the Eagle River.

Representatives from the town of Avon and the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners on Tuesday provided the Eagle County Board of Commissioners with an overview of the possible project.

The Land Board has roughly 2.8 million acres of property around the state and is legally bound to manage that land — two square miles or 1,280 acres in each Colorado township — for the benefit of the state’s K-12 schools. 

Some of the property is used for commercial operations. That includes long-term leases for businesses at the east end of EagleVail. Other property is used for direct educational uses. A portion of the campus of the Homestake Peak School in EagleVail sits on Land Board property. Other land is leased for grazing and similar uses.

Thanks to the 2023 Senate Bill 001, as well as a push from Gov. Jared Polis, land commissioners can look to lease or sell property for workforce housing. A preliminary plan created by the Land Board and town of Avon officials is part of that effort.

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There are plenty of hurdles to clear before starting work, including supplying the property with water. That’s where Eagle County comes in.

‘Wet water’ is essential

According to preliminary figures, the development would require between 10 and 20 acre-feet of “fully consumable” water. An acre-foot would put 12 inches of water atop a standard football field.

The county, through an agreement with the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, owns a little more than 87 acre-feet of water. That portfolio is what those in the water business call “wet water,” meaning water that can be routed and delivered to users. There’s also “paper water” — water rights that exist mostly in theory to satisfy various legal requirements. 

Under the current preliminary plan, 20 acre-feet from the county’s portfolio would cost $1.3 million.

While a host of details need to be worked out, starting with the town’s annexation of the property and how to phase various elements of the project over as much as 25 years, Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry said she was impressed.

“This is exactly the kind of proposal we’ve been looking for,” Chandler-Henry said.

Town of Avon

State Land Board representatives also presented the proposal to the Avon Town Council and Avon Planning and Zoning Commission in a joint Tuesday meeting. Avon is expected to annex the property, and the discussion surrounded the complications of adding the land to the town.

Concerns including the need for traffic studies, the creation of new zoning rules, and the longevity of current leases within the plot have to be resolved by town officials.

Traffic studies are needed, but have not yet been completed to examine how adding 700 units of housing impacts traffic along U.S. Highway 6 and the ramp onto Interstate 70.

The first phase of the project is relocating the Colorado Department of Transportation employees who currently live on the property, and money from Senate Bill 23-001 will be used to assist in the relocation.

Next steps

For Avon, the next step in the process is to work toward annexing the plot. On the current accelerated timeline, the land will be annexed into Avon in January or February of 2024.

A second phase might include developing the western half of the plot, with a third phase to look into developing only the portion of the plot across the Eagle River, which can accommodate approximately 200 homes while adhering to fire restrictions.

The plot also has several long-term ground leases currently in effect. Phases five, six, and seven of the development plan will be delayed because some existing leases do not end for 20-plus years.

“It’s our intention to let all leases run all the way through their current term,” said Greg Ochis, assistant director of the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners.

“Nothing immediate is going to happen. There is no need to start packing up,” said Avon Town Manager Eric Heil.

As the State Land Board does not operate as a developer, the housing and other new property features would be developed by independent contractors at the direction of Avon. Avon would be responsible for creating the zoning regulations and deed restrictions and waiving fees according to town community housing policies. Those fees are estimated to cost approximately $20 million.

The council discussed the need to properly zone the property, including proceeding through the process slowly to ensure it is done right.

Tim McGuire, the chair of the EagleVail Metropolitan District board, expressed concern that the maximum allowed building height for high-density housing, 60 feet, would create a “wall” along the edge of EagleVail. McGuire suggested that a different definition of zoning outside of Avon’s current high-density housing zoning rules should be invented and applied to this specific area of land.

Many council members agreed with McGuire’s suggestion.

“Let’s invent definitions that work for everybody so we’re all on the same page, and know that in 18 to 25 years, when the last builder has bought the last parcel, it’s zoned right for what we thought should be in that place in 2024, and not just auto-zoned for high density,” Council Member Tamra Underwood said.

Tuesday’s meeting was just informational, and the project will come before the Avon Town Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission again several times prior to the official annexation of the property.

Business Editor Scott Miller contributed reporting to this story.