Eagle County commissioners will take another look at Edwards River Park after planning commission recommends amendments for approval
Biggest change replaces commercial space with child care facility
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This story has been updated regarding when the Eagle County Board of Commissioners will hear the Edwards River Park amendments.
The Eagle County Board of Commissioners will have a chance to approve amendments to the Edwards River Park plan after the Eagle County Planning Commission recommended its approval on April 2.
That board voted 3-1 to forward the recommendation for approval to the commissioners, with member Meissa Brandrup casting the dissenting vote.
The plan is similar in most ways to the one approved in 2021, with a couple of significant changes. The primary change is that 10,000 square feet of space originally proposed for commercial use has been replaced by a similar amount of space for a child care facility. That space will be leased for $1 per year to the Family Learning Center, which is currently leasing space at the nearby St. Clare of Assisi campus. St. Clare of Assisi’s plans for expansion left the child care facility in search of a new home.
The original approval process stretched over more than a year, with numerous public hearings and intense community interest.
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The green light came after a last-minute offer from the development team at an Oct. 7, 2021, meeting to increase the number of deed-restricted housing units to 270 total and lower building heights to a maximum of 70 feet.
With those latest revisions, the commissioners unanimously agreed the proposal’s benefits would outweigh its impacts.
After the River Park plan’s original approval, the project was put up for sale in 2022, following the 2020 death of lead project partner Don MacKenzie. The remaining partners saw the project through the nearly two-year entitlement process.
The project was purchased by Aptitude Development. That firm has left the project’s original residential density. That was:
- A maximum of 440 units
- A maximum of 170 free-market units
- At least 270 deed-restricted units
The breakdown of the deed-restricted units includes:
- 90 deed-restricted rental units, with nine price-capped units at 80% of the average median income
- 72 price-capped units at 100% of the area median income and nine resident-occupied, deed-restricted units for sale with no transfer fee exemption
The developer will also include wetland and wildlife protection measures, as well as placing a conservation easement on the open space that comprises most of the 53-acre property.
The developer will also build a roughly $5 million roundabout at the intersection of U.S. Highway 6 and Lake Creek Road, and pay more than $2 million in traffic impact fees. The developer will also pay for transit stop improvements.
The project will require final approval from the commissioners. That board is set to hear the file May 13 starting at 4 p.m.
