Eagle Town Council holds its first hearing on proposed West Eagle housing proposal

The Eagle Town Council got its first look Tuesday at the proposed West Eagle development. Some residents aren’t impressed.

Eagle County is the project developer but needs to annex the parcel into town. The county is proposing a new, 113-unit neighborhood. New homes will all be for sale, and all will be deed-restricted. The unit mix — a combination of duplex, triplex, townhomes and six- and eight-unit buildings — will have 10% of the homes price capped under the town’s Local Employee Residency Program. Another 50% will be price-capped under county programs.

In her presentation to the council, Eagle County Resiliency Director Tori Franks said the entire neighborhood is designed to be all-electric and will be ready to transition to “net-zero” status, using solar and other technologies.

Franks added that the variety of units is intended to appeal to people ranging from first-time buyers to young families to older residents.

“We wanted to feel confident we were bringing the town something it was looking for,” she said.

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Town planner Peyton Heitzman said staff evaluation has found the project meets or exceeds most of the town’s criteria for workforce housing.

Residents voice concerns

But several residents questioned the project.

Castle Drive resident Dan Emerich said the project will put a lot of people into what’s now a quiet neighborhood, adding that many current homeowners will be affected by increased traffic from the project. Emerick worried that some of the larger buildings in West Eagle will put existing homes into a kind of “canyon.”

Resident Debbie Comerford said while the project is more dense than she’d like to see, she acknowledged that the town and county needs to “do as much as we can.”

Comerford said the project as planned is short of parking. And, she noted, the project should include even a small dog park.

Other residents said the town should address current congestion on Grand Avenue — U.S. Highway 6 — before adding more traffic to that road.

Resident Devin Duval said the town is in a situation where it doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure to handle the project, adding that some single-family homes and more duplex units would integrate better with the surrounding area.

Duval added that town officials and residents haven’t yet seen the implications of other housing projects currently underway in town.

“Maybe pump the brakes” on this proposal, he said, adding “let’s address those (impacts) before pushing more through.”

The only resident to speak in favor of the proposal was Mick Daly, who chairs the town’s Economic Vitality Committee, as well as the Eagle County Housing Task Force.

Daly noted that West Eagle will put more people into “truly affordable” housing, which will boost local business. Daly noted that the valley needs housing for “people providing vital services,” adding that his 22-year-old grandson is a firefighter. He and his wife are currently living in Daly’s accessory unit, saving money, hoping they can buy a home in West Eagle or elsewhere, Daly said.

“They’re the people we want to see in our community,” Daly said.

Council members will take up West Eagle, and an annexation request for the proposal, at the Oct. 22 meeting.