Avon approves preliminary subdivision application for Post Boulevard lot
The development is expected to bring 24 townhome units to town, one of which will be a deed-restricted unit
Courtesy Photo
On Tuesday, the Avon Town Council approved the preliminary subdivision application for a new development located to the west of Post Boulevard. As planned, the McGrady Acres subdivision will bring 24-townhome units — including one deed-restricted unit — to the town.
The application was approved during the third public hearing on the topic held by council since February. The most recent — and approved — version of the application had two significant changes that council had requested of the developer. One, it included a larger dedicated park space on site; and two, it included a deed-restricted unit on site.
There were other changes made based on council’s previous comments, including the relocation of a pedestrian walkway through the lot to its northern side.
McGrady Acres will be located on a parcel of land bordered by the Eaglebend subdivision to the west, Post Boulevard to the east, the Union Pacific Railroad to the north and the Eagle River to the south. The application would combine two existing property lots that are both currently owned by developer Eagle River Homes.
Andrea McMillen, speaking as the applicant and developer for the subdivision, said at Tuesday’s meeting that she was anticipating all the units will sell “north of $2 million,” but ultimately will be dictated by market rates at the time of sale.
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Per Avon’s Municipal Code, subdivision applications in the town must include park land dedication. Based on the codified calculation, the McGrady Acres subdivision would have to dedicate 0.57 acres, or 24,829 square feet, of park land or offer cash in lieu of dedication.
After some members of council expressed that the previous version of the subdivision application didn’t bring enough usable park space to the lot, the approved application dedicated 6,079 square feet of space adjacent to the existing pocket park on Eagle Bend Drive. This was nearly 3,000 more square feet dedicated than the previous version of the application. It also dedicates just over 12,000 square feet of land on the river slope.
For the remaining dedication required, the developer will pay $249,677 as an in-lieu payment. The hope from council is that this dedication and fee in lieu could help bring much-needed improvements to the Eagle Bend pocket park, or to other public park spaces in town.
The application was approved with several conditions, which the developer must provide in the next six months. This includes the cash in-lieu payment for park dedication as well as the final plat (or layout design), final utility verification, a public improvements agreement and more.
One of these conditions includes the preparation, establishment, execution and recording of a Homeowner’s Association for the subdivision. In this document, council expressed a desire to see clear and specific details on the association’s maintanence responsibilities including for snow removal and storage as well as indemnification of town and pedestrian access requirements. Council members also expressed a desire to see “equitable” homeowner’s association dues within the development.
Deed-restricted unit
As with all new multi-family projects in Avon, the developer was required to include an employee mitigation plan.
As defined by the Avon Municipal Code, this can be achieved with the creation of employee housing mitigation units, placing a deed restriction on an existing housing units, fees-in-lieu and more. Per this code, the McGrady Acres development is required to mitigate for 1.3 employees
Previous iterations of the application included a plan that contemplated the purchase of a one-bedroom unit of 750 square feet or more in size to meet these mitigation requirements. However, some council members expressed a desire for the developer to find a way to include the employee housing on site — stating a preference for new deed-restricted housing units over deed restricting existing ones.
The new employee mitigation plan presented on Tuesday addressed these concerns and included instead a deed-restricted two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhome unit on the McGrady Acres site. The unit, as currently designed, is 2,000 square feet including a one-car garage — 1,600 without the garage — as well as two outdoor parking spots and an east-facing deck.
The deed restriction agreement is expected to be aligned with Mi Casa requirements, meaning it could only be sold to an Eagle County employee, as defined by the town code.
There was some split among council as to whether the employee housing unit effectively addressed the town’s housing needs, particularly because there would be no price cap on the unit.
“There’s no price cap on this unit, so I think we’re missing an opportunity to take a unit that would be viewed as attainable in our town core area — Sunridge, Westlake Village — and permanently make that a housing unit,” said Council member Scott Prince. “I don’t see the added value of our housing goals with restricting one of these units; I would’ve rather seen it in our town core area where it’s much more attainable. I just think we’re missing the boat on this.”
On the flip side, other council members argued that it brought diversity to the deed-restricted inventory in town.
“There’s a client for every product. And the client that will be going after this product, it won’t be for the lower-end of an affordable unit, it will be for a professional — a doctor or a lawyer, an executive — that will be in this unit that can’t come and live here right now,” said Council member Chico Thuon. “I just feel as though we need this as part of our inventory.”
Ultimately, the mitigation plan passed 5-2 on Tuesday, with council members Prince and Lindsay Hardy dissenting.