Vail civic area plan concepts, next steps to be reviewed at Aug. 6 meeting
Special to the Daily
The Vail Town Council will continue to review and refine concepts for the civic area plan during its regular evening meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The item is listed as 4.1 on the meeting agenda which begins at 6 p.m. in the Vail Town Council Chambers with opportunities for public comment.
Tuesday’s presentation will be the seventh update by the consultant team since the long-range planning project was initiated last December. The team has been studying various site configurations based on themes identified through earlier community engagement activities and stakeholder discussions. The town-owned properties in the study area include Dobson Ice Arena, Vail Public Library, Lionshead parking structure, the charter bus lot and the Vail municipal building.
To date, the master plan study has identified public and private development opportunities for the charter bus lot and possibilities for development of the municipal site. Concepts presented during earlier discussions have included a multi-use events facility with or without an adjoining hotel, performing arts space, additional parking, plus a rebuild or renovation of Dobson Arena, a second sheet of ice, a new municipal building, the addition of a second floor to the library and a pocket park on a town-owned parcel east of Dobson Arena, known as Lot 10.
During Tuesday’s meeting, a series of follow up questions will be posed to the town council and members of the community based on concept discussions that occurred during an update on July 16. Specifically, programming options for the redevelopment of Dobson Arena will be probed. This includes defining how a new “utilitarian rink” might function as well as the feasibility of a second sheet of ice within a multi-use events facility.
The consultant team will also confirm the most suitable location for a proposed multi-purpose facility. Two site possibilities have been studied — the charter bus lot/Dobson area and the municipal site. Other discussion topics for Tuesday include circulation around the charter bus lot/Dobson arena area, options for location of the town hall and whether to include realignment of the South Frontage Road as an option in the plan.
Support Local Journalism
Following Tuesday’s discussion, the project team will incorporate feedback from the town council into additional refinements in preparation for an update at the Aug. 20 meeting. Also, a new phase of public engagement activities will take place through the online EngageVail.com site as well as “pop-up” outreach events and stakeholder focus groups. A final draft plan is tentatively scheduled to be released in mid-September with formal review by the Planning and Environmental Commission scheduled to occur in the fall with recommendations forwarded to the Town Council.
To view the civic area plan staff memo and consultant presentation for the Aug. 6 meeting, visit vailgov.com or EngageVail.com. To comment in advance of Tuesday’s meeting, email towncouncil@vailgov.com.
