Vail Mountain Cascade lift area redevelopment plan receives council approval, but is headed for litigation

A plan to redevelop the area surrounding Vail Mountain’s Cascade Village chairlift passed the Vail Town Council on first reading on Tuesday, but the project is far from being greenlit.

In addition to passing the council for a pivotal second reading, which will make it official, the project will also need to wait out ongoing litigation between the applicant and the Cascade Village Metro District. The two parties are currently in disagreement over who owns certain portions of the property.

If it does become a reality, the new building — known as the Cornerstone building — will contain 28 residential units, 5,250 square feet of new retail, 58 on-site parking spaces, 3,700 square feet of new skier drop-off facilities, including a new elevator, a new 294 square-foot lift ticket office, and 1,339 square feet of new public amenities including a lobby, restrooms and public day-use lockers. The building will be 71 feet high, rising six stories from the lift level, and four stories from the skier drop-off area.

But there are a lot of people who are against the project, concerned about how it will affect loading and delivery, parking and traffic, and whether it contains any public benefits.

Robert Rosen, who was recently elected to a director position on the Cascade Metro District board, spoke out against the project on behalf of his constituents.

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“During the election, I spoke to many people, many of these people called me, and not one person was in favor of what’s being proposed,” Rosen said. “They thought the density was too high, the traffic was a real problem that hasn’t been dealt with, there was no master plan, so we have no idea what’s going to happen with the adjacent properties.”

Kevin Hannen, who is a homeowner’s association president in Cascade Village, said the building near the site has already been hit multiple times by delivery trucks. Two years ago, when a delivery truck knocked off the building’s gas meters, the whole building needed to be evacuated, Hannen said.

As a remedy to the problem, Hannen said the group is planning on building a wall and asking the nearby Grand Hyatt hotel to pay for it.

“We’re going to do a Trump,” he said.

But having more traffic on the street for garbage removal won’t help the issue, Hannen said.

“If you decide to approve, I would strongly recommend that you require the trash services be fully contained in the Cornerstone building,” Hannen said. “I think hauling trash through the hotel, going down Westhaven Drive, causing more additional traffic on our one road is going to be bad.”

Two different lawyers representing the Cascade Metro District and homeowners in the area spoke out against the project.

Attorney Mikaela Rivera said the applicant wants to alter and remove numerous improvements on the Cornerstone parcel that are owned and maintained by the district, including the lift ticket office, the bathrooms, the staircase, and other improvements that access the lift.

“These parties were built and paid for by the district and never conveyed to any third parties,” Rivera said. “The town does not have jurisdiction to consider this application that includes and alters district-owned property and easements without the consent of the district.”

Attorney David Foster said the plan for the Cornerstone building is not in accordance with the Vail comprehensive plan.

“It is not debatable that the comp plan specifically only allows up to 25 units to the acre for this proposed use and site,” Foster said. “This application seeks 28 units on less than seven-tenths of an acre, equating to in excess of 40 units per acre.”

Town attorney Matt Mire said the town’s ordinance approving an amendment to the special development district at Cascade, which would green light the project, won’t go into effect until all litigation with the project is resolved.

“The ordinance has an effective date that is effective upon the final rule and order of the litigation that was referenced by Ms. Rivera,” Mire said.

Vail Town Council member Dave Chapin spent several minutes berating the project, saying it had 22 conditions required for approval, before making a motion to approve it on first reading.

“I could very easily approve this tonight, knowing there will be a second reading,” Chapin said.

The ordinance passed 5-1, with Council member Jonathan Staufer voting against.

Mayor Pro Tem Barry Davis said the approval of first reading “sets the stage” for a second reading, in which the council would like to see a master plan for the area.

“If we are going to proceed with a second reading of this, we are asking — and the community is asking, very loudly — for a 10,000-foot view,” Davis said.