A judge ruled Thursday that the Eagle County government acted properly when it approved the Tree Farm project in El Jebel in June 2017.<\/p>\n
Eagle County District Judge Kenneth Plotz denied an effort by a citizens\u2019 group called Save the Midvalley to revoke the approval.<\/p>\n
The Eagle County commissioners acted properly \u201cwith regard to all aspects of their approval of the Tree Farm project,\u201d the order said. \u201cThe court also concludes that the board did not exceed its authority or abuse its discretion in making its findings, conclusions, and authorizing the permitting of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eagle County Attorney Bryan Treu said in an email that the government agrees with the ruling and appreciates the analysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are happy to put this dispute behind us and are hopeful this project can become a successful component of this unique community,\u201d Treu said.<\/p>\n
The county\u00a0commissioners approved<\/a>\u00a0the controversial Tree Farm project June 26, 2017, by a 2-1 vote. Landowner and developer Ace Lane received approvals for 340 residences and nearly 135,000 square feet of commercial space, roughly half of which is a hotel. The site is located across Highway 82 from Whole Foods.<\/p>\n Lane\u2019s Woody Ventures LLC also was a defendant in the lawsuit. In an email, Lane said, \u201cI have always trusted the decision-making of Eagle County even when it went against me. (Thursday) the careful consideration given our project by Eagle County commissioners was upheld by the court. That\u2019s a win for the greater community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue on our journey to build the most sustainable, forward-looking and inspiring community from the ground up,\u201d Lane\u2019s statement concluded.<\/p>\n Treu said the development team has not submitted an application yet for final plat approval. That is a technical, final step necessary before work can begin on infrastructure. Eagle County staff is working on requirements for final plat submissions and technical aspects of subdivision improvement agreements. Once those regulations are finalized, it will be ready to review final plat applications.<\/p>\n \u201cTypical review time for a final plat of this size would be between three and six months,\u201d Treu said.<\/p>\n Save the Midvalley is headed by midvalley activist Ken Ransford and counts Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt among its members. Tim Whitsitt, her husband, was the attorney that filed the lawsuit. Former Pitkin County Commissioner Joe Edwards, one of the fathers of growth control in the valley, also is a member of the organization.<\/p>\n Ransford couldn\u2019t be reached Thursday for comment on the ruling.<\/p>\n Save the Midvalley filed a lawsuit the month after the county commissioners approved the Tree Farm and had to\u00a0re-file in October 2017<\/a>\u00a0for technical reasons. The lawsuit alleged the county commissioners improperly approved the project on six grounds, including that the preliminary plan for the project didn\u2019t substantially conform to the sketch plan proposal. Sketch plan is the first step in the process. Preliminary plan is the second step.<\/p>\n Lane changed his application because, he said, he was trying to address public comments and community needs.<\/p>\n Save Midvalley also claimed the Tree Farm approval included multiple uses that are prohibited by the land-use code in relevant zone districts.<\/p>\n In his order, Plotz noted the plaintiffs \u201care asking the court to prohibit the Tree Farm project\u201d from advancing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plaintiffs have a heavy burden,\u201d Plotz wrote. \u201cThis court may not, in its discretion simply review the decision by the board, substitute its judgment, and accept it or reject it. Instead the court must uphold the decision unless there is no competent evidence in the record to support it.\u201d<\/p>\n He found on each of the lawsuit\u2019s six points, there wasn\u2019t evidence to overturn the county commissioners\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n Treu said the lawsuit was handled in-house by the County Attorney\u2019s Office, so there were no expenses beyond staff time.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories For You<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n