{"id":1317735,"date":"2020-01-16T17:49:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T00:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/?p=471638"},"modified":"2020-01-17T10:46:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T17:46:40","slug":"vail-initiates-talks-with-booth-heights-developers-to-pursue-an-alternative-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/vail-initiates-talks-with-booth-heights-developers-to-pursue-an-alternative-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Vail initiates talks with Booth Heights developers to pursue an alternative path"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A photo illustration of the Booth Heights housing project. The Vail Town Council in October upheld an Aug. 26 approval by the Vail Planning and Environmental Commission. <\/strong>
\nSpecial to the Daily<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

VAIL \u2014 For more than two years, the Vail Town Council has been split \u2014 often sharply \u2014 on the fate of a 23.3-acre parcel in East Vail that came to be known as Booth Heights. There\u2019s finally some consensus.<\/p>\n

Vail Mayor Dave Chapin announced Thursday that the town has approached representatives from Vail Resorts and Triumph Development to explore alternatives to Booth Heights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased to announce that all seven members of the Vail Town Council are committed to advancing our leadership in good faith to discuss alternatives to the Booth Heights development,\u201d Chapin was quoted in a release. \u201cAs such, we have directed our town manager to meet with the development team to express our interest in presenting an alternative approach that would advance both our community\u2019s housing and environmental stewardship goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Controversy since Day One<\/h3>\n

Booth Heights has been controversial since Vail Resorts in 2017 first proposed rezoning the parcel. The council ultimately approved putting just more than 17 acres into the town\u2019s natural area preservation zone district \u2014 one of the town\u2019s most restrictive. The remaining 5.5 acres were put into the town\u2019s housing zone district, which allows a mix of deed-restricted and free-market units.<\/p>\n

Much of the controversy over the parcel centered on the fate of the bighorn sheep herd that winters in the vicinity. Much time and discussion about the parcel revolved around whether the herd could be preserved with what ultimately became a proposal for 61 units of rental and for-sale housing on the site.<\/p>\n

The 2017 rezoning ordinance passed on a 5-2 vote, with council members Jen Mason and Kim Langmaid opposed.<\/p>\n

Virtually every other vote was 4-3 \u2014 at both the council and Vail Planning and Environmental Commission levels.<\/p>\n

A big step forward<\/h3>\n

Vail Town Manager Scott Robson said having a unanimous Vail Town Council behind the latest effort is a big step forward.<\/p>\n

Robson said it\u2019s essential for the council \u201cto be in lock-step\u201d to reflect the town\u2019s desire to create more affordable and deed-restricted housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been pleased over these past couple of weeks \u2026 to see that we really do have a collaborative, consolidated voice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beyond housing, Robson said it\u2019s essential for the town to present a unified voice on environmental sustainability and other issues.<\/p>\n

The decision to pursue alternatives to Booth Heights has come with the cooperation of Vail Resorts and Triumph Development. But it\u2019s still uncertain just what alternatives might exist.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the council \u2014 again on a split vote \u2014 agreed to spend $7,500 on a feasibility study for a 17.87-acre parcel just west of the Middle Creek Apartments.<\/p>\n

That study found building rental housing on the site could be done \u2014 and with as many as 175 units \u2014 but it would be complicated, particularly regarding parking.<\/p>\n

Robson said just having a feasibility study on that site doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s necessarily a better option than any other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll need feasibility studies on multiple properties\u201d moving forward, Robson said. \u201cWe want to make sure we find the right fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

That right fit includes balancing units with parking, traffic volumes, geological issues, and wildlife preservation, he added.<\/p>\n

Vail Local Housing Authority Chairman Steve Lindstrom said he\u2019s pleased to see a united front from the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the (community and council) is more divided than I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Lindstrom said. \u201cThere\u2019s been consensus (on other big issues) in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindstrom added that an effort is needed to find a \u201cwin\/win\/win\u201d solution for the community, Vail Resorts and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this all comes together, it\u2019s in the spirit of how Vail has grown and progressed over the decades,\u201d Lindstrom said. \u201cCompeting ideas and factions have come together \u2026 and come out with a great solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the release about the new initiative, Chapin asked the community to join the council in the effort to find alternatives to Booth Heights.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we can work to bring balance to our priorities and elevate our vision to be the premier international mountain resort community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Langmaid has fought the Booth Heights idea since the earliest days of the 2017 rezoning proposal. She said she\u2019s happy to see the council united in the new effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is the only way we\u2019re going to get great things done in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Langmaid added that while the council has been divided on this issue, \u201cI think we actually have more in common than people think. We all want what\u2019s best for the community.\u201d And, she added, the council is ready to \u201cwork among ourselves and our partners to find solutions that will work for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at smiller@vaildaily.com<\/a> or 970-748-2930.<\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Vail Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A photo illustration of the Booth Heights housing project. The Vail Town Council in October upheld an Aug. 26 approval by the Vail Planning and Environmental Commission. Special to the Daily VAIL \u2014 For more than two years, the Vail Town Council has been split \u2014 often sharply \u2014 on the fate of a 23.3-acre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 05:12:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317740,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317735\/revisions\/1317740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}