Council votes to condemn East Vail parcel
A housing proposal in East Vail has a long history of narrow decisions. Another came Tuesday, when the Vail Town Council voted 4-3 to start possible condemnation proceedings on the land.
Mayor Kim Langmaid, along with council members Jen Mason, Kevin Foley and Jonathan Staufer voted in favor of the resolution. Council members Travis Coggin, Pete Seibert and Barry Davis voted against the motion.
The resolution to begin the condemnation process followed an April announcement from Vail Resorts that it would build 165 beds of workforce housing on 5.4 acres of a 23.3-acre site it owns just north of the Interstate 70 East Vail Interchange. The remainder of the property in 2018 was put into the town’s “natural area preservation” zone district.
Tuesday’s hearing filled the council chambers at Vail Town Hall, with people overflowing into the hall outside and several community members weighing in via Zoom.
Proponents cited the company has town approval to build workforce housing on the site. The company has pledged $17 million for project construction, along with $100,000 for habitat improvement aimed at preserving a herd of bighorn sheep that uses part of that parcel for critical winter range.
They also noted there are a number of homes, as well as Vail Mountain School and Vail’s public works campus, also in the animals’ winter range.
But Brian Stockmar, a former Vail Town Council and Vail Planning and Environmental Commission member, said wildlife concerns aren’t the only problems with the project.
Stockmar noted that the planning board was promised, but never saw, studies on traffic, hydrology and rockfall for the parcel. Stockmar added that there’s limited pedestrian access under the I-70 underpass there.
Seibert added his belief there are better options available.
Mason acknowledged that the town is in a “terrible” housing crisis, adding she hopes the town and Vail Resorts can use the “good faith” negotiation period called for in the resolution to come to an agreement that won’t require the lengthy, and expensive, condemnation process.