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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR81-36 Vail Plus Fifteen Partnership Zone Change RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO RESOLUTION N0. 81-~(0 IN RE THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF VAIL PLUS FIFTEEN PARTNERSHIP FOR A ZONE CHANGE FROM RESOURCE TO RURAL RESIDENTAL RELATIVE TO THE CREAMERY DEVELOPMENT, FILE N0. ZC-153-81 - FINDINGS AND ORDER PROCEEDINGS On or about June 26, 1981, Vail Plus Fifteen Partnership ("Vail + 15" or "Applicant") submitted to the County of Eagle, Colorado, an application requesting a zone change from Resource to Rural Residential relative to the Creamery Development, File No. ZC-153-81, in accordance with Section 10.00 of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado. The subject requested zone change is on a 150 acre parcel of land lying in Sections 7 and 8, T. 5 S., R. 82 W., of the 6th P.M., County of Eagle, Colorado, approximately 1-12 miles south of State Highway No. 6,_along the Creamery Ditch immediately south of the Homestead project and east of the Lake Creek Road, and more particularly described as follow, to be referred to as the subject property": NE4SE4 of Section 7; S4NW4 and NW4SW4 of Section 8, all in Township 5 South, Range 82 West 6th P.M., excepting from the aforementioned description the following described property containing approximately 7 acres, to wit: That part of the NE4SE4, Section 7, Township 5 South, Range 82 West of the 6th P.M., lying Plorth and West of that highway commonly designated as Lake Creek Road as it traverses through the Northwesterly portion of the said NE4 of the SE4 above described. The Eagle County Planning Commission at its regular meeting on August 5, 1981, considered the applicant's request for a zone change, and recommended denial for the following reasons: 1) that the zone change request is the "antithesis of Section 10.03.04(b)" of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado; and 2) with 5100 plus units already zoned and approved in the vicinity of the subject property, the applicant has not sufficiently demonstrated a need for the requested zone change nor a consistency with the policies and goals pf the Eagle County Master Plan, as required by Section 10.03.04(c) of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado. Notice of the public hearing before the Eagle County Planning Commission was duly published in the Eagle Valley Enterprise on July 16, 1981. The applicant's zone change request was subsequently scheduled for public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners on October 13, 1981, at 9:00 A.M. Notice of the public hearing was duly published in the Eagle Valley Enterprise on September 3, 1981. The Board of County Commissioners received evidence in the form of sworn testimony or statements by the following persons, to wit: - 3ex_ry Seavy (attorney for the applicant) - Steve Isom of I-Plan, Inc. (Planning Consultant for the applicant) - Susan Vaughn (County Planner) - David Duncan (one of the owners of the subject property and a partner of the Vail Plus Fifteen Partnership) - Edward H. Steinle (adjacent property owner to the subject property) and the following exhibits which were admitted into the record, to wit: Exhibit 1: 82" x 11" map of Vail Plus Fifteen. Exhibit 2: Edwards Village Development Plan dated October 16, 1980, which includes a total of 4 sheets consisting of sheet one which depicts the general nature of the development plan; sheet two entitled "Conceptual Development Map"; sheet three entitled "Slope and Geologic Map"; and sheet four entitled "Edwards Area Zoning Map, Vail Plus Fifteen". -2- Exhibit 3: Edwards Area Open Space Plan, Vail Plus Fifteen, dated January, 1980. Exhibit 4: Schematic drawing of view of conceptual Edwards Development from I-70 scenic overlook. Exhibit 5: Schematic drawing of birdseye view of Edwards Development. Exhibit 6: Eagle Area Zoning Map. = Exhib it 7: Eagle County Master Plan adopted April 1, 1981. Exhibit 8: Eagle County Open Space Plan. Exhibit 9: Inventory of Dwelling Units in Eagle County, Colorado, as of December 31, 1979, prepared by the Eagle County Department of Community Development. Exhibit 10: Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado. Exhibit 11: Edwards Village Development Plan, Edwards, Colorado, Volumes 1 and 2. Exhibit 12: Eagle County Open Space Map. In addition, the record reflected a telephone call from James Dufford, attorney representing Richard Scudder who is an adjacent property owner to the subject property, stating Mr. Scudder's opposition to the applicant's zone change request. Said telephone call was taken by Susan Vaughn, Eagle County Planner, on October 12, 1981. The evidence was weighed accordingly based upon the probative value placed thereon by the Board of County Commissioners, and the following findings are based on the record as a whole. References to the record are for con- venience only and do not necessarily compile all portions of the record on which the findings are based. L'TTTT1Ti~T/'C Based upon the evidence received during the public hearing process, the Board of County Commissioners DOTH FINDS AS FOLLOWS, TO WIT: -3- 1. Pursuant to Section 10.03.04 of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado, entitled "Standards for Zoning Amendments", the Board of County Commissioners, in considering an application for amendment to the Official Map, may approve a change in the present zoning if the applicant has provided evidence that rezoning is desirable because of one or more of the following reasons: "a. The existing zone district is inconsistent with the policies and goals of the Master Plan , or b. The area for which rezoning is requested has changed or is changing to such a degree that it is in the public interest to en- courage a new use or density in the area, or c. The proposed rezoning is necessary in order to provide land for a demonstrated community need, and that such rezoning will be consistent with the policies and goals of the Master Plan, or d. Rezoning is necessary to attain a stated goal of the County Master Plan. In any petition for a zoning amendment, the petitioner shall carry the burden of providing evidence, that the area in question possesses geological, physiological, and other environmental conditions compatible with and characteristic of the use requested and that the advantages of the use requested out-weigh the disadvantages to the County and neighboring land occasioned by the zoning amendment. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit or limit the authority of the County Commissioners to amend this Resolution or Map, as provided by law, for any reason consistent with the health, welfare, and safety of the inhabit- ants of Eagle County." 2. The applicable provisions of the Eagle County Master Plan adopted April 1, 1981, are set forth in Article IV entitled "Goals, Objectives, and Policies for Eagle County", to wit: a. Two of the objectives for Development as set forth in Section B(1)(b) are: "2. To reduce development density outside of community centers in a way which minimizes visual and physical impacts on the scenic and agricultural lands that characterize Eagle County. 5. To promote development deign that is sensitive to the existing landscape." -4- b. The policies for Development are set forth in Section B(1)(c) which provides, in part, that: "3. New development should be encouraged to use the P.U.D. approach whenever possible in order to promote creative and efficient site design. 4. The clustering of dwelling units should be encouraged to reduce service costs, : maximize open space and promote efficient transportation patterns." c. Relative to Open Space, two of the objectives as set forth, in Section B(5)(b) are: "3. To actively encourage agricultural land uses and maintain the rural character of the County through open space uses. 4. To allow each urban area to retain its own identity through the provision of open space buffers between communities." d. Relative to Transportation, one of the objectives as set forth in Section B(7)(b) is: "2. To develop integrated transportation systems for Eagle County." 3. The Board of County Commissioners finds, determines and declares that the application of Vail + 15 requesting a rezoning of the subject property is inconsistent with the foregoing Goals, Objectives and Policies of the Eagle County Master Plan for the following reasons: a. The community center generally referred to as Edwards is a defined urban area which does not extend up the Lake Creek Valley ("valley") to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. Although the applicant has attempted to justify the extension and integration of the urban characteristics of Edwards onto the subject property for development purposes, there presently exists land uses on properties surrounding, adjacent to or in the near vicinity -5- ' E of the subject property and the Lake Creek Road which have preserved the open and rural character of the valley. Thus, any development on the subject property should be in harmony with the open and rural character of surrounding properties and, in addition, should form a type of open space buffer between the identified urban area of Edwards and the wilderness areas owned by the government. Contrarywise to the foregoing, the requested zone change contemplates densities comparable to Edwards which would result in substantial development outside of an established community center; would signi- ficantly and detrimentally impact the visual and physical attributes of the agricultural and scenic lands that presently characterize the Lake Creek Valley, and would destroy the present open and rural nature of the valley. 4. The Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that the requested zone change disregards the intent, and the goals, objectives and policies of the Eagle County Open Space Plan and the Eagle County Master Plan. The Eagle County Open Space Map (Exhibit No. 12) depicts the subject property as being within a highly visual and sensitive open space area. Any proposed development within such a critical area should be designed in a way that is sensitive to the natural landscape, and which minimizes the visual and physical impacts on the scenic and rural lands that presently characterize the Lake Creek Valley. Among other factors, the proposed zone change would result in densities requiring a transportation system urban in nature over lands which warrant a careful and sensitive system -6- f designed to preserve the land's rural and natural character- istics. The proposed rezoning of the subject property under a standard zone change would not require such a creative and innovative site design of the development and transportation system but, rather, would encourage an inflexible design approach without regards whatsoever to the unique natural features of the subject property. 5. Consistent with the foregoing, the Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that a P.U.D, approach should be encouraged on the subject property. Under such an approach, a creative and efficient site design such as the clustering of dwelling units, could be achieved in order to preserve the sensitive natural landscape of the subject property and to create a critical open space buffer in accordance with the Eagle County Open Space Plan and the Eagle County Master Plan, while allowing the applicant the right to reasonably develop the subject property. In addition, and unlike the standard zone change, the P.U.D, approach would confer upon the County the ability and opportunity to review and insure that sensitive issues were adequately addressed and mitigated. 6. The Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the proposed rezoning is necessary in order to provide land for a demonstrated community need pursuant to Section 10.03.04(d) of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado. There presently exists more than sufficient lands which have been zoned, subdivided and platted, and are currently available as building sites in order to meet the community need, if any, of the Edwards area. (Exhibit No. 9). The zoning on such lands is similiar in density, if not identical, to the zoning requested by the applicant (Exhibit No. 2, Sheet 4). -7- • 7. The Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that based upon the foregoing Findings, the applicant has failed in its burden of proof to sufficiently demonstrate that the advantages of the zone change requested out-weigh the disadvantages to the County and neighboring land occasioned by the Zoning amendment, pursuant to Section 10.03.04(d) of the Zoning Resolution of Eagle County, Colorado. 8. The Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that the Edwards Village Development Plan submitted by the applicant (Exhibits Nos. 2 and 11) was not adopted by the Eagle County Planning Commis- sion or the Board of County Commissioners as a plan or document by which the above entities were bound to follow or take into consideration in their respective land use decision-making processes. By reason thereof, such evidence was weighed accordingly based upon the probative value placed thereon by the Board of County Commissioners. 9. The Board of County Commissioners further finds, determines and declares that the foregoing findings are consistent with the recommendations and concerns of the Eagle County Planning Commission and the Eagle County Depart- ment of Community Development. ORDER NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Eagle, Colorado: THAT, based upon the testimony and evidence presented at the public hearing, and the Findings of the Board of County Commissioners relative thereto as set forth in this Resolution, the Board hereby denies the application of Vail Plus Fifteen Partnership requesting a zone change from Resource to Rural -8- s ~ ,~ r Residential relative to the Creamery Development proposed on the subject property, File No. ZC-153-81. THAT, the Board's denial of the requested zone change by the applicant will not preclude the use of the subject property for any reasonable purpose. THAT, this Resolution is necessary to preserve the public;;welfare, health and safety. MOVED, READ AND UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Eagle, Colorado, at its regular meeting held the 28th day of October, 1981, non fro. tunc October 13, 1981. ATTEST: By. C1 rk of the Board County Commissioners COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO By and Through its BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS By : ~I, ~ Da e F. Grant, C airma -9-