A proposal to re-zone portions of Adero Canyon by MCO Properties is being continued from its scheduled appearance on this week’s Town Council agenda to an unspecified date.
The council was to …
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A proposal to re-zone portions of Adero Canyon by MCO Properties is being continued from its scheduled appearance on this week’s Town Council agenda to an unspecified date.
The council was to consider whether to approve a Planned Area Development rezoning request that would nearly double the initial planned density for the site.
The delay, according to town officials, is the result of discussions regarding an amended settlement agreement not being quite complete.
Town Manager Ken Buchanan said nearly all of the land use issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of MCO and town staff. He added that staff would recommend council members consider the proposal favorably when it eventually comes before them.
MCO and staff have both been working hard to fit the pieces together to the benefit of both parties, according to Buchanan.
Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said that the PAD proposal that MCO is proposing is a small piece of the overall land impacted by the settlement agreement approved in 2001.
That agreement served to provide some development entitlements for MCO over two subdivisions, Eagles Nest (already partially developed in the northwest corner of town) and Adero Canyon, for which the current proposal would amend entitlements.
The original agreement also provided for the transfer of more than 350 acres of land to the town for its preserve at a cost of $13.5 million to the town.
The 2001 agreement also provided out-of-court settlements for three separate lawsuits brought over the development proposals at the time.
The stipulations provided for the dismissal of lawsuits related to a condemnation process, a Subdivision Ordinance dispute and a suit over a referendum.
The agreement also includes items relating to lot counts, cul-de-sac specifications, emergency access and numerous other details.
McGuire said they need to be certain that any new changes accurately reflect the original agreement.
“We need to be cautious,” McGuire said. “There are a large number of items and we need to decide what still makes sense.”
Some items like the lawsuits, which were long ago dismissed, and Eagles Nest development stipulations can be removed from any amended agreement.
However, town officials said they do not want to create a domino effect with careless changes today.
Town and MCO representatives have used a couple of marathon-length meetings to go through the 200-plus pages of the original settlement agreement.
“We are close to the end,” McGuire said. “But the details need to be done. We don’t want to rush to the end.”
Buchanan said there has been a learning curve for those involved in the process. He noted there are few people still here who worked on the original agreement.
“The devil is in the detail,” Buchanan said. “We need to make sure this all ties together.”
An issue that will fall with the council’s decision is a 40-foot height limit for multi-family units adjacent to and possibly tied to the CopperWynd Resort.
“We are trying to look out for one of our crown jewels (CopperWynd),” Buchanan said.
“Our objective is to provide for the health and safety of the community and that the general provisions of our code and the settlement agreement are met.”
Some residents in the nearby Cordabella subdivision are poised to oppose the changes and already aired their grievances at a prior Planning and Zoning Commission hearing.
