In giving approval for the proposed Adero Canyon development plan last week the Town Council needed to vote on five different agenda items.

The council considered a resolution to make a minor amendment to the town’s General Plan; it needed to approve an amended and restated settlement agreement related to Adero Canyon; it looked at the Planned Area Development (PAD) zoning amendment for the site; a preliminary master replat for the overall Adero Canyon site; and a preliminary plat for Parcel 1, a 30-lot single-family subdivision.

The council voted unanimously to approve all six of the items before it. Vice Mayor Cassie Hansen excused herself from the discussion as she is an employee of MCO Properties, the developer for the subdivision.

MCO President Jeremy Hall has cited the change in market landscape for the desire to adjust the housing product available in Adero Canyon. He said there are still a significant number of custom home lots available in Eagles Nest, meaning it would likely be years before it would be necessary to start developing the same product in Adero Canyon.

“We intend to get going on this as soon as possible,” Hall said.

The company will need to get the plats recorded and construction documents to town staff so that permits can be issued to begin construction.

Work on the site is projected to begin by late summer or early fall, Hall said.

The General Plan amendment allows for the change in the land use component by increasing the number of housing units within the 80-acre PAD area.

The PAD itself designates an 80-acre area of the original master plat for different housing components. What was all single-family residential will now include single-family residential, attached townhouse units and multi-family housing.

The multi-family calls for up to 120 units adjacent to the CopperWynd Resort. This would allow the resort to enter into agreements with individual condominium owners for use of their residence, or the resort could use the zoning to acquire the property and expand the resort development.

The preliminary master replat amends the overall master plat for the subdivision to include the PAD, street realignment and new configuration for Parcel 1.

The Parcel 1 preliminary plat addresses the specific layout for a 30-lot single-family subdivision.

The most complex issue to be addressed, which took weeks of intense negotiation between MCO and town staff, is the amendment and restatement of a 12-year-old settlement agreement that involved Adero Canyon.

The original agreement addressed Preserve land acquisition for the town, land use rights for Adero Canyon and the Eagles Nest subdivision, and it settled three separate lawsuits being argued between the town and MCO over land use.

The amended agreement deletes issues that have become resolved or moot over time, addresses new land use entitlements that apply to Adero Canyon and facilitates a land swap between MCO and the town related to a potential relocation site for Fire Station No. 2.

The agreement also provides for public access to a town-owned trailhead site within its McDowell Mountain Preserve. It will allow for the construction of the trailhead inside the Preserve just beyond the development boundary.

The agreement also addresses details of access issues, development issues such as cut and fill standards, density, roadway standards, disturbance issues, construction timing, landscaping and signage.

The PAD proposal includes 31 semi-custom home lots, 44 townhome lots and 120 multi/family or hotel units for a total of 195 units.

The original Adero Canyon plat proposed 171 total custom homes.