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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 11 15 cover letter to TOV.pdfNovember
15,
2010 Town
of
Vail c/o
Warren
Campbell,
AICP 75
South
Frontage
Road Vail,
Colorado
81657 Re:
Ever
Vail
Update
of
November
2009
Applica=on
Revision Dear
Town
Council,
Planning
and
Environmental
Commission,
and
Town
Staff: Ever
Vail,
LLC
an
affiliate
of
Vail
Resorts
Development
Company
(Applicant)
has
updated
its
plans
and
 applicaPon
materials
for
the
Ever
Vail
project.

As
you
are
well
aware,
the
Ever
Vail
project
has
been
in
 the
Town
of
Vail
approval
process
since
2007,
having
been
reviewed
in
about
30
meePngs
and
hearings
 with
the
Town
and
the
community.

The
review
process
has
posiPvely
shaped
and
re‐shaped
the
project
 since
the
original
plan
submiWed
three
years
ago.

Many
milestones
have
also
been
achieved
in
that
 process,
including
the
review
and
 approval
of
the
relocated
South
Frontage
 Road
by
CDOT
and
FHWA. The
revised
plans
provided
today
reflect
 the
input
and
comments
we
have
 received
over
the
last
year
and
which
we
 believe
have
cra\ed
a
beWer
project
 overall.

The
most
significant
change
to
 the
programming
is
the
reducPon
of
the
 total
square
footage
of
commercial
retail
 uses
within
the
project.

We
heard
 strongly
from
the
community,
the
Town
 Council,
and
the
Town
staff
that
there
 was
concern
that
the
amount
of
retail
 being
proposed
would
compete
too
heavily
with
the
other
core
retail
areas.

Your
economic
and
fiscal
 consultant,
EPS,
and
our
economic
and
fiscal
consultant,
BBC
Research,
were
also
concerned
about
the
 viability
of
the
amount
of
retail
area
being
proposed.

We
are
convinced
that
reducing
the
commercial
 retail
area
to
a
level
that
is
necessary
to
simply
serve
the
populaPon
living,
staying
and
parking
at
Ever
 Vail
is
the
right
approach
for
this
project.

There
is
now
enough
retail
floor
area
to
serve
Ever
Vail
with
 success
and
vibrancy,
but
those
staying
within
Ever
Vail
will
need
to
seek
out
other
shopping
and
dining
 opportuniPes
within
the
Town
to
feel
commercially
saPsfied. The
following
are
some
of
the
more
significant
aspects
of
the
project
that
have
been
improved
or
 maintained
in
the
updated
design
that
will
add
to
the
success
of
the
project: •Revisions
to
the
Red
Sandstone
Creek
corridor
creaPng
a
larger
open
park‐like
area.

We
eliminated
 one
of
the
two
pedestrian
bridges
across
Red
Sandstone
Creek
and
added
a
new
pedestrian
and
 bicycle
bridge
across
Gore
Creek
making
the
project
much
more
accessible
to
the
Gore
Creek
trail.

 The
applicant
is
also
proposing
to
grant
a
conservaPon
easement
for
the
Red
Sandstone
Creek
to
 the
Town,
which
today
runs
across
 private
property,
as
suggested
by
the
 Town’s
Comprehensive
Open
Lands
 Plan; •There
is
a
significant
reducPon
in
the
 building
mass
based
on
comments
we
 received
from
the
Planning
and
 Environmental
Commission
(PEC),
 eliminaPng
most
of
the
bridges
 connecPng
buildings
and
opening
up
 the
pedestrian
areas
to
more
light
 and
air; •With
the
reducPon
of
retail
floor
 area,
Market
Street
has
been
modified
to
a
pedestrian
area
with
a
short
segment
of
residenPal
 development
at
the
grade
level,
complemenPng
the
grade
level
of
The
Ritz‐Carlton©
Residences
 across
the
street,
and
then
leading
to
the
front
door
of
the
new
RockResorts
hotel
and
into
the
 commercial
zone
of
the
Ever
Vail
project;
 •A
4‐star
RockResorts
hotel
with
102
hotel
rooms
will
be
complemented
by
the
addiPon
of
29
lock‐ off
units
within
the
hotel.

There
are
also
an
addiPonal
20
lock‐offs
in
the
project
bringing
the
 number
of
keys
to
potenPally
342
(hotel
rooms
+
managed
dwelling
units
+
lock‐offs)
and
helping
to
 meet
Town
goals
of
“warming
up”
the
project
as
much
as
possible. •The
revised
transit
and
bus
stop
faciliPes
in
the
project,
given
the
nod
by
both
Town
staff
and
PEC,
 are
capable
of
accommodaPng
both
skier
drop‐off
and
bus
stop
faciliPes
in
close
proximity
to
the
 proposed
gondola; •The
400
publicly‐available
parking
spaces
beyond
the
required
parking
for
uses
on
the
site
remain
in
 the
project.

The
Town’s
master
plan
suggests
that
the
property
accommodate
public
parking
in
this
 area.

The
applicant
took
this
master
plan
goal
one
giant
step
forward
by
not
only
accommodaPng
 for
the
400
parking
spaces,
but
actually
comminng
to
paying
for
their
construcPon
at
no
financial
 impact
to
the
Town
of
Vail.

With
the
required
parking
to
serve
retail
uses
on
the
property,
the
 applicaPon
includes
a
total
of
670
 spaces
available
to
skiers
and
 consumers; •Ever
Vail
is
proposed
to
contain
 approximately
67%
of
the
employee
 housing
requirement
on‐site
which
 is
in
excess
of
the
Town’s
 requirements;
and •The
relocaPon
of
the
weekend
DEVO
 program
from
Golden
Peak
to
Ever
 Vail
remains
in
the
plans,
thus
 reducing
the
congesPon
problems
 encountered
along
Vail
Valley
Drive.
 The
12,000‐square‐foot
recreaPonal
 facility
for
the
Vail
RecreaPon
District’s
Youth
Services
includes
an
80‐foot‐tall
climbing
wall
within
a
 glassed
structure
acPng
as
an
iconic
element
for
the
project. •The
project
master
plan
maintains
the
USGBC
Stage
One
LEED
for
Neighborhood
Development
 approval
with
a
PlaPnum
designaPon,
the
highest
level
achievable
under
the
program.

The
 applicant
believes
that
the
sustainable
and
green
aspects
of
this
project
will
set
Ever
Vail
apart
from
 other
resort
projects
across
the
country
and
throughout
the
world,
and
will
help
posiPon
both
Vail
 Resorts
and
the
Town
of
Vail
as
leaders
in
their
collecPve
pursuits
of
sustainable
goals. •And
finally,
we
have
revised
the
project
such
that
we
have
eliminated
the
need
for
any
variances
to
 Town
Code.

The
project
fully
complies
with
Town
Code
and
is
consistent
with
the
Lionshead
 Redevelopment
Master
Plan. We
look
forward
to
finalizing
the
review
of
this
project
by
the
PEC
and
concluding
the
review
process
 with
the
Town
Council
this
spring. Sincerely, Alex
Iskenderian
 Senior
Vice
President
&
COO Vail
Resorts
Development
Company John
Garnsey Co‐President,
Mountain
Division Vail
Associates,
Inc.