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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVAIL VILLAGE FILING 1 BLOCK 5D LOT M O VAIL PLAZA HOTEL PHASE IV AKA SEBASTION CLIPPINGS LEGALControversial hotel draws another look from council By Tom Winter Daily Staff Writer l cn rrurnths ago. .lay Pctcrson. a rcprcsentative fol thc proposed Vail Plaza Hotel, said in an intervicw thirt he did not want t0 see thc hotel lose IIlaSS. Now. hr.rrvever plans havc the hotcl weighing in with lgss than 150 ftx)rns 25 fbrvcr than belbre and about l8 lcct shorter in hcight. But thosc cuthacks and trinr-downs still don't meet thc zoning requircmcnts lbl thc special puhlic accornmoda- tion-zc>ned lln<l on which the hotel rvill rcsl. Thc hotcl is pnrposccl to rcplacc thc Vail Villtrgc Inn on Mcadow Drivc. It has drawn contrnversy lrom the br.'ginning olcr its sizc. Kcvin Fole1,, onc of thrce cguncil r.nernhers who helrd Pcterson's last proposal, said he still has concerns luboLrl. the project. Onc ol' thosc con- cerns is the tight quarters tbr com- mercial ancl visiting vehiclcs that would come in close proximity with each other. Thc current proJnsal shOws that thc truck loading zonc would be right next to the entrance to the hotel's parking garage - a parking garage that needs 75 more parking spaces tbr it to adhcre lo zcrning standards. Thc issue ofloading anil unloading trucks has bcen a battleground between the dcvclopers and some of the area homeowners' associalions. Jim Lamont. execulive rlircctol ol the East Village Hourcowncrs Asso- cialion, hrc., $rote a letterto the coun-cil outlining thc associatirxr's displeasure uith the idca oi a highly trafficked loading zone ol'l' Stuth Frontagc Road. "The growth in thc visitor popul;r tion due to increascs in. ircccntly appror, ed or untlcr-considcratiolr ) (lcn- sitics ftrr Vail Villagc and l .ionshcad r,r'ill result in a gleltel clcnlrnd upon lhc Ioading anil dclircly slstcm li)r Vail Villagc," Lamont rvrrrtc. " l-lrt: negativc aspccts ol thc cunent lourl- ing arrd delively systcn.r are Nd\,crsc k) thc economic anrl cnr irrinmentll wcll-bcing of Vail Villagc and its sur- munding rcsidcntial ncighborlroocls." Evcn with sume of the discrcpan- cics between the zo ing rc(lLlirements and the proposal. Foley said he thinks the hotel is getting close to lrcing an acccptable neighbor. Council menrber (ircg MolTet said he believes the projcct is a good one. In fact. he's always believed it. Mot'- t'et was the chair of the Vail Planrring Commission when the last council overlurrred thc prujcct. Thc plarrrring cornrnission had recommended tc lhe council that thel' approvc it. Onc of Moll-ct '. n rujor contr"'nt r, rns was that it is hett!'r 1o have h,xcl rooms in a project than il is to h:ve time-share urrits. Thc fimt proposal nright har,e hatl 25 more rooms" but all ol' (hcrn.were hotel rrxrms. l his prolect splits the rooms: two-thrrds lre hotel roorrrs and the other thrr,l is cornJnscd ol time-shares."l likc holel tooms rnLrch bc,[er tlran I like tinrc-shalc." N'lo1lci s.rid. Time-share is a lrnancing vehiclc tbr kxlgins ownel's- l'lof tet said. TIrcy JrLrsh tirrc shlres inlo thcir buildi.rgs \\hcn thc\ itlc rr,'l rrlluucd cltrrt gh spilce to nlake hotcl<rnly ru)ns trnrn- ciaily v iablc. he saicl. Mollbt said he thinks biugel hoL.:ls .rrrt bc grrol i{)r'thc lr)\\'r1 it thc; ;rrr in lrn lppfopl.ilrc l()airtiofi. "Anrl thi . is the appropliatc location; it is out of he villagc," he said. The hotcl proposal still has 10 go back to the planning commission lbr linal appror':rl ncxt \.\eek beforc i is hrought back to the council. lhe wholc project is expected 1o bc com- pleted legislatively in January. The Vail Plaza Hotel plans went beiore the Vail Town Council Tuesday night. Proiect planners have scaled down the specs of the hotel slnce earlier this year. locallltW$ Tovwt officials to reconsiderfive-star luntry hotel redevelopment BY STDPHEN Lr,oyn Wooo Dsib llail Stsfi The Vail Plaza Hotel, a key firre-star luxury hotel redevelopment projeit that would replace the landmark Vail Village Ian, goes back on the front bumer today for the town council. Council memben and town staff will visit the site as part a regularly scheduled afternoon work session. A one-hour dis- cussion and p'resentation by Vail's senior special projects planner, George Luther, is scheduled for the wening meeting. "The idea is to turn what's become an eyesor€ into a neq landmark facility that everyone immediately sees when they enter the village,'' Connie Dorsey, general man- ager of the Vail Vrllage InrL said Monday. 'We have a pre- liminary meeting with the new council tomorrw, just for the new members to get falniliar with the project so we cao move forward as soon as possible." The $ll0 million project, on the frontage road just east of Vailb main rormdabout, uon a uoanimous recom- mendation by ttrc t$m's Planning and Environmental Cormnission in January - only o be severcly cut dw'n in size over the next few months to please the torn soucil, vfrich considercd it far too large. "Coircern was raisod: 'How big is too big?"' Vail Mayor Ludwig Kurz said Monday. '"Thar project, for where it's located on the edge of the commercial core, was a bit werwhelming," In August when the previow town cormcil last reviewed the project plans called for a 187-room facility, down from an original 326, m a 'fractional fee club" ownership soheme; 19,562 square fe€t ofconference space, includ- ing a 550-seat banquet facility and an 800-seat amphitheater; a 23,542- square-foot spa and health olub; a 'tuorld-class" lobby and lounge; tbree lwels of underground parking; and a gounnet restaurant. Aocording to iaformation supplied by Luther Monday, the 187-room pro- posal has lsen reduced even further, to 147 rooms - 99 hotel rooms and 47 fractional-fee-club condominiums. Luther's presentation tonight will address key concerns the council has had in the past, including setbacks from Vail Road; the building's height; "green space" and pedestrian circulation; a guest entance on Vail Road; parking requirements; and zoning. Employee housing, Dolsey said, nny be the final sticking point. The proposal now calls for deed-restricted housing for 32 of the 105 new employees generated by the new hotel. Just where the housing would be still has to be detemine4 although the proposal states that "the applicant anticipates that all or a portion ... will be providod in an out-of-town or down-valley location." The council should be pleased to leam about one zubstantial change in the pro- posal: an undergroud loading dock for delivery tucks, with an entance of the frontage road. Dorsey said the facility would be available to otler businesses in the Special Dwelopment Dstrict in that corner oftown. glad to hear they're including not only loading and delivery for their ovm pur- pbses but for the rest of the (district). That's the way to go," Kurz said. ."Anything we can do to change the loading situation and more forward. We've always had the discussion about how can we keep trucks out of the vil- lage, aud that's just about impossible to do without something like this." Discussion at the evening meeting could be lively, as new council member Greg Motret - who as "The idea is to turn what's become an ffiffl3|"fflffift eyesore into a ney landmark facility ...' recommend the proposal ior a much larger Vail Plaza Hotel - - Connlo DoEey, may again voice concerns tiat generat manager of vail vilage Inn I*lTrT"m:"* *o Having made frequent calls during the recent campaign for large conference facilities, big hotels and moro "live beds" in Vail. Moffet said Monday that a larger Vail Plaza Hotel - such as the original, 326 room facility - would be a prime oppor- tunity for Vail to move in that direction. The newest proposal was recom- mended by the townb Design and Review Board on Wednesday. It must now go through another review by tlrePlanning and Environmental Commission December 13. The Town Cormcil is scheduled to discuss the pro- ject again the next day. If the project \Mins final approval early next year, constuction would begin next spring, Dorsey sai{ "after the ski season," with a scheduled com- oletion date of late 2001. 'We will have the most dynarnic and The existing, TGroom Vail Village largest loading *6 unllosding facility Inn would be demolished in tle for any hotel in the valley,' Dorsey said. process. Dorsey said that about 20 per- At present, businesses in that district manent, full-time ernployees will . do their loading and unloading in thb remain. The balance of the 74-member pmking lot at Craig's Market. A loading staffwill be laid off dock at the Vail Pla"p would go a long The tovin council will also interview way in relieving congestion in the lot six applicants for the two remaining and on Vail Road. seats on the new Vail Local Marteting "That would function very well. I'm District Advisory Board. , Dtlcqr&cr t5, 199!l DEGEMBER 15, 1999 VoII|xr XlX, Nun*n 849 http://Yaildai{y.com, ..mai|: newsroom gvalldelly.com (97O) 94$0555 "Catch them doing something right." -Ailb @tstalf,on on teaching kids music ' (See page A5) Modern Day Sleigh i., ! -.: v r.tra vv FnouPecr I Community Development Department - and Donovan, for one, wants some answers.' Wednesday, Se said if sufficient view documentation is not made available to the Town Council at its next meeting Tiresday, she may rec- osunend delaying final review of the Vail Plaza Hotel project. "You can't approve it if you don't have the criteria to make the decision in the first place," said Donwan, who remembers long discussions and mountains of paperwork on the matter when she was on the PEC. "It's their respon- sibility to have the documents. That's like saying, 'Hey, we lost the zoning boolg so let's just wing it."' As to what to do if staff cannot find the documents? '"That's tough; they can recon- struct them," Donovan said. Then there's Jim Lmont, execu- tive tlirector of the East Village Homeowners Associafion. who's also advised staff to locate or reconstruct documents on the view corridor to avoid legal problems. At least one potential lawsuit over the view corridor looms if the Vail Plaza Hotel is approved. '.l hat I'm trying to point out to thern are impediments that may ultimately slow the project dovm if they don't go through the proper procedures," Lamont said. *This is a custodian ofpublio records issue. '"The primary concern here is recollection " he added. "Right now, nobody really knows what's on the books." Ceorge Ruther, the town's senior special projects planner. is working with the developer to win approval ofthe Vail Plaza Hotel. He stressed the view from the roundabout over the Cateway Plaza to Vail Mountain is not one of the original corridors. With all the subsequent changes around it, the view has already been encroached upon, Ruther said. and as far as the view corridor being addressed in the original master plan, "Master plans are meant to guide plan- ners, not to offor strict regula- tions." Ruther also said adequate recon- struction of the descriptions of tle view in question are possible. Russell Forrest, director ofVail's Community Development Department, said 'there's volumes and volumes" of paperwork, maps and diagrams available in his ofice. Forrest said he's even invit- ed Lamont to help staff comb through it. "There's a long, long history to this issue," Forrest said. "It really just depends on how much history the Town Council wants to see." ln the end, Lamont said he'll be happy to help. "I think we're making some headway," Lamont said. Is there room for a view in VailS Townb staf looking high and lowfor view corridor information make ttreir final decision. And arnong the criteria for approving the project, which includes a total redwelopment of the town's trade- . ma* Vail Village Inn, is an uncer- t'in view of Vail Mountain from the town's maiii intersection. "Everyon€ hcws where Chair I and the Vista Bahn are. You can see it from the freeway and it's how you ori€ntate yourself when you come into town at the rouadabout," explainod Tovrn Counoil member Diana Donovan, who was on the PEC years ago when the cornmis- sion documented the 'qeiew corri- dot'' as part of a plan for another project, the Gateway Plaza build- ing. "Everyone has always thoughf itt important to have places from where you can see the mountain." In an effort to both show offVail Mountait and make the torn more apprealing to visitors, six other zuch views of the mountain from difer- ent locations in the village were defined decades ago in the original Vail Village Master Plan and adopt- ed into the tovrn's code ii. 1992. Four other such views ar€ protected by the Lionshead MastEr Plan. . Since this view was identified in the master plan in the 1970s, the Vail Village Inn has been remod- eled and changed hands, the Gateway Plaza building has replaced what used to be a gas sta- tion, and the four-way stop inter- s€ction has been replaced by a roundabout. The Town Council reviewed and modified the view corridor from the intersection as part of a Special Development District before approving the Gateway building - w{rich in spite of a recommendation by staff to reject tlte project does encroach on . the viow in question. Question: Does an official view corddor over the Gateway Plaza exist? Documentation of the view sce- nario from what's now a round- about over the Catoway Plaza, meanwhile, is proving difficult to compile from archives at Vail's BY STEPTfiN Lroyn Woon Dsily fteil Stsf Tberels a real paper chase going on these days at Vail's Municipal Building, where a pro. posal to build the five-star, $1 l0 million Vail Plaza Hotel is on the Town Council's table waiting for, per- haps, the final review and approval process. Council members, considering fte projectb unanimous appro/al Monday by . the Planning and Environmental Commission (PEC), have asked stafr members to furnish documentation needed to See YUW Peca 13 locallltW$ S ln on !Ls,t'EP!pu Lmvo lt/ooo Daily Trctl Steff Final approval of a new, $l l0 mil- lion-dollar Vail Plaza Hotel is loom- ing on the horizon and would-be neighbors are weighing in with their own concerns. Gwen Scalpello, president of the 9 Vail Road Homeowners Association. submitted a letter to the Town Council.. Monday addressing two concerns: Impacts of increased traffio on Vail Road. and distances the hotel would be set back from the ioad. "We at 9 Vail Road Condominiums have strong foelings about the proposed complex. We support redevelopment of the current facility and welcome the prospect of an attractive neighbor," writes Scalpello representing owners of the condominium complex that would be directly across the street from the pro- posed hotel. 'At the same time, we feel the cur- rent proposal creates major problems for Vail Road." . Original pl4ns for thc plaza, which will replace the town's landmark Vail Village Inn, called for a main guest reached for comment, said other future projeots - the. Lodge at Vail land swap site, for example, or expan- sion of Vail Valley Medical Center -would only exacerbate the problem. And studies of the scenario so far have focused on traflic mid-week - Vail Pl aza Hotel project Condominium president cites trffic, setback concerns entrance on the frontage road, along aod therefore don,t address times of with a loading and delivery facility. healy use, such as Saturdays. Over the summer and fall, however, ..To not require a left-turn lane the previous Town Council tequested because of thij study would be short- changes that resulted in the proposed .sighted' Scalpello writes. entrance being moved to Vail Roa4 Scalpello also writes that proposed approximately where Craigb Market setbacks are ..inadequate," and that exists today. ,.no co:npelling reason', is offered to "The current proposal ... alleviates waive zoning requirements already on lhe problems of left-turning exit traf- the books. Allowing this projeci tofic so close to the roundabout," build out to the limits of the Special Scalpello writes. "(But) it also creates Development District, she writes. "We support redevelopnent of the current facitity and welcome the prospect of an altractive neighbor. At the same time, we feel the current proposal creates major problems for Vail Road." - Gwen Scalpollo President of 9 Vail Road Homeowners Association a new left-turn problem Road." Scalpello, who could on Vail not be "could limit any future redevelopment of the remaining phases, which are under different owner- ship." This afternoon, the Town Council and staff members are scheduled to tour the site during a reg- ular work sessiou. And at the end of tonight's regu- larly scheduled' Town Council meeting, a consultant with the Denver-based Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig will present a Traffic Impact Analysis prepared for the hotel pro- posal. "This will be the first time the engineer will be in town to present the report," George Ruther, the town's senior special projects planner, said Monday. "It's a firm we've contracted wilh a lot in the past. In fact they did our transportation study. Maybe that's why the applicant chose them, for their familiarity with Vail." Rutler, the town's liaison of sorts for the Vail Plaza project, said.it's not uncommon for late-comers to weigh in on the process, as many second- homeowners are in town only once or rwrce a year, A vote on first reading from the Town Council, meanwhile, has been delayed un1il Jan. 4." Ruther said. ygh the b The view up Vail Road is qre aepect of the Vall piiza Hotel that has been looked at earefully. Ttre prolec.t is expectedto be com Sybill Navas had requested more ., rrmation about what kind of racf the vail Plaza Hotel would e on the view corridor and whar current regulations are regarding view corridors.' The whole discussion about views, what they mean and what thcy're wonh to the town, hegan in 1981. A view corridor is an eyesight path to Vail Mountain. effort to adopt four additional .view corridors, but no new view corddors were adopted. Now, said Connie Dorsey, current mrnager of the Vail Village Inn and part of the devclopment team for the Vail Plaza Hotel, he cannot even see the mountain past the Gateway Plaza building - a structure that under- went the same view corridor scrutiny .lO years ago. The view corridor may be a moot point, becausc of the fact thar the entire matter took into account the four-way stop. which is no longcr part of Vail's downrown terrain. In 1996, a roundabout replaced the ftrur-way stop. Fr)r drivers enter- ing the town from the freeway, the roundabout at least panially blocks the view up Vail Road with a cluster of fully-grown trees. And all Dorsey can see is the red tape he's been fighting through to try to gct the hotel put in for the past three years. "I'd like to see it cnd in my lif-etime," Dorsey said. Tom Winter covers Vail, Mintum and Rerl Cffi He can be reached at (970) 949-0555 ext 6(M. whatlsif rne of fhe or the Vai must d a downto :n decidinl the pnrpo members which comes first_ the hotel or the In l9gl, ciry engineers began. view. looking at 39 views around town, for Tuesday afternoon, the cormcil, the -Vail Planning and Environmen- city staffand a few curious observeri tal Commission. One such view was rnarched over to the central Vail the one behcld by guests at the roundabout to insp€ct the view down torun's former four-way stop, north of Vail Road. mawrger, Vail Village Inn Vail Road. Town planner George Ruther In 1983, four views were written 1 assured tfrem that itr.- prr""i"* into thetown's design code via ordi- de'artment and the oublic worki nance. Those four views_of the skidepartment and the puulit worii nance. Those four - ofthe ski department recreated what had been slopes from areas in the Vail Village, the initial view available to tourists of the Clock Tower and of the Gore who rolled into Vail before the Range - were protcc0ed. The view roundabout replaced the old four- from the four-way stop was not pro- way intersection. tccted. The view corridor has been a In 1993, the town initiated an point of concern and contention about whether the Vail Plaza Hotel should get the bid for the land at the corner of Vail and S. Frontaee roads. Hotel developers have beJn strug- gling for three years to squeezc a six-story hotel and condominium complex behind the Galeway Plazabuilding. ' Council members Diana Donovan pleted leglslatively, one way or another, In lanuary 01 Februa?y. JATUARY | 9, 2000 Thoren's th*ry Ski equipment guru shows women o be er woy to ski SPORTS Poge 1 3 for $t 10m Plaza Hotel BY SrEpmN Lr,oyp Woop Doilr llail SW. Late on a cold, untypically rainy January night in Vail, the seven-member Town Council. Tuesday gave the green light to a massive, $l l0 million redevelopment project that will replace the landmark Vail Village Inn and set the agenda for future development in Vail Village. 'We have an obligation to rechar-ge this town," Vail Mayor Ludwig Kurz said before casting his vote. "Projects like this are absolutely necessary to get that going." Th€ \/a.il Plaza Hotel pro. jec! three ycars in the mak- ing, was debat€d late into the night in Town Council cliam-. bers before the final, 4-3 vote on secoad reading to ap'prove the first nsw lslv of the year, Ordinance No. 1, a[owing thc massive, six- to seven-story, five-star, lunrry hotel and time-shrc coldo- minium project to proceed. Council members Greg Mofret, Chuck Ogilby dd Rod Slifer joined Kutz in ryproving the projec! with Diana Donovan, Sybill Navas and Kevin Foley vor ing against it. "I would have likfd to vote for it. I'mju* sorry ue didnt have two more weeks," Donorran said. "I just feel there arE too nany conditions. I'd like to se€ them addressed before vr,e agnorae it" Ihepo@hcel,mrhe Frontage Road juS ea* of Vail's lrtaio rormdabout, ws a unanimous recommerdation by th€ toumb Planning and Environmental Commissiot in January 1999 - only to be severely cut dorrn in size o"er the srimrer to please the pre- vious Town Couocil, which SEE ltllll0lEP^cr lE Green light ./ PLAZA HOTEL Fnonr Plcn 1 considered it far too 1arge. The final proposal included a 328,958- square-foot building that included: 9!) hotel roon.rs and 4E ffactional-fbe club units; two restaurants; 4,047 squarc feet of rctail space; a 15,338- square-foot conferencc lacility; a 24,799-square- foot, iirll- scn,ice spa and health club; and approximately 246 underground parking spaces. On first reading two $eeks ago, the council voted 5-2 in favor of the project - with a list of 25 conditions for the ou'ner and developer. rfihldir Prado ofthe Dayrner Corporation, represcntcd by Jay Peterson. Since then, thrce potential snags persisted - "sctbacks" from Vail Road; hcight and mass specifications and roof "stepbaoks" affecting views of Vail Mountain fiom the adjoining Gateway Plaza building: and employee housing During the a{ternoon *'ork sessron Tuesday. the council visircd rhe site to inspect property lines and proposed set- backs. Peterson agreed to honor'20-lbot selbacks, elirninating Llucc lrutcl unirs ir the process tbr a total of 96. "I think rvc can make a simple change and make that happen," Peterson said, effectively eliminating the setback issue altogether. Peterson then said a proposed "flip- flop" in the distribution of mass bctween of two poftions ofthe proposcd buitding for appearance and hcight reasons wouldn't work. Thc tosn had nothing to gain, he sai<l and it would go against the natural grade ofthe land, which descends from the Frontage Road towards Meadow Drive and Gore Creek. The council agreed. So employee housing becamc the final potential snag. fhe on-site housing com- ponent would add 11,000 square fe€t to the project, as wcll as an additional floor in one ssclion of the building along the Frontagc Road. As one of the conditions, howelel Dalmer Corp. has 30 days to present a plan that would place some or all of the required housing for 38 employees on site. Petenon asked the council not to penalize the project ifland can't be found within Vail's boundaries to build the employee housing if plans to add the housing on-site are rejectcd. Peterson said he would come back to the council with two proposals: one for all 38 employees on site; and another for an unknown portion of the employees. Vait PlazaHotel finally *realitY By Tom Winter DailY Staff Wrher L vait wilt have a new hotel' I After three years ofrevisions and I several weeks ofintensive negotiat- I ing between the Vail Town Council I and the develoPers, the Vail Plaza I Hotel witl be built. I The council voted 4-3 on second I reading of the ordinance to approve I the project. which will be located I where tlre Vail Village Inn now sits I on South Frontage and Vail roads' I outlining its neighbor the Gateway I Plaza Building. I fn" one council member who I changed her mind between the read- I ing of ttre ordinance the first time I and this second reading was MaYor ll Pro-Tem Sybill Navas. I I ger main concems about the ll trafnc that will tre generated by the ll oroiect and the lack of what she I I inlnr, is good access to the building ll from the road changed her mind' ll she said. ll Nanas said she would have liked ll to uot. for the Project, but there ll were stitl some specifics that need- ll ed to he worked out so she could be ll comfortable supporting it. ll All three of the council members ll who voted against the Project -ll Nuuur, Kevin FoleY and Diana ll Oonouan - said theY would have ll titeO to support the projecr, Vail f needs new hotel blood. but there fhe Vall Town CouncalYoted 4€ to approve the Vail Plaa Hotel Tuesday nlght. Gonetruction will bedn thls summet' were still some concerns they had that prevented them from backing it. "I respect the votes," developer Waldir hado said, "particularly the 'yes' votes. They substantiated their votes very well." Jay Peterson, the attomey repre- senting the project. has been in front of lhe town tbr Years now trying to set various councils to approve it' Lfter the meeting Tuesday night, he said li$le other than he was tired. "I'm oleased," Pelerson said. t{'m happy for the town of .Vail." Lamont said it Pained him to see the council and the town get to the final phase of approving the project with a lingering sense of uneasi- ness. The uneasiness has radiated from the residents of the Gateway build- ing for most of the Project. Chuck Lipcon, who gave an imPassioned speech about laws and what they mean at the first reading of fte ordi- nance. did not a$end TuesdaY night's meeting. Lipconr who represents some of the owners of condos in GatewaY' had said he would sue the town for not fuIlowing its master plan'i*the project was aPProved' John Dunn, another attorney reF resenting Gateway condo interests' did attend the meeting last night and. said his clients likelY will sue. As for what the Project means to the town" there has been a constant rinsins of the word "revitalization" ttrtiug'tr ttt" town chambers since this project came before this coun- cil. Mayor Ludwig Kurz said it is time for Vail to move forward. "We have an obligation and an absolute need to charge this town back up again," Kurz said. Construction is exPected to besin on the hotel this surnmer. -Tom Winter coven Vail" Minum and Red Clffi He can be reachcd at (n0 949-8555 en ffi6. : i -j.E The comments at Tuesday night's meeting were short and were relayed mostlY bY Jim Lamont' exeiutive director of the East Vil- iage Homeowners Association, and bv Peterson. Lamont said the Project has come a long way since the first one proposed to the council three years aso. but he still felt, like the oppos- iis council members, that if there wJre a few more weeks to iron out some of the points of contention' the project would be more acceptable to all parties.. 970949{555 ,aza.,hotel gets tentative OK '- Daily Staff Writer VAIL - The Vail Town Coun- cil gave initial approval Tuesday night to the proposed Vail Plaza Hotel, but council members will revisit the issue again in two weeks. Even if the council gives i\nal approval to the project at that time, however, tle three-years long plan- ning process still could be far iiom over - the owner of a condomini- um in a building next to the pro- posed hotel said he and other residents will sue if the council changes the town's master plan to allow the hotel to he built. The'six-story Vail Plaza Hotel is to be built on the site of the vail vil- lage Inn. To approve the proposal, tlte council would have to make a major amendment to the special development district on which the Village Inn now sits. "What's significant about this is that the master plan is a law, and they're [the town council] breaking that law," said Chuck Lipcon, who owns a condo in the Gateway B uild- ing, next door to the proposed hotel. "If the rnaster plan can be broken or not followed, they can put up what- ever they want wherever they want." His f6ar, he said, is that approv- ing the Vail Plaza Hotel would lead to high-rise hotels all over town. ,.'[f the town wants to be Bcaver Creek, that's a choice thcy'll have to make," Lipcon said Wednesday. "But a rqaster plan is a promisc to the present and a promise to the future. If they change:it, they'r€ breaking that promise." Lipcon was just one of a long line of people who appeared before the town council Tuesday night to express their conc€rns about - or suppr-rrt for - the project. For two and a half hours. devel- opers, lt-rcal rcsidents, area busi- nessmen, restauraleurs and repfesentatives of the Gateway Building paraded in fiont of the council raising their voices with their concems. "There is truth in every speech I've heard tonight;" said Jini Lam- ont, president of the East Village Homeowners Association, "They are some of the most passionate speeches I've heard in these cham- bers in a long time." Two of the longest, most detailcd speeches came from men who reP- resent the two sides - attorney Jay Peterson, who represents the devel- oper, and Lipcon. "I don't have any presentation tonighr," Peterson said at the begin- ning of the discussion. "I've been doing this presentation fbr three years." Peterson rallied behind thc pro- jcct, saying it does not set a prece- dent, because it is a special development district and each spe- cial development district stands on its own. Lipcon eountered that every developmcnt sets a precedent, and that projects should take into account -their neighbors and the. town's rtlaster plan - a document that gives an outline of what the town's zoning will look like, Peterson said the concerns voiced by residents who came in to stand in line and complain to the council came at the llth hour, before he could take the concerns back to the developers and if they could come up with answers to the 0uesuons. Residents of the East Villagc said the project does not work and that the council needed to stard on principle. Businessmen argue.!.$at the town needed new vitalily. .. Iii the end,tafter the discrissi,olts of vierv corridors, setbacls, ernploy- ce housing, the underlying zoning, traffic and the future of the eco- nomics of Vail were played out, a decision had to be made. The councilvoted 5-2 to apProve the first reading of the project. Foley and Diana Donovan voted against it. Therc are still concassions to be made, Mayor Ludwig Kurz said. Employee housing still has to be finalized - it will either be on-site or not. Whether Vail Road needs to be expanded to accommodate traffic increases needs to be addressed, as well, he said. The issue will come back to the council in two weeks, to see if any of the council members have changed their minds or to see if the concessions are not enough, as council member Sybill Navas said, . "to say yes to this pfoject." Peterson said WednesdaY, how- ever, that he believes the devolopels will be able to come back in two weeks with answers the council can accept. - Assistant Daily Editor Karen Bowers contributed. to this report. : The Dally,fhurcday, December 23, 1999-Page 450/949.0555 sECTtOtl December 23, I g99 Daily Slrff Wrk r Vail PlazaHotel closer to realiry tt t -j -.,rig f,,E,co;1n cil .;., memDers snow supPoft By Tom Winter VAIL - At least four of thc scvor Vail Town Council mcnrbcrs have voiced their support for' lhc Vail Plaz! llotel. Chucl Ogilby, Creg I,lotfet, Mclor Ludwrg Kurz rnd Iiod Slifer all havc eitber said publicly tllat they suppolt the project or that all of theif crrocernsahoul it have been clearcd p. And wlrilc tbe other lhree co!ncil mcnlbe.s havc not voiccd disirppfoval ol thc proiect. none bave yet voiced public \uptr()fl. 'l he frrcposcd hotcl would be built on the pre- scul sitc of the Vail Village Irrn. The council met Tuesdav aftemoon at a work scssion to look at what the hotel would do to thc vrcw of thc mountain fronr the rlain Vail round- lbout. lhe council spoke $ith the developers' trafiic enginccrTuesday nighr about tlrccffcct Lhc lrr.icil \ol (l h \c r'tr lrirlfic urrcr.llr,orr. Thc c('Irril .rlro (liscrrss*d their Ie$ remairrrng col]crlns $.ith rcpresenta{ives fmm thc hotet- An(l a ler\ citizcns lrd feplesentatives ofthe Ciiteway I'lazu building * which is northwesl of the pro- posed hotel, also spoke to the coullcil. While Ogilhv and Kurz mentioled a fcw aspects ofthe plan lhcy woIld like to seechflt]ged. both shid the)- think the project is a needed lev e|rue sou.ce lbr the town- (buncil mcmbcr Kcvin Foley said he needs more tir e lo lrl*e his decision. In thc {r.sr few wecks, Folev said. he has re j(crcd back atld lbrth bolwccn thirkirrg ths pro- jert is a rreedcd one for the town and thiDking ir doesn't quitc llt the entfance to Vcil. Co0ncil member Diana Donovan was proba- bly thc mosl critical of all of the council rnentbers abo0t thc speci{ics ofrhe holel's sitc plan bec4usc .)f th€ spccial sctbacks aud other cnginccring lee- wa)'s gived to the developers with the ltotel's spe, cial developntent district zoning. A ferv concernr that had be€n loiced by the coun(il memhers throughout the proccss still lin- gcrcd in thc lown chambers Tuesday right at tbe council meeting. One concern is thc possibility of gridlock on Vail Road fiom people uttemptiig to turD left into the main parking garage and the entrance into the hotel- Jay Pelerson, lhe developers' represeltativgto thc council, said he would be willinA to mo!c the boteL's sidcwalk back so rhat Vail Road could be expanded to two lanes- should the need arise. But, he added that he would rather not€xpand the mad until a problem emcrgcs. 1'he council was split about whether Vail Road shou)d be expanded immediately to accommodatc thc prqeci. Larry Lang, the developct.s' trafilc cnginccl, ,{aid (he road will not be ovedrafflcked. Lang said there would be minol delays gelting into the parking slructure, but that lraffic on Vail l{oad would not bc irnpeded. Thcrc will not bc a baqkup lo the rnain Vuil rouldabout, he added. Speclal to lhe Dally Pictured alo artbt's rende ngs ol what the proposed Vall Plaza Hotel wlll look llke. Clhuck Lipcon. a rcprcscntativc ol' Cateway Plaza's residential users. said he doss no( ftillk the oullrbers uscd to estintate trufllc volunrcs rrc accrlate because Ihey were laken 1l'(}m lrban-tratlic estrrrotes- Jirn Lanonl, excculi!e direclor ol the [tst Village Homcowners Association, said tbal elen lltough the numhcrs tnight work out to(ho$ thJr lherc $ ill not bc traffic problcms. intr,r- ition lclls hirn there could tre a protrlem in the tuture if rhe road starts gefiog a lot of fbot and vchiclc traflic. Nonetheless. Lamont voiced his suppon ofthc p'roject, saying it has come a long way sincc it was propo$cd to [hc council this past spring. Another ofthe concerns thc council discussed Tuesda)- night is the whereabouts of cr[ployee housrrrg- "This is as importanr as building more hotcl .ooms in the to\rn of Vail," Ogilby said. Employ- ee housilrg could be in aflother location in Vail o. outside of Vail. tho[gh Ogilby sai(l hc would likc to scc thc enrokrycc housing at th€ hotel site. Peierson rvarned the council that the project could not be brilt if he has lo make hotel fooms inlo roorns for employecs. tsut, he addcd, if thc council allows hirD to add Inass lo the pmject, he r ight be able to put rhe housine on site.'fhe whereabouts ofthe employec housing and the requifemenls for the hqusilg have to be dis- cussed with the developers ofall threc phases of lhe projccl bcfore he can sign off on the final plan given to thr council, Peterson said. Discussion about the p(ospective hotel have gone through lhree town councilsi the last two could ncver reconcile their diffe.ences withdcvcl- opers to clcar a path fof the hotel's constmction. Now. two months aftcr the induction of the ncwcs( council, developers might see ihe prxess come to a closc. On JaD.4. the coulcil will hear if dcvelopers hnve ralen t\ejr lasr concems into considcratiol and giveo them a hotel they are willing to accept. "l rvas prcpured,liorn rumormaybe, not to like this project," Ogilb] said. "l like this proiecl, I think it will bc good for thc town and good for the economy." TonWitxer co|ers Vail, Minnutr und RedCliff. He cerl be reacheJ et (970) 949 0555 ert 606.