HomeMy WebLinkAboutAttachment B. Project Narrative
To: Planning and Environmental Commission
From: Public Works
Date: 01-11-21
Subject: Children’s Garden of Learning Relocation
I. SUMMARY
The Town of Vail is temporarily relocating the Children’s Garden of Learning (CGL) from
its current location at 129 North Frontage Road to the “Charter Bus Lot” at 330 South
Frontage Road to allow for the existing CGL site to be made available for the
development of employee housing. This new location is anticipated to be a temporary
CGL site for 3-5 years, until such time that a suitable final location can be found and/or
the Civic Area Master Plan moves forward with planned improvements for this area.
The existing “Charter Bus Lot”, currently utilized as parking for oversized vehicles, will
be removed a few years sooner than originally expected as identified in the Civic Area
Master Plan. Oversized vehicles will be directed to drop off passengers at the Vail
Village or Lionshead Transit Centers and then park in an alternate outlying location (i.e.
West Vail) and take a Vail Transit bus back into town.
II. EXISTING SITE
The existing site, also known as the “Charter Bus Lot”, is zoned General Use and is a
relatively flat site which functions as an asphalt parking lot for oversized vehicles. The
site has been identified in the Civic Area Master Plan as an underutilized site and is
planned to be redeveloped as a part of a new Civic hub for Vail. Planning for this
redevelopment has not yet begun and will take several years to complete before any
permanent facilities are constructed. In the meantime, this site can be better utilized as
a temporary location for CGL.
III. REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
The Children’s Garden of Learning is a children’s pre-school facility that accommodates
14 toddlers and 43 pre-school age children, with 19 staff members. The facility was
built in 2006 as a part of the Middle Creek Housing Project. The site that CGL currently
sits on has now been identified as an ideal location for additional housing, considering
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its proximity to employment areas and the existing Middle Creek Housing development.
Staff has worked with CGL for the past several months on evaluating alternate locations
for CGL. The “Charter Bus Lot” has been identified as the best temporary alternate
location because it is Town owned land, is readily available, can meet the spatial
requirements of CGL, its existing use as oversize parking is planned to be relocated in
the future as a part of the Civic Area Master Plan, the temporary nature of this
relocation fits in well between now and the Civic Area Master Plan redevelopment, and
it has favorable;
Proximity to parking
Proximity to the Town of Vail Library, Dobson Ice Area, Middle Creek, Gore
Creek, Gore Valley Trail, Lionshead Village, Lionshead Welcome Center,
Lionshead Transit Center, Lionshead Open Space and Parks
Easy Access from the South Frontage Road and I-70
Separation from other uses compared to other alternatives
The decision to relocate CGL to this temporary site at this time is due to the opportunity
to expand housing onto the existing CGL site as soon as September 2021, meaning
CGL needs to be relocated, opened and operating before the end of August 2021.
As a result of the tight time constraints, the construction has been determined to be best
served by modular construction which will allow the relocation to be expedited and also
allow the temporary building to be relocated and/or repurposed in the future. Five
modular units are planned to be fabricated and installed to provide one single-story
4700 square feet building which will be wrapped in siding and architectural elements to
fit the aesthetics of the surrounding area.
In addition to the building, the site will be regraded to provide over 4500 square feet of
play area, up to 10 parking spaces and an additional informal “nature trail” on the
adjacent hillside.
Parking for staff and teachers will be provided for in the Lionshead Parking structure
Monday through Friday, while parent drop-off and pick-up will be available within the 10
parking spaces adjacent to the building. A traffic and parking memo has been provided
by staff and is attached for review.
IV. OVERSIZE VEHICLES
The displacement of the existing 11 oversize vehicles will cause a shift in current
operations, a shift that will need to occur regardless at some point when the Civic Area
Master Plan and Civic Hub are implemented. On a typical day the lot is half full, and
generally with RV type vehicles and a couple vehicles with trailers, with the summer
being more full with RV type vehicles. During special events it can be full with RV’s and
Special Event Vehicles.
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Tuesday December 29th – Powder Day
Wednesday December 30th
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Wednesday January 6th -Powder Day/Frontage Road Parking Day
The intent is to have these oversize vehicles (Charter Buses, RV’s, vehicles w/ trailers,
Special Event vehicles, etc..), drop passengers off at the LHTC or VVTC, and then park
in alternate designated areas. In general, these designated areas would be in West
Vail, either in front of Safeway/City Market or just west of the West Vail Fire Station.
From these locations the driver may then ride the West Vail Express, Red or Green bus
to their desired destination. Charter buses will be directed to park in the Charter bus
parking across from City Market (300’ of parking). RV’s and vehicles with trailers will be
directed to park west of the WV Fire Station during the ski season (2100’ of parking),
and likely across from Safeway (1300’ of parking) during the summer months. Both
these areas have capacity during the identified seasons, except on rare occasions, like
the Charter Bus Lot. These could be first come first serve spaces just like the Charter
Bus Lot is now; and could also be by permit only for overnight parking. The no camping
regulation, as is enforced now at the Charter Bus Lot, would be maintained. Special
Event vehicles could do the same, with additional potential to provide space for Special
Event vehicles at the expanded Public Works facility once completed and as needed for
certain events.
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Yellow- Summer Oversize Vehicle Parking Red-Charter Bus Parking
Yellow- Winter Oversize Vehicle Parking
Charter Bus Parking – Bustang stages here prior to picking up passengers at VVTC
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Tuesday December 29th – Powder Day
Wednesday December 30th
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Wednesday January 6th -Powder Day/Frontage Road Parking Day
About 20 spaces available ~500LF