ZONING 101
- Cannon fodder for those that care.
On June 7, 2005 in the Town Board room an open discussion will occur concerning the recently adopted “Block 7” amendments to the Estes Valley Development Code initially included a proposal to remove residential developments from “ A-Accommodations” zoning districts. In essence saying you cannot buy one of these units to live in full time because we enjoy the sales tax. Town employees telling productive businessmen they cannot live hear- only spend the money.
Now this all seems like so much house keeping to the lay person: the only people that object are a very few greedy property owners that will not reap blue sky from potential buyers that want the “dream”, “may” or “may not” move here when they retire or limit possible future development. This is all moot and silly stuff really because if Mr. Van Horn needs a variance to sell, build or be immune he will get it - anyone else well tough luck, no variance for you.
The most offensive notion is that town hall is so predictably inconsistent. Two years ago the town put into motion a plan to condemn a major amount of retail square footage from the Stangers (along the river walk) smack dab in the middle of the towns Downtown Commercial District and convert it into classroom space, art classes and the like. Last year there was a plan to build a large performing arts complex in the parking lot of the downtown commercial district. Town hall, the post office, library and now a potion of the Conoco Station redevelopment will be non-profit, including the buried gas tanks. Our downtown commercial district is a major sales tax producing area that has very definitive limits due to the topography and its shrinking like a cheap tee shirt. Every square foot of retail space is extremely valuable for producing sales tax revenue - in a very short season and yet the majority owner of square footage in the downtown commercial district is town hall. What’s up with that? In addition, on the summer week ends the town imports retailers from around the country to set up shop in Bond Park to sell exactly what is being sold in the down town shops, all those tens of thousands of dollars in sales and lost sales tax going down valley. If the town buys up all the commercial retail square footage who will be left to produce sales tax? Pay attention Randy and John, you will learn something here. The downtown commercial district is a commerce zone like a mall, in any town in this country. No town would build town hall in their mall (even the Mall of America that has every thing does not have town hall under its roof). No town has a highway through their mall and no town expects a mall to be productive without parking.
Turn town hall, and library into a performing arts center, connected to five levels of parking. In the winter the top floor of parking structure would be converted into an over sized ice rink. Build a town center-post office near the high school so the locals could access town hall - library-post office without fighting traffic all summer and taking up valuable parking.
I would suggest town hall stay consistent and pass the zoning change and screw the few resort owners that this will harm - just like all the retailers you screw everyday.
