Garfield County approves River Edge PUD revocation

Taylor Cramer/Post Independent
Garfield County commissioners on Monday approved the revocation of the River Edge Colorado planned unit development, returning about 159 acres near Cattle Creek and the Roaring Fork River to its previous residential suburban zoning designation.
The Board of County Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the application from Harvest Roaring Fork LLC, which requested revocation of the existing River Edge Colorado PUD and reestablishment of the county’s Residential Suburban zone district.
The two-parcel property is located between Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, next to Cattle Creek and the Roaring Fork River. It is tied to the larger Harvest Roaring Fork PUD, now referred to by the developer as Harvest Village.
Harvest Village had called for up to 1,500 housing units on 283 acres along Colorado Highway 82 near Cattle Creek. It included 150 deed-restricted affordable housing units, about 300 resident owner-occupied workforce units, roughly 1,050 market-rate homes, commercial space and a hotel.
Harvest Roaring Fork LLC formally withdrew that application in an April 6 letter to Garfield County Community Development Director Glenn Hartmann, asking the county to stop its review and schedule no further public hearings on that filing. The letter said the developer intended to continue with the separate River Edge PUD revocation application.
The River Edge revocation does not approve Harvest Village or any new development plan. Instead, it removes an older, unused PUD approval from the property and returns the land to its previous zoning.
Garfield County Planner John Leybourne told commissioners that Community Development staff found the River Edge revocation and rezoning consistent with the county’s future land-use mapping densities and comprehensive plan.
Leybourne said the residential suburban zoning would allow for residential development at a reasonable density while also retiring older approvals such as the River Edge PUD.
The property was originally approved in 2001 as the Sanders Ranch PUD, which envisioned 62 single- and multifamily dwellings. That development was revoked in 2007, and the property was rezoned to residential suburban.
The River Edge Colorado PUD was approved in 2011 for 366 dwelling units, but no plats were ever filed.
The Garfield County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously in March to recommend approval of the River Edge revocation. The commission considered the request separately from the larger Harvest Roaring Fork PUD, which drew hours of public comment and a 6-1 recommendation for denial.
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Commissioners on Monday had little disagreement over the River Edge revocation.
“I think it’s pretty straightforward,” Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said during Monday’s meeting. “The applicant, staff, and all public comments have been in favor of revocation.”
Richard Myers, founder of Realty Capital, said the revocation cleans up the old zoning on the property but does not end the development team’s interest in bringing back a revised housing proposal.
Myers said the action establishes residential suburban as the base zoning for the property, while the development team continues working on a workforce housing proposal.
“We are working with the staff and are working on submitting a revised proposal here in the near future,” Myers told the Post Independent.
Developers have described the larger project as a long-term response to the valley’s housing shortage, while opponents have raised concerns about traffic, wildlife, water, evacuation risks and pressure on public services.
With Monday’s vote, the older River Edge PUD has been retired and the property has been returned to its previous zoning. The larger Harvest Roaring Fork PUD, now referred to by the developer as Harvest Village, was withdrawn in April, but Myers said the development team is still working with county staff on possible revisions or next steps for the property.

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