Spring Valley Holdings LLC withdrew its application on Oct. 27 for a proposed substantial amendment to the Spring Valley Ranch Planned Unit Development (PUD) after the Garfield County Planning Commission recommended denial of the application. 

The PUD would have encompassed about 5,908 acres north of Carbondale and east of Glenwood Springs in unincorporated Garfield County near the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley campus. Initially approved in 1984, the Spring Valley Ranch PUD went through multiple iterations before the current preliminary plan was approved in 2008. 

The preliminary plan included over 500 luxury homes, 75 workforce and affordable homes, an 18-hole golf course, 12-hole golf course and ski hill along with other non-residential structures including an athletic club, restaurant, post office and general store, according to the PUD application. 

After spending almost two decades moving through Garfield County’s development process, Spring Valley Holdings LLC withdrew its PUD application on Oct. 27. 

The withdrawal letter, addressed to Assistant County Attorney Kelly Cave, Community Development Director Glenn Hartmann and Principal Planner Phillip Berry, cited community feedback and stated that Spring Valley Holdings LLC will seek to rezone the property from PUD to rural. 

“After hearing from the community, we believe it is in the best interest of both the neighbors and the greater community for us to abandon our historic PUD Plan in favor of the Rural zoning regulations in the Garfield County Land Use Code,” the letter, signed by Spring Valley Holdings LLC representative Daniel Goldberg, states. 

Less than a week earlier, Spring Valley Holdings LLC representatives appeared before the Garfield County Planning Commission during a packed public hearing at CMC’s Spring Valley campus in the hopes of substantially amending the PUD plan.

The amendment called for changes to the PUD’s land plan in order to increase the amount of public and private open space. The changes would have included a new public trailhead, at least 10 miles of public mountain bike trails, 1,320 acres of Wildlife Habitat Reserves, 58 deed-restricted Community Housing units for Garfield County residents and 17 for PUD employees. 

The development faced persistent community opposition. Over 1,300 people signed a petition created by the local grassroots group Spring Valley Coalition to stop the PUD amendment. 

Around 90 letters from members of the public were included in the application exhibits, many citing concerns including increased traffic volume, potential impacts to wildlife populations and preserving the rural character of Garfield County. 

After more than four hours of presentations and comments from over two dozen concerned county residents at the Oct. 22 hearing, the Garfield County Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend denial of the PUD amendment. 

Suggested findings for denial included issues with the sustainability of the PUD’s water supply, wildfire trends and risks and traffic impacts. 

“The PUD as submitted including the introduction of higher density residential elements, the overall density of the PUD, inclusion of commercial recreational activities (golf courses, and ski area), along with some limited supporting commercial does not reflect compatibility with the character of the surrounding community/uses,” the staff report states.