The developer behind the five-story structure proposed on the Dillon waterfront has scheduled a meeting to discuss the controversial project as a citizen petition has forced the Town Council to reconsider its approval.

The Porritt Group, owned by developer Jake Porritt, will hold a town hall meeting on Saturday, June 22, at 10 a.m. at Pug Ryan’s Brewery to discuss the “branded residence” project at 626 Lake Dillon Drive, according to a flier for the event.

After the Dillon Town Council originally approved that project with 200 condominium units, three restaurants and retail spaces back in March, some locals organized a referendum petition to protest the decision.

Under state law, the petition bearing the signatures of more than 200 Dillon residents will force the Town Council to reconsider its earlier vote to approve a Planned Unit Development agreement for the project. Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson has said that the reconsideration will be on the Town Council’s agenda for Tuesday, June 25.

If the Town Council on reconsideration approves the project again, state law requires that the question of the project’s approval go to a vote of the town’s residents. Johnson said that that referendum would likely be scheduled for Oct. 1.

Louis Skowyra, one of the proponents of the petition, said that people in town have raised various concerns with the proposed development, including its height, a lack of workforce housing included with it, and the tax incentives and other funding mechanisms that will help complete it.

“There are all these issues, and a lot of people have questions on these issues,” Louis Skowyra siad. “The goal is to give a louder voice to those issues and ask that the council not only reconsider but, if they aren’t interested in changing their minds, give a really well-articulated and thoughtful reason for why they think this project – as is – helps our town.”

Louis Skowyra is the husband of Mayor Carolyn Skowyra. He said he has helped advance the petition as a private citizen with his own opinions on the town and its future.

Porritt’s meeting on Saturday is open to all registered voters in Dillon and will focus on questions related to the proposed lakefront development and the petition. Porritt has said that the Planned Unit Development approval for the structure allows for certain considerations that wouldn’t be possible with the underlying zoning where the project is proposed.

The event flier states that if approval were to be rescinded, “The old code will allow for a building that will take up more space on the site, be built closer to the property lines, obstruct more of the views of the lake, have more exclusive condos on the site, and have no public space for community gathering.”

Dillon resident Joel Schwartzman, who has been a vocal opponent of the lakefront project but did not sign the petition because he was out of town at the time, said he doesn’t understand why the town is being presented with an “either-or” situation.

Schwartzman raised concern about the height variance the project received through the planned unit development process as well as the building’s scale and the lack of affordable housing promised when it was approved.

“I’m really hoping that the process can be slowed enough to see what other alternatives are possible,” Schwartzman said. “It would be far better if this council got a sense from its voting residents of what we would like the town to be. This Porritt project would be wonderful in New York City, but we’re a small, mountain community.”

Louis Skowyra noted that since the Dillon Town Council approved the project, Porritt has laid out more details about his plans for redeveloping other parts of the town center, including proposed workforce housing. 

He said he hopes everyone comes to the meeting Saturday with an open mind and a willingness to listen so that there can be a meaningful discussion about Dillon’s future.

“There are any number of paths forward, I would argue,” Louis Skowyra said. “I hope the developer is equally as open minded. I’m sure he is.”