Silverthorne Town Council rejected a development proposal for 69 condominiums on Blue River Parkway during an April 24 meeting after finding it didn’t fit into the town’s goals or comprehensive plan.

TG Developments presented the town with a proposal that featured four buildings consisting of 69 condominium units, 21 of which are town-owned workforce housing units and 48 privately owned, market-rate units. The proposal also outlined two carport structures, one detached garage building, surface parking and a multi-use recreational pathway.

The development would have been on two parcels along Colorado Highway 9. One parcel, referred to as the Annie Road parcel acts as open space and is owned by the town, and the other parcel, the Aidan West parcel, is to the south and owned by TG Developments. 

The proposal originally hit the desks of Town Council members in April 2023 and included more workforce housing units and space for a park. Because more units were proposed, the developers had to meet a heftier parking requirement, causing the open space to be nixed. 

After members were presented with a cost-benefit analysis in an executive session on April 24, council unanimously voted to not move forward with the proposal. Tim Applegate was absent.

“What we originally had hoped to accomplish with this partnership has changed in ways that I don’t think are providing the best benefit to our community or in a way that is the responsible decision,” council member Erin Young said ahead of the vote. 

The denial does not preclude the developer from developing on the parcel they own or from partnering with the town on a different project. It just sends the developer back to the drawing board. 

While council voted to not move forward with the project, members did express that they would be directing town staff to pursue a joint access agreement with the developer to create an access to the Blue River. After hearing concerns from local neighbors about traffic, council members wanted to create another access road through this property so residents in the area could access the stop light near Annie Road on Colorado Highway 9.

“That property holds value throughout the community. We’ve heard quite a bit of the community speak on it, and as the landowner, I think it’s really important to do the right thing with this property and to partner in a way that is true to our comprehensive plan,” council member Amy Manka said. 

Community members expressed concern over how close the development would be to neighboring properties, among other issues.

Elected officials stressed that they did not want the decision to undervalue the need for workforce housing in the community and that they plan to continue to pursue those opportunities. 

Council cast votes twice regarding the project at the April 24 meeting. One vote was for approval from a land use perspective and the other was to give approval on the proposal as a whole. The second vote came after public comment from the community and the executive session. Council was split on the land-use vote, but it passed narrowly, 3-2. Council members Young, Tanecia Spagnolia and Jonnah Glassman voted for approval. Council members Kelly Baldwin and Manka voted against it. Tim Applegate was absent.

In addition to sending letters, residents from Blue River Parkway and Rainbow Run voiced concerns during public comment ahead of the vote. 

Terry Novak, a resident of Silverthorne for 50 years and career developer, shared how important he felt it was to preserve some of the Annie Road parcels for open space. He urged the council to weigh the importance of that open space when voting.

“Consider what you’re going to be letting go of,” Novak said. “It’s worth — not only financially an awful lot of money — but it’s worth an awful lot to the heritage of this town.”

Resident Doug Pflugh has been among the loudest voices to oppose the proposal and even created alternatives that he felt were less impactful to neighbors and open space. He said that while this is in part a workforce housing effort, council should remember the history of the Aidan West parcel.

“Council should bear in mind that until a few years ago, the Aidan West parcel was a manufactured-home neighborhood providing workforce housing to a number of Silverthorne families,” Pflugh said, referring to the purchase of the Aidan West parcel that displaced the families that lived on the lot. 

Council’s decision to kill the proposal followed Silverthorne Planning Commission’s decision on April 16 to recommend approval from a land use perspective since its members thought the development proposal met town code. Although commissioners recommended approval, many showed discontent for the proposal. 

Town staff plans to work with TG Developments on a joint access agreement for the area.