Regarding the Dillon Cinema rezone proposal, for 58-foot-tall apartment buildings: workforce housing needs an exact definition — signed, sealed and delivered — before the Dillon Town Council even considers voting.

And, since PageWest’s current proposal of 150 units is not meeting town requirements, the Town Council also should not rush the vote. Because the council saw at the public hearing: there are many issues to be worked out, even beyond the dozens of staff conditions of approval.

By way of definition, the cinema is part of the 39-acre Dillon Ridge Marketplace PUD. The property was once a gently sloping field, owned by Denver Water — back when my siblings and I were growing up in our modest three-bedroom home located up the hill. 

The Marketplace developer worked with the community to nestle the buildings into a well-graded, flat, 39-acre commercial development. Next time you’re getting groceries, peek behind the buildings at the gold-standard: a 40-foot-tall retaining wall. 

The original developer excavated the wall. Not only to maximize his space to build, but also for our parking, traffic, safety on ice, and against wildfires. Mr. Miller respected Dillon so much that he invested the extra resources to properly grade the site, to nestle 35-43-foot-tall max buildings into the hillside. 

It also gave the Town more retail sales tax, to pay for infrastructure, town-wide. The people got a modern shopping experience. And selfishly, my neighborhood up above preserved our Swan Mountain and TenMile range skyline views and property values. 

This is how smart growth works: creatively. Not plopping giant boxes on erosive hillsides with scattered, crumbling 5-foot retaining walls. Not disregarding neighbors’ parking needs, traffic congestion, view impacts and property values. 

Dillon Town Council, you have the power to slow down. PageWest is only under-contract.