P&Z meeting called off after builder cancels townhouse project
The City of Breckenridge Planning and Zoning Commission meeting scheduled for tonight, Thursday, Dec. 13, has been canceled. The meeting originally was planned so the P&Z could vote on the request to rezone the property at 600 W. Wheeler St. to allow townhouses to be built at that location.
According to a letter sent from Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Virgil Moore to city officials, the prospective builder for the project has informed the BEDC that he has decided to cancel his plans to build the townhouses on the property, which is owned by the BEDC. As a result of that decision, the BEDC has withdrawn its request to have the zoning changed from R-1 to R-1B.
Breckenridge City Manager Andy McCuistion said his office had already advertised a public hearing for Jan. 2 so that the City Commission could consider the rezoning request. But, since the BEDC has withdrawn the rezoning request, that portion of the meeting will be canceled, as well. The City Commission’s regular meeting will still take place on Jan. 2.
Moore said the BEDC hasn’t known about the cancellation long enough to make new plans for the property but that the developer is still interested in other options for the property, including the possibility of single-family homes. The area is already zoned for single-family dwellings, and no rezoning would be required to build houses there.
Breckenridge’s Need for Housing
The need for housing continues to be a challenge for the community, Moore said. “We have to have housing,” he said. “(The BEDC will) continue to do what we can to solve this problem. We’re open to any possibility that brings us housing for Breckenridge. This hasn’t swayed our desire or emphasis on our need to resolve our housing problem.”
The housing shortage has an effect on the BEDC’s ability to attract new businesses and industry to Breckenridge, Moore said. The problem affects not only the current industries in town that need housing for their employees but also companies that are considering Breckenridge as a site for their businesses.
“We’re at a point right now where we have a lot of new jobs created and we have the potential to grow Breckenridge, and we have to resolve the housing shortage if we’re going to do it,” he said. “Otherwise, people will work in Breckenridge and live in other towns, and other towns will benefit from the jobs.”
Rezoning request history
The rezoning request was first considered at a P&Z meeting and public hearing in October. At that meeting, the board postponed their decision because there was no definition of “townhouse” in the City’s zoning ordinance. So, the City Commission met on Nov. 6 and approved Ordinance 18-21 that amended the city’s zoning ordinance, adding a definition for townhouse and adding townhouses as a permissible use in the town dwelling district (R-1-B) and as a permissible use with a specific use permit in a the single-family dwelling district (R-1 and R-1-A).
Then, the P&Z Commission met again on Nov. 20 for a second public hearing on the issue. Community members opposing and supporting the rezoning and townhouse project attended the hearing to voice their opinions on the topic.
The rezoning request was approved at that meeting; however, that vote was later determined to be invalid when it was discovered that the board member who made the motion to approve the request was no longer a legal member because he had moved his permanent residence out of town. The board member resigned, and at the City Commission’s Dec. 4 meeting, a new board member was appointed.
For more information about the history of the rezoning request, click the links below to read previous Breckenridge Texan articles:
Hearing set for tonight on townhouse zoning request
Wheeler Street townhouse zoning request to face new vote
Cutline, top photo: Several residents in the neighborhood around the 600 block of West Wheeler Street were opposed to the townhouse project, showing their opposition with signs in the neighborhood and by attending the public meetings regarding the zoning request. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
