Update October 2024: As part of their agreement with the town of Vail, Vail Resorts has agreed to drop its appeal of the Booth Heights decision. In return, they’ll develop a fourth base village with affordable housing.
Update: Vail Resorts has appealed the ruling from the Eagle County District Court, prolonging the battle between the two sides.
Vail Daily reports that the Vail Town Council voted 5-2 this week to acquire the Booth Heights land parcel for $17.5 million. This plot of land was where Vail Resorts planned to build employee housing, which would have housed 165 employees. The new facility would have been fully paid for by the corporation.
The Vail Town Council opposed the plans due to it being in the Bighorn Sheep Severe Winter Range. The land was condemned by the Vail Town Council, which resulted in Vail Resorts suing, and it ended up in court. The Eagle County District Court sided with the Town of Vail and set the value of the land at $17,519,985. With the purchase, the land will likely become a public park.
Kevin Foley, who’s a Vail Town Council member, said the following about why he voted for purchasing the parcel:
“This town is the best place on the planet to live, work and play. And we need to keep it that way for all of us, including the natural wildlife that was here long before any of us humans mucked it up.”
If you’re wondering how the fuck the Town of Vail is going to find $17.5 million, it seems like it’ll be coming from a variety of sources. A required $12 million deposit came from their real estate transfer tax fund. The additional money will initially come from the town’s General Fund, but it seems like they’re asking Eagle County for $3 million. In addition, the Town will need to pay “reasonable legal and transactional costs incurred by Vail Resorts.”
Jonathan Staufer, who’s on the Vail Town Council, said the following about the acquisition. I can’t believe this is a real quote:
“As much as I can’t stand giving those bastards in Broomfield one red cent, I’ll be voting in favor because I would rather do that than watch this herd starve to death. I want to preserve this herd for future generations and my daughter’s granddaughter.”
The fuss from the Town of Vail concerned protecting Bighorn Sheep. While bighorn sheep are pretty cool, it should be noted that they aren’t even close to being an endangered species. In fact, their conservation status is of the least concern. Meanwhile, the rich are allowed to build their homes around this condemned area without any issue.
Town Council member Pete Seibert, described why protecting bighorn sheep is so important:
“The size of the herd is in direct proportion to the size of the winter range. We can’t enlarge the winter range by removing homes. The decisions that were made then were made, the homes are there, but we do have what’s left out there in Booth Heights, and I think we’ve got to be able to protect that.”
John Plack, who’s a spokesman for Vail Resorts, issued the following statement to Vail Daily:
“We appreciate the work of the court, and the panel of experts, in determining the value of the land in Vail Town Council’s condemnation case. As we have said previously, we do not believe the Town’s plan to pay us money to condemn this land, and prevent the affordable housing project planned on it, is good for our community.”
Vail Resorts said in a statement that they plan to reinvest the money they receive from the land on other affordable housing projects.
It should be noted that the Town of Vail has done some work on employee and local housing, spending $140 million on the matter over the past couple of years. These projects have included a 72-unit worker housing facility (which just opened) and 284 deed-restricted housing units (possibly opening in November of 2025). In addition, Colorado Public Radio reported in June that the County will be offering homeowner’s money to house employees. With a projected need of 6000 housing units in Eagle County, this will probably be remembered as the one that got away.
The situation has me, who has had issues with Vail Resorts over the years, fully on their side. We look forward to pointing out how this could have been a great employee housing option for the town every time the word the Town of Vail and housing crisis are mentioned in the next couple of years.
Image Credits: Vail Resorts, Katie Musial, Jody Confer
