Planning Commission recommends approval of Fitzgerald annexation petition, with trails committee input noted

The Alpine City Planning Commission on March 4 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve the Fitzgerald annexation petition covering three parcels tied to a proposed 12‑lot development. Commissioners said their recommendation is focused on land-use criteria in Chapter 5 of the Alpine Development Code; the planning commission did not take a formal position on the pre‑annexation agreement that city staff and the city council had negotiated.

“Right now, what you guys are looking at is the annexation petition itself, not necessarily the agreement,” Ryan Robinson, city staff member, told the commission. Robinson said the city attorney and staff included a pre‑annexation agreement in the meeting packet for informational purposes but that the commission’s role was to review the annexation petition and its zoning and land‑use implications.

Commissioners heard that the petition covers 12 lots that would be annexed now and that an adjacent property to the north could later add roughly 12 more lots. The applicants requested CR-40,000 zoning with a PRD (planned residential development) overlay. Staff said the PRD overlay permits smaller lots — down to 20,000 square feet — in exchange for at least 25% open space; the proposal shows roughly 6.15 acres of dedicated open space, which staff said meets the PRD open-space requirement.

The Trails Committee provided detailed comments. “Right now, we are still needing the so there’s gonna be 3 trails. We wanna make sure all of the trails are called out on the plans,” said Breezy, a trails committee member. Breezy said the committee wants the west trail shown as a 10‑foot trail, a roughly 6‑foot asphalt trail through the project’s middle, and a flagged alignment for the Corkscrew Trail inside Lambert Park so committee members and staff can field‑verify the route before final platting. The commission noted trail widths, slope standards (staff generally cited 5–6% as target gradient for ease of maintenance), and the need to separate multiuse trails from advanced flow/mountain bike features.

Commissioners also discussed hazards and serviceability: the site sits inside the wildland‑urban interface (WUI), so the city’s requirement for two points of ingress and egress informed road‑connection planning staff presented. Commissioners asked that stormwater, slope and wildfire mitigation measures be addressed during subdivision and permitting; staff said geotechnical, water, and pressurized-irrigation reports have been prepared and would be reviewed in later permitting phases.

After discussion, Commissioner Jeff Davis moved to recommend approval of the petition to annex parcels 11:085:0015, 11:052:0040 and 11:049:0008; Commissioner John McKay seconded. The vote was unanimous among commissioners present (Jeff Davis, Alan McDonald, Greg Butterfield, John McKay, Michelle Shermer and Troy Slade); Commissioner Sue Wittenberg was excused.

Staff told the commission that conditions or additional recommendations from the commission could be incorporated into a final pre‑annexation agreement or included as conditions to the City Council’s decision. Commissioners asked staff to ensure trail alignments are clearly shown on future submittals and requested that stormwater, slope stabilization and wildfire mitigation be addressed in subsequent subdivision and permitting steps.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final action; the pre‑annexation agreement that staff included in the packet was provided for context and may be updated as the council and applicant negotiate final terms.