Planning commission reviews Buckman proposal to annex 99 Garfield Avenue for housing

The Carbondale Planning and Zoning Commission on April 10 heard a work session presentation from property owners Joshua (Josh) Buckman and consultant Mark Chane on a proposed annexation of 99 Garfield Avenue and three preliminary development concepts intended to produce attainable homeownership.

The Buckmans and their consultant presented three options: a nine-unit residential-high-density (RHD) proposal, a lower-density plan that subdivides the 15,200-square-foot site into three additional lots, and an eight-unit arrangement of small, attached units. Josh Buckman said, "this piece of property feels like it's in Carbondale. Everybody thinks it's in Carbondale," and described a long effort — "somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years" — to find a viable plan for the parcel.

The discussion focused on whether annexation and RHD zoning could enable housing that is affordable or "attainable" beyond the town's minimum code requirements, and on infrastructure and access constraints that would affect feasibility. Jared (town planning staff) reminded commissioners that "annexation processes are highly regulated by the state of Colorado" and that the town's comprehensive-plan annexation criteria expect an annexation to provide at least one "valued asset" such as public trails, open space or affordable housing that exceeds code minimums.

Why it matters: the parcel sits adjacent to the town's limits and is already served by town utilities, so annexation would change who reviews future development and could enable denser housing close to Main Street. At the same time, staff and commissioners warned that required utility upgrades and site-access…