Alta Planning Commission forwards neutral recommendation on Toronto Estate rezoning with 11 conditions

The Alta Planning Commission on July 15 voted to forward a neutral recommendation to the Alta Town Council on a petition to rezone 6.52 acres of the Toronto Estate from Forest Recreation (FR-2.5) to Forest Multifamily (FM-20), attaching 11 conditions that the commission said must be resolved before the council acts.

The commission’s recommendation follows a two-hour public hearing and a lengthy discussion among commissioners, town staff and the estate’s project team about water availability, access across U.S. Forest Service lands, the size and height of the proposed building and the details of a proposed conservation easement.

The commission said it was willing to advance the rezone for council consideration only if the applicant and the town resolve outstanding legal, utility and access issues. Commissioners asked that the rezone be contingent on an amendment to the 2014 settlement/development agreement and clear, enforceable protections so the project cannot increase the town’s current water allocation.

Fletcher Reed, who said he lives in the Outlook neighborhood, urged the commission to recommend denial and said the estate’s presentation “is not in the public interest.” Reed criticized the project’s renderings and said, “These condos will all be self contained with their own kitchens. There would be dark rooms for most of the year, empty beds.” He also recommended a smaller building, saying the community would likely accept a project “of a reasonable scale” smaller than the FM-20 maximum.

Representatives for the estate presented the rezoning request as…