Fruita — The City Council voted unanimously to authorize a development agreement with 2 Forks Ventures that aims to convert the decommissioned sewer lagoons into a phased riverfront park and mixed‑use development, city officials said. Planning Director Dan Karas described long‑running planning that dates back to 2017 and emphasized the project's constraints — significant floodplain, hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of fill, off‑site utility extensions and the relocation of a lift station — which the public‑private partnership is designed to address.

The term sheet approved by council lays out a structure in which the city keeps title to public improvements and certain public parcels while 2 Forks Ventures receives privately developed parcels and issues a promissory note to the city for the agreed appraised value identified in the 2023 memorandum of understanding. Dalton (speaker 16), who reviewed the agreement mechanics, said 2 Forks will fund design and construction drawings and submit invoices for eligible costs; those eligible costs, once certified by the city, reduce the promissory note. If design and construction expenditures do not fully amortize the note, proceeds from lot sales and a predefined profit split will compensate the city over time.

Gavin Brook of 2 Forks Ventures presented conceptual designs focused on river access, including roughly 860 feet of developed river frontage and additional undeveloped frontage, a boat ramp and mixed‑use buildings including a proposed 'River Club.' The presenters and council emphasized that the city will retain control over river access and public streets, and that guiding principles will be embedded within CC&Rs and the PUD to carry forward public‑access commitments.

Councilors asked about how binding the guiding principles would be and who controls fees for river access; presenters clarified the city retains decision authority and that future changes to guiding principles would require formal processes embedded in zoning and covenant documents. The council also discussed timing: planners anticipate significant site planning in mid‑2025, infrastructure work about a year later, and a long horizon for final lot sales; presenters characterized the project as an 8– to 12‑year build‑out with some lots developing much later.

The council approved Resolution 2024‑46, authorizing the city to enter the development agreement with 2 Forks Ventures, by a 6–0 vote. The approval authorizes staff to proceed with the real estate contract phase and follow the scheduled entitlements and PUD process; specific funding and infrastructure decisions will return to council for separate approvals.

What happens next: staff and the developer will work through a real estate contract over the coming quarters, assemble technical teams (engineers, soils consultants, landscape architects) and bring formal zoning and site‑plan items back to the Planning Commission and City Council for entitlements and construction approvals.