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Winter Park outlines URA plans and pushes for RTA to build gondola linking resort to downtown
Summary
Town officials and their consultants briefed the Grand County BOCC on a Winter Park Urban Renewal Authority plan using tax‑increment financing and a proposed Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to construct and operate an aerial transit gondola and related infrastructure; county participation was invited and more detailed numbers were promised within 30 days.
Winter Park Town Manager Keith Reesberg and Brownstein counsel Carolyn White presented the recently created Winter Park Urban Renewal Authority and the town’s plan to use tax‑increment financing (TIF) to pay for major public infrastructure tied to new resort‑area development.
Reesberg said the mechanism is intended to ‘‘address the public infrastructure needs that are required to allow development to move forward.’’ Carolyn White added that TIF can be used for improvements outside a narrowly defined plan area when those improvements ‘‘address the blighted conditions that have been identified in the plan.’’ Both stressed that TIF funds are limited to public infrastructure — not to subsidize private vertical development.
Presenters outlined two plan areas (the resort base and the downtown/Cooper Creek node) and described public projects the town anticipates funding or supporting, including a gondola connecting the resort base to downtown and a public parking facility. Reesberg said the county would be asked to negotiate revenue‑sharing agreements because the urban renewal plan will capture incremental growth in certain levies within the plan area.
On the financing side, Brownstein attorney Carolyn White described the RTA as a separate regional entity authorized under state statute to finance, own and operate transportation systems — including aerial transit — and to issue bonds without putting debt directly on member governments’ balance sheets. She said the RTA could be authorized to impose taxes or fees, but the current aim is to structure the financing so the gondola could be built and operated without imposing new taxes on residents.
Board members pressed for more detail on who would vote in an RTA formation election, how many local residents would be inside proposed boundaries, and which revenues the town expects to pledge. Reesberg and White said draft RTA formation contracts and refined participation numbers would be circulated for review and that the county attorney would be included in negotiations. The presenters estimated a tight schedule that could include a November formation and TABOR vote if members finalize agreements.
A representative of Alterra/Resort Area Metro District said the project would reduce vehicles on busy days and increase regional economic activity; Cooper Creek Village and other metro districts said they support moving the project forward. Commissioners asked that the county be kept in the loop and that county counsel review draft documents before any commitment.
Next steps: town staff will circulate draft RTA contract language and specific financial figures to the county and metro districts; county staff and attorneys will review and report back to the board.
