The Carbondale Board of Trustees appeared mostly in favor of greenlighting a three-story mixed commercial- and residential-use development at the east end of Main Street that would exceed the town’s building height restriction, after proposing a tax on all future sales of the property.
Land+Shelter, the Carbondale-based architecture firm bringing the design to the trustees on behalf of the family that owns the property, asked the board in October to approve its alternative compliance request for the three-story, stepped back design at 155 Main Street, next to Carbondale Clay Center.
The alternative compliance would allow the design to reach a max height of 38 feet, as measured from the mid-span of the sloped roof, exceeding the town’s 35-foot building height limit. The peak height would reach 40 feet on the north side of the building.
The proposed design includes storage, five commercial spaces, four market-rate, leasable apartments and one deed-restricted apartment for rent to those making 100% or less than the area median income.
At the October public hearing, the trustees did not collectively agree there was a sufficient community benefit to warrant the alternative compliance, as is required by town code. But the board on Tuesday proposed the owners adopt a real estate transfer assessment fee, which would levy money for the town in all future sales of the property.
Land+Shelter Architect Andrea Korber said the owner would agree to a 1% transfer assessment fee, allowing the town to levy 1% of the property sale amount every time it changes hands.
“I think that would be a huge community benefit, so thank you,” Trustee Christina Montemayor said of the fee.
The board voted 5-2 to continue the public hearing to the next regular meeting on Nov. 24, including documents to potentially approve the project with the stipulation that the property owner agrees to a 1% real estate transfer assessment fee.
Trustees Ross Kribbs and Chris Hassig opposed the matter. Though otherwise in favor of the design, Hassig had hoped to include a condition requiring the developer to build a bulbout on the Main Street-side of the building that would provide suitable conditions for planting a tree, as well as a public bench and the planting of a tree north of the property close to the Rio Grande Trail. Carbondale Public Works Director Kevin Schorzman could still require landscaping conditions from the applicant despite the potential omission of the conditions.
Kribbs said that he couldn’t vote on Tuesday to move the project along with the 1% fee because he hadn’t yet heard an estimated dollar value the fee would yield in future sales.
Before the discussion regarding the real estate assessment fee, Carbondale resident Oliver Sweet returned to the stand for public comment, saying he created a petition that tallied 140 signatures in opposition to Land+Shelter’s request to exceed the town’s height restriction.
“The public concern is to not exceed 35 feet unless there is a clear community benefit,” he said. “I don’t know if a bulbout onto the public street, kind of interfering with potential parking and adding a tree is enough community benefit.”
Carbondale resident Steve Zlotnick also spoke during public comment and submitted written comments to the trustees raising concerns, among many, of the view of the 40-foot height of the building from the Rio Grande Trail. He argued that, given the lower grade of the Rio Grande, the perceived height of the building from the trail will rise significantly higher than the height listed by Land+Shelter.