The construction of Escalante Drive between Walmart and Home Depot might be overseen by a developer, canceling plans for a November election question.
The eight property owners in the area had planned to vote on a local improvement district in November but now, instead of the city overseeing construction through a special improvement district, a developer might do it, said Greg Hoch, the city’s planner emeritus. But the company likely will not make a decision about the road until spring.
“There is a high probability they will build the road themselves, therefore doing away with the necessity of creating a LID (local improvement district),” he said. “Everybody would prefer that.”
NE Development is planning a 194-unit apartment complex along the extension of Escalante Drive.
Construction on the road was set to begin in 2017, and if the developer agrees to build the road the ground breaking could happen around the same time that the city had targeted for construction, Hoch said.
By overseeing construction, the developer could save about $230,000 in costs associated with a local improvement district, Hoch said.
The road is estimated to cost about $2.2 million, if a local improvement district isn’t formed, he said.
If property owners approved a local improvement district the city would oversee construction, and it would go through a public bidding process to seek a contractor, Hoch said.
The developer has a contracting arm, and it is likely it could do the project more affordably than the city.
“They are just more efficient,” he said.
If NE Development decides not to build the road, an election on the local improvement district could be held in April, during the regular city elections. Only the property owners would vote in an election because they are the ones who would pay for the road.
Either way, if the project is paid for through a district or by the developer, all the property owners must contribute to construction at the same proportion.
But it has not been decided how those repayments would be made if it the developer pays for the road, he said.
Property owners would have to agree to pay for the road in their annexation agreements, and the city could withhold building permits if they did not uphold their part of the deal.
The annexation agreements were set for a final vote Tuesday before Durango City Council, but that has been postponed because discussions around repayment are ongoing, he said.
“They have asked the city to assist in that step,” he said.
Before NE Development commits to building the road it wants to go through an involved planning process to be a zoned planned development. This is the zoning process used to develop Three Springs and Twin Buttes.
“They want to make sure there are no obstacles they are unaware of,” he said.
Plans for the new apartment complex could come before the Durango Planning Commission and City Council late this year and early next year, he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
