Residences at Main Vail 

The town celebrated the topping off at the Residences at Main Vail, which will include 72 new homes for locals right in the heart of Vail. The rental development is 100% deed-restricted with a mix of one- and two-bedroom homes and will welcome residents in the fall of 2023. 

Timber Ridge

Following several public meetings and presentations, a preferred site plan for the redevelopment of Timber Ridge was selected in November which will increase the property’s current 98 deed-restricted homes to 284 deed-restricted homes. Groundbreaking is scheduled to occur in spring of 2024. 

West Vail Middle Creek

In December 2022, the Vail Town Council unanimously approved a resolution amending the Vail Land Use Plan to redesignate the West Middle Creek parcel to from Open Space to High-Density Residential. A subsequent rezoning of the parcel cleared the way for yet another housing development in town and close to jobs.    

Booth Heights

In filing for a petition in condemnation for the Booth Heights parcel in East Vail, the Vail Town Council demonstrated its commitment to preserving the native homes of resident wildlife while also creating homes for people. Town officials remain hopeful a mutually agreeable solution that provides needed housing while also protecting the Vail bighorn sheep herd, the last remaining native herd in Colorado, can be found in partnership with Vail Resorts. 

Vail Social

The third year of the Vail Social saw over 700 friends and neighbors celebrating Vail’s unique spirit with a community potluck in the village core. Participants outdid themselves with elaborately themed food, decorations and costumes ranging from silly to sophisticated.  

Also of Note:

West Vail Master Plan Implementation - With the adoption of the West Vail Master Plan at the end of 2021, staff began the implementation of the many goals and recommendations of the plan. The first step is the creation of West Vail Multiple-Family 1 & 2 zone districts. 

Digital Archives Initiative - The number of digital resources in the Vail Public Library’s online collection continued to grow in 2022. The collection includes recorded oral history narratives, oral history transcripts, scanned photographs and documents, in addition to researched narrative descriptions and historical essays. In 2022, the library continued its contract to digitize the Vail Trail with partners at the Colorado State Library and the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection. The Vail Trail is currently digitized from October 1965 through July 1992, and its contents are fully searchable. The digitization of the Vail Trail will continue in 2023, with the expectation that the project will be completed no later than 2024. 

Revenues

The Town of Vail experienced a remarkable year of revenue collections in 2022. Across all funds, revenues totaled $101.9 million. Excluding large, one-time grants and capital reimbursements, 2022 revenues totaled $95.8 million, up $13.4 million from 2021. Compared to prior year, revenues were up mainly due to general sales tax collections of $40.8 million, up 18% or $6.3 million from 2021. 

Expenditures

Net expenditures for 2022 totaled $96.7 million, compared to $182.6 million budgeted. Of the $85.9 million variance, $69.1 million was re-appropriated for multi-year capital projects already underway. The remaining $15.4 million was a result of savings from capital projects, town-wide staffing vacancies reduced event spending, fewer health insurance claims ($1.4M), and reduced general operating expenditures such as professional fees, general supplies and materials, programs, and fuel and vehicle supplies. 

Reserves

Healthy reserves were maintained across all town funds in 2022, including a General Fund balance of $53.9 million. Staying within reserve targets ensures the town’s ability to weather any potential economic uncertainty and to invest in new opportunities that further the town’s priorities. Looking ahead to 2023, reserves will be spent down as many large cash funded capital projects are completed.   

Housing Sales Tax

Vail saw strong community support at the polls for housing once again, with the passage of a ballot initiative to allow the town to retain collections over and above first-year projections for its housing sales tax. The tax generated nearly $5 million in 2022, with those funds already being put to use. 

Also of Note:

Vail's Stewardship Roadmap - Efforts specifically focused on steps to take over the next 10 years to ensure the town’s tourism economy continues to thrive while preserving its natural environment culminated in Vail’s Stewardship Roadmap, expected to be adopted in 2023. The Roadmap also introduced a new concept: "Community-Positive Tourism,” which recognizes that for tourism to thrive, the community must thrive, too.

Special Events Funding Model Restructure - The Town Council approved changes in its special events funding model resulting in a streamlined application process for all event producers requesting sponsorship; improved alignment between event sponsorship request and the goals of the town; tangible valuation calculations for special event sponsorships based on industry standards; and greater oversight to the revamped Committee on Special Events of all events, not just those recommended by the committee. 

E-Vail Courier

A decades long effort to improve the safety and ambiance in Vail Village by removing delivery vehicles from pedestrian areas came to fruition in 2022. In its first full winter of implementation, the E-Vail Courier Loading & Delivery program was able to redirect approximately 140 truck trips from the pedestrian area of Vail Village to underground delivery docks, resulting in a safer, cleaner and much more enjoyable walking environment for all.   

Regional Transportation Authority

Voters were highly supportive of the formation of a new Regional Transportation Authority, which passed in November and will bring improved transit service and coordinated bus schedules throughout the county. Helping residents and guests travel up and down the valley efficiently and keeping cars off the road will address the transportation, mobility, workforce and climate needs of Vail and the Eagle Valley. 

New Parking Program

A big change in Vail’s parking program came with a few speed bumps, but ultimately produced the desired results. At the end of March 2023, frontage road parking days were reduced from 53 days at that point in the 2021-22 winter season to 27 days so far in the 2022-23 season. The town will continue to review and refine the plan with the help of a community-based parking task force.   

Art in Vail

Four sculptures gifted from the collection of Vicki and Kent Logan were installed during the summer of 2022. This significant gift further expanded the breadth, diversity and scope of the Town of Vail’s growing public art collection. 

Also of Note: 

Go Vail 2045 – The town kicked off its GO Vail 2045 Mobility and Transportation Master Plan, a two-year effort to integrate all aspects of mobility in Vail into a single plan that will chart a path for how people and goods will move into, out of, and around the community.