City staff have said they were working with federal and state officials to create emergency access points to Interstate 70 to address such concerns. But Raymond said such fixes should be made before projects like 480 Donegan happen.
Other opponents of the proposal told CPR News in April they simply didn’t want the new project.
Backers of the proposal, like Mayor Jonathan Godes, said it would have expanded housing options for the city’s workforce and helped make Glenwood Springs more affordable. The proposal included 60 affordable housing units, starting at $1,250 a month.
Godes decried the vote result as an indication that residents “have little interest in providing housing for our working-class people.”
“These decisions make us less diverse and less vibrant,” he wrote in a text message.
“However,” he added, “this is the will of the voters and they have spoken.”
A spokeswoman for the developer behind the project, Cincinnati- and Roaring Fork Valley-based R2 Partners, said the property, located behind the aging Glenwood Springs mall, will now be developed as a commercial park in Garfield County.