On May 16, the Winter Park Town Council approved two ordinances and one resolution to finalize the annexation of a 26.28-acre parcel of land known as Beaver Village Condominiums.

Beaver Village is a 200-unit residential condominium complex located just south of the existing town boundary in unincorporated Grand County at the intersection of Village Drive and U.S. Highway 40.

Ordinance 597 finalizes the annexation agreement and makes Beaver Village Condominiums an official part of the Town of Winter Park as of July 1, 2023.

Keith Reisburg, Winter Park’s town manager, explained the July 1 effective date allows the town time to “mail communications to the units within Beaver Village to advise them of the annexation, and to explain the application of the various town regulations for short-term rentals as well as sales and lodging tax collections.”

Once the ordinance goes into effect, owners of short-term rentals will be responsible for Winter Park sales and lodging taxes.

The town agreed to allow short-term rentals in Beaver Village to continue operating under licenses previously issued by the county. However, owners of short-term rentals must renew their licenses with the Town of Winter Park, instead of the county starting Oct. 1.

Additionally, property owners in Beaver Village will be responsible for Winter Park property taxes starting Jan. 1, 2024.

The condominiums are a popular short-term rental destination for guests of Winter Park Resort and it is served by the Lift bus service. The condos will no longer have to pay a separate fee for those services.

The condos are currently zoned as a forestry and open district by Grand County.

Ordinance 598 rezones Beaver Village as a multi-family residential (R-2) zone. The property falls within the identified growth area for the Town of Winter Park in the 2011 Grand County Master Plan.

On Feb. 7 the Town Council adopted resolution 2040, which formalized the town’s intent to annex Beaver Village and created a pre-annexation agreement, which was sent to the affected parties.

Resolution 2057 finalizes the annexation agreement which largely mirrors the pre-annexation agreement, with one notable modification. Village Drive accesses the various units within Beaver Village, which was categorized as a private road in the pre-annexation agreement. Earlier this year, the Grand County Board of County Commissioners directed the county clerk to record Village Drive as a public road. The annexation agreement reflects this change.

“Village Drive now falls under the town’s jurisdiction for snowplowing and maintenance,” Reisburg said, while explaining the importance of this designation.

Village Drive is a dead-end road and it serves limited residents. Therefore, the Winter Park public works department would rank Village Drive as a low-priority road for snowplowing and maintenance.   

The town will take on snow plowing and maintenance responsibilities for Village Drive. However, a provision in the annexation agreement allows Beaver Village to supplement the town’s plowing and maintenance with town approval.

Ordinances 597 and 598, as well as resolution 2057, were unanimously approved without public comment by the Winter Town Park Council.

Effective July 1, the Town of Winter Park will officially annex Beaver Village Condominiums.