County cuts housing fee for commercial builds near town

Will go up for rest of Gunnison County

A month after they ended a system that charged affordable housing fees based on a residential project’s geographic location, the Gunnison County commissioners made a similar change for commercial projects on Tuesday, April 1.

Under the new system, commercial construction builders in the Crested Butte area will pay substantially less toward the county’s essential workforce linkage fee program, which was originally adopted in June 2006 to help fund area affordable housing programs.
The old program divided the county into two geographical areas, with fees higher in the Crested Butte area then the rest of Gunnison County. Under the old system, commercial project builders paid $3,067 per 1,000 square feet in the Crested Butte area, while $912 per 1,000 square feet was charged elsewhere. With the passage of the blended fee program on April 1, commercial builders throughout Gunnison County will be charged $1,990 per 1,000 square feet—no matter where the project is located.
Gunnison County Housing Authority director Denise Wise opened the discussion last Tuesday noting changes would make the residential and commercial linkage fees consistent.
In March, the county commissioners opted to “blend” the residential workforce linkage fee, making the fee uniform throughout Gunnison County. Under the old rubric, people building homes north of the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery, including near Crested Butte, had to pay approximately two-thirds more than people building in the rest of the county. Under the new scenario for residential construction in Gunnison County, dwellings under 1,000 square feet will pay $710.50 and those over 8,000 square feet will pay $37,637.
Almont resident Mark Schumacher was present at Tuesday’s meeting and reminded commissioners that relatively few commercial operations exist in Gunnison County—most businesses are located inside municipal limits. He pointed out that the commercial linkage fee might prohibit those few businesses (many of them seasonal) from expanding or investing in their business. “I don’t think we’re going to get much of a linkage fee from commercial that it will make an impact,” Schumacher said.
He pointed out that much more commercial development is planned within the city limits—where housing was likely to be located. Schumacher said it didn’t appear that local governments were on the same page as far as affordable housing, or essential housing as the county has deemed it, occurred. “Why is the county in the business of affordable housing when the three cities can’t figure out what they’re doing?” he asked.
Commissioner Jim Starr responded that Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte have had affordable housing regulations in place for many years and the City of Gunnison is looking at ways to provide housing for local residents there. He also said no one likes to pay fees but it’s necessary to pay for affordable housing programs that preserve elements of the community. “It’s a worthy goal that’s been followed by communities for decades,” he said.
Area resident Pat Montgomery also acknowledged that people typically don’t like to pay fees, particularly if they can’t see where their money goes after the fee has been paid. “We don’t see the results,” he said. “I liken that to the parking fee in Town of Crested Butte. It’s the same principle. I don’t see any solutions to parking up there.”
Commission chairman Hap Channell said the fees generated from the workforce linkage fee are channeled into a separate fund that’s used solely for affordable housing. “That can be tracked in terms of what goes in and what goes out… and one hundred percent of that is directed toward affordable housing programs,” he said. Channell pointed out that the county is using those funds to pursue a new public-private partnership to build housing in the Rock Creek subdivision in Gunnison.
County resident Mike Potoker cautioned the commissioners that the commercial linkage fee should be treated very differently from residential and shouldn’t necessarily be predicated on building size. He pointed out that a 10,000-square-foot commercial building could require four employees or 50 employees, based on use. “I don’t see any adjustment for that,” he said. He also said commercial buildings were already taxed more heavily by the state—making the commercial fee particularly onerous.
The commissioners agreed that they would look at possible exemptions to the commercial linkage fee—such as lessening the fee for buildings that would be used as cold storage. The commissioners said they wanted more public input on the topic and set the item for a work session on Tuesday, May 13.
The commissioners also touched briefly on what would happen to the three commercial projects that were already in process of county review as of Tuesday, April 1—those include Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s Red Lady Lodge and Slate River Holdings in Riverland. The commissioners agreed that projects in process would have the opportunity to pay under either the old or the new fee—depending on what they prefer.
Any commercial project with permits already pulled or that has not yet been submitted would have to pay under the new fee system.
After discussing the matter further, the commissioners unanimously agreed to adopt the new blended commercial linkage fee. The new system will go into affect as of Tuesday, April 15.