The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Less restrictive new tier expected to be approved in the fall
By Mark Reaman
While the intent is there to have a two-tier system on how to qualify eligible renters for new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Crested Butte, the final product won’t be ready until the fall given needed legal adjustments to change multiple sections of the town code. The first tier would be fairly simple and ADU owners could rent to anyone who meets longevity standards. But owners qualifying for that first tier would also be the ones who do not take town financial help in constructing the ADUs and that could run into significant money.
The council wants to allow the first tier of permitted renters to just meet a four-year residency requirement for homeowners who build new ADUs without any town subsidy such as a waiver on tap fees. The second tier, which was approved by council at the May 15 meeting requires renters to be employed at least 1,200 hours per year at a local business or be a full-time student at Western or an apprentice trying to obtain a trade license. Retired renters have to have worked at least 100 hours a month at a local business for four years. All minimum lease periods have to be at least six months.
ADU subsidies currently on the books waive water and sewer tap fees along with building permit fees that total nearly $40,000. That is up from the partial waiver that amounted to about $18,000, so council believes it is appropriate to tie residency and workforce requirements to the rental pool for new ADUs. Council has indicated even more robust ADU subsidies could be considered at 2023 budget time. Already-built ADUs do not have to meet the new rental pool conditions.
Community Development director Troy Russ and town attorney Karl Hanlon told the council that to implement the first tier of renter qualification the town code needed to be changed in several places. That was not possible to do since the last meeting two weeks ago and they indicated that to do a thorough job, they would like to have until the fall when town housing guidelines are scheduled to be reviewed and updated. They said they not only wanted to be thorough, but they did not want to accidentally do something that resulted in unintended consequences.
The council agreed to allow that timeframe for the needed work but passed the second tier of renter qualifications for new ADUs.
