The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Investigating at least two property owners
By Mark Reaman and Kendra Walker
An update on the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) activities in 2025 to local government in May noted it is focused on three major programs. Those include property management, home ownership programs and GV-Heat. Compliance is a major part of the home ownership program and according to GVRHA executive director Melissa LaMonica, compliance protocols kicked in last April.
“We have been focused on creating strong processes, understanding deed restrictions and relationships with the community and stakeholders in the home ownership process,” she explained in a memo to local town councils and county commissioners. “Our central focus continues to be education, relationships and data.”
GVRHA is working on running full compliance checks throughout the valley, starting with the Pitchfork neighborhood in Mt. Crested Butte. LaMonica said the GVRHA is also working through Crested Butte’s list of non-compliance reports that have been received.
During the May 20 Mt. Crested Butte town council meeting, LaMonica explained that as of early May, compliance letters had been sent and 34 properties are under review. In Pitchfork specifically, GVHRA has connected with 14 of the 17 applicable owners, and five of those properties have been confirmed compliant. “We have identified one likely non-compliant property and are working closely with the Town of Mt. CB and the homeowner,” she said.
LaMonica said that in dealing with Pitchfork residents the reaction has been mixed “and we’ve received a variety of responses thus far that offer insight into both the community’s appreciation for affordable housing and the need for ongoing education and expectations.” She cited responses by unit owners wondering why they had to provide updated information, while others provided detailed clarifications of their situation. She said while most responses have been largely constructive, at least one provided strong pushback on the need to provide updated tax returns to verify that 80% of their income is earned locally. The GVRHA is also working closely with the town and homeowner to address this instance.
After Pitchfork, the housing authority will shift focus to Verzuh and Kapushion in Crested Butte, then Paintbrush in Gunnison. “We want to understand how long it takes people to respond, what’s working, what’s not working, tracking resales, whether people are moving in or out of valley, etc.,” said LaMonica. “As we move through and assess the gathered data, we will be able to make data-informed projections of when we anticipate touching all deed restrictions.”
The Mt. Crested Butte council, who have expressed their disappointment in GVRHA’s compliance checks in the past, voiced initial positivity for the organization’s new direction in addressing non-compliance.
“In the past, we’ve been told if somebody doesn’t want to respond they don’t have to,” said council member Roman Kolodziej.
“Not anymore. A non-response is not ok,” said LaMonica. “We’ve been very clear on the expectations of engagement. If you don’t respond by a certain date, we send a letter presuming that you’re non-compliant and give you one more chance to respond. Then we’ll work with the town to figure out what enforcement looks like.”
LaMonica said she would like that detail to be more clearly written in future deed restrictions. “I think having that statement that not participating is presuming you’re in non-compliance would make the process more clear,” she said.
“We are working intentionally through the process programmatically and individually, as we establish relationships with the homeowners and set expectations going forward, while allowing time to understand their deed restriction and ask questions,” she concluded.
