Lacy and Dow submit Lower Verzuh application revisions

Increasing workforce housing to 41%; work session this Thursday

[ By Katherine Nettles ]

After several months of reworking some details of their major impact sketch plan application for the Lower Verzuh property near Brush Creek Road, Lacy and Dow, LLC submitted a revision on April 1 with nearly double the workforce housing units. The application was initially submitted in 2025 with previous revisions coming in September and December of 2025. The latest version proposes a total of 433 units, up from 344 in the previous revision. Of the 433 units, 254 would be single family, free market units and 179 would be workforce units.
“The core elements and guiding principles of the application remain the same – providing additional housing opportunities for the community, preserving a significant amount of open space and integrating the parcel’s heritage as important agricultural lands in the north valley,” states the application letter. The new site plan includes 41% of the total units as deed restricted essential housing, while preserving 62% of the total parcel area (450 acres) as open space. Previously, workforce housing units comprised 26% of the total units.
Lacy and Dow have also retained jvD Architecture + Plannning and High Mountain Concepts, “to further develop plans for the workforce housing neighborhood,” as stated in the application.
The Gunnison County Planning Commission will hold a work session on May 21 at 9 a.m. in the commissioner’s room of the Gunnison County Courthouse to consider the application. Assistant county manager for community and economic development April Kroner confirmed that during the work session the planning commission will determine if there is sufficient information to schedule a joint public hearing with county commissioners or decide to hold additional work sessions first.
Once a joint hearing takes place, the planning commission will be tasked with making a recommendation of approval, approval with conditions, or denial of the sketch plan application to commissioners. Then commissioners will conduct their own public process of holding a public hearing and making a final decision for approval, approval with conditions or denial.
“Sketch Plan review is an exploratory discussion of the proposal and intended to be a joint planning effort and negotiation between the county and applicant. Site-specific engineering plans are not required nor accepted at Sketch Plan review,” noted Kroner.