“We don’t see these types of deed restrictions work very well”

The discussion in Mt. Crested Butte about the future of uncapped, deed-restricted affordable housing units made little progress after a work session with Gunnison Valley Housing Authority director Karl Fulmer on Tuesday, June 18. Read More »

Spate of foreclosures raises questions about future of program

The town of Mt. Crested Butte is taking a closer look at its affordable housing program as an increasing number of deed-restricted units are falling through the cracks onto the free market or aren’t affordable any longer, causing some residents and even members of the town’s council and staff to question if, in the current housing market, the program is working the way it was intended to.

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These are baby steps

The Crested Butte Town Council is taking a few small steps to prepare for the time when more deed-restricted affordable housing will be needed in the town. The council decided Monday to spend about $5,000 to have engineer Norm Whitehead finish construction drawings for the infrastructure on blocks 79 and 80 in the Paradise Park Affordable Housing subdivision on the northeast side of town. That subdivision was created as part of the Verzuh annexation and is dedicated to providing housing for those who qualify under income requirements and want to buy or rent housing in town.
The council also wants town planner John Hess to investigate whether granting agencies that might actually fund putting in infrastructure like streets, alleys and utilities need a recent survey gauging the affordable housing needs of the community. The council also directed staff to keep an eye out for such granting opportunities that might provide “free” money for such a project. Read More »

“We’re in the same boat—but different ends”

Citing the spirit of compromise, with some Town Council members feeling the proposed affordable housing rules went too far and others stating they didn’t go far enough, the Crested Butte council passed an affordable housing ordinance Monday with a 5-2 vote. Read More »

Initial affordable housing fee settling in about $25 a square foot

After months of discussion, the Crested Butte town council agreed Monday on a solid proposal to consider for its revised affordable housing ordinance…but that’s about all they agreed on with the issue when it came to the proposed mitigation fees. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance was set for June. Read More »

The Crested Butte Town Council is ninja. They can see into the future and anticipate the coming tsunami of Crested Butte growth and development. They have ultimate faith that they can envision what’s certainly coming and plan accordingly. And what they see is a town booming with high-priced development and enough forethought to house anyone who wants to work and live here. It is a bold move and sort of the proverbial “all-in” poker action that either brings back a pile of chips by preserving some good elements of this community or sees our stack shrink as the action helps hinder any return to a vibrant economy. Good luck to them.
Based on their future vision, now would be a good time to buy up property in Crested Butte. They see an inevitable return to the good times of high salaries, higher real estate values and booming business. Buy now and swim in equity soup.
During discussions since last November over mitigation fees for affordable housing, the council members have stated the certainty of a return to prosperity. There is no chance Crested Butte won’t thrive and they want to be ready for the unavoidable boom.
They have seen the current economic numbers for Crested Butte and admit that it doesn’t make any sense for a developer to start a commercial project right now. Strictly on a numbers analysis, commercial development would lose money. And the council admitted at its last meeting that by implementing affordable housing mitigation fees that will settle in at about $60 a square foot on all new commercial development, they are prolonging the current pain for a sweeter future. They are fully aware. Ninja. It is a bold political statement and strategy.
Responding to the mayor’s conclusion that the new ordinance setting the fees is a “slow-growth or even no-growth” policy for town, the rest of the council didn’t flinch. The intention is good; to ensure that people of all economic layers can live and work in Crested Butte. Few would object to that. But whether they like it or not, passing these fees does nothing to make them be perceived as a “pro-business” council, no matter how many food trucks they allow. They are honestly between a rock and hard place.
Council members are purposefully right-sizing the pace of development in town to reflect their values. Those values are topped by the idea of helping people to live in town without having to be millionaires. But that means a slower return to the trades, so carpenters, plumbers, electricians, roofers will all have to wait a bit longer to see some regular work. As councilperson David Owen has stated, he’d rather see no growth in town as opposed to growth that doesn’t pay its own way. That brings consequences. Some locals might have to leave now to find work while this decision protects some future locals not yet here.
One thought on the unintended consequences of this move is that it could reshape the middle class business community to where there would be little opportunity for real middle class business opportunities. Think about it: if the fees contribute to a construction cost so high that a middle class entrepreneur can’t afford to build, then some small businesses won’t have a place to exist. If a rich developer doesn’t care about cost and willingly pays the housing fees, the town could become populated with hobby business owners who don’t need to sell enough books or burritos to actually pay the rent. It becomes stereotypically Aspen-esque by default. Real middle class business people could be forced to go somewhere where the cost of building or renting a space makes sense from a business and lifestyle perspective. Now granted, even under the hobby business scenario, the barista will have a place to live, but the hopeful middle class business owner would be pushed somewhere else. That is my fear with these fees—that they push us toward being the place the council speaks ill of.
But I don’t have ninja powers to see the future so I could be wrong.
One Crested Butte resident at the meeting Monday asked how the council could justify squeezing developers and current business owners hoping to expand by charging large fees and spending those fees for community housing (“a bit socialist,” he said), while a few minutes later some of the same council members touted the benefits of a capitalistic free market for a new business niche with late-night food.
Actually, both are using the power of government to help shape the future. And based on its decisions, this council appears to be shaping a future of young, small-business people who want to live in subsidized housing in town and contribute to the community. That’s not an unreasonable vision given the economic realities of a resort community. But it is a different vision from independent young hippies ready to take the risk of opening a business in an end-of-the-road mountain town where they planned to work hard and play harder—an attraction of this place 20 or 30 or 40 years ago.

This council can see 10 or 20 years into the future. Ninja. They obviously don’t think the world will be ending December 21 with the end of the Mayan calendar. So they are, with boldness, and awareness, deciding to preserve the future with a cost to the present. That’s not a bad thing. Building an avenue for people of all economic strata to live in town is valuable and part of Crested Butte’s charm. The vision is good but it comes with some immediate sacrifice in slowing down potential growth and jobs in the trades. And if this place starts to grow quickly into a place where cost doesn’t matter, the council will have set up a plan. But will that be a place you want to live?
The council believes they are ninja. Given the short-term consequences, let’s hope they are right.

Council feels town has fulfilled its housing obligation

A draft of Crested Butte’s new affordable housing ordinance will be given to the Town Council at their March 5 meeting. The council will review the document being drafted by Town Planner John Hess and allow some public comments on the revised regulations governing affordable housing in town, but will not vote on the ordinance at that meeting. Read More »

“Things are different…”

The debate over how much developers should contribute to affordable housing in Crested Butte continues. Despite a three-and-a-half hour Town Council work session last Monday, no definitive council direction was given toward adjusting the affordable housing mitigation fees for commercial development in town. While the council is directing staff to investigate some more comprehensive elements of an affordable housing plan, they couldn’t find much common ground on how much to charge developers of new commercial projects. The council continues to debate the philosophy of how to obtain affordable housing in Crested Butte. Read More »

But not before more comments

Proposed revisions to the Crested Butte affordable housing ordinance continue to draw comment from both supporters and detractors. At a December 19 meeting, the council decided to take a timeout. Instead of scheduling Ordinance 19 for a public hearing in January as planned, the council scheduled another work session on the matter for January 30, with formal discussion and possible action scheduled for February. Read More »

“It’s a no growth moratorium…”

During the regular November 21 Crested Butte Town Council meeting, architects Gary and Jennifer Hartman addressed the council on the affordable housing fee issue. Most of the other members of the public who had attended the work session on the topic had left the meeting 90 minutes earlier. Read More »