As part of Monday’s Crested Butte Mountain Resort presentation to the Crested Butte Town Council on its proposed ski area expansion, professional bus driver and town councilman Jim Schmidt steered the discussion to affordable housing and CBMR’s role with that issue in the valley.

I was heartened to hear CBMR president Ethan Mueller respond by saying he wanted the ski company “to be at the table and address this countywide problem.”

Two things strike me as true. CBMR should certainly be at the table participating in affordable housing discussions and eventually solutions—and it is indeed a countywide issue.

Being the largest seasonal employer at this end of the valley means the resort needs a lot of workers, especially in the winter, and many of them don’t live here year-round. So they do indeed have responsibility in that realm.

CBMR literally recruits people specifically to work the winter lifts, parking lots or the back-of-the-house jobs, and they need places to stay for five months. What once worked like a seasonal dorm, Marcellina Apartments, is no longer an option after a water issue and consequent higher-end remodel that will result in a few deed-restricted units, but not nearly the same number of affordable beds.

The ski company, like private business in general, needs to be part of the bigger picture equation. And while Mueller told the council that while they have no specific solution to announce at the moment, they are actively involved in working toward some solutions with other entities in the valley. As we saw this past summer when a popular mountain restaurant didn’t open for dinner because of an employee shortage, it is in the best interests of private business to have low- and medium-wage earners living close by. That is why affordable housing isn’t just a government issue.

The other part of Mueller’s statement that rang true is that the issue is indeed countywide. Too many people think it is solely a town of Crested Butte matter since that is where so many people want to live. But given the loss of old mining shacks and the huge rise in property values in town, that won’t happen for everyone.

The candidates running for Crested Butte Town Council share their thoughts on affordable housing on page 8 and most feel the issue needs to be addressed by more than just the Crested Butte town government. I found it interesting too that four of the six candidates have short-term-rented their houses but all understand the need to keep people living near their jobs.

And I will again give big kudos to the town of Crested Butte for already substantially addressing the issue, despite some carping by those getting squeezed in the affordable housing crunch. The town has done a more than admirable job addressing the issue on its own and in conjunction with the county for many years. Most recently there’s the Anthracite Place project going up at the entrance to town. Two town blocks are getting prepped with streets and alleys to strictly accommodate workforce housing. Accessory dwelling units are deed restricted for locals living and working in the valley. Two mobile home parks house families and longtime residents in town. Oh, and by the way, if you want housing to be truly affordable, modular and mobile seem a most obvious choice.

The next part of the equation is to expand the mental idea of community. While I understand and support the need for local workers to live in the place they work and contribute to, it still irks me when people express an entitlement to live in town. Too many seem to abhor the idea of living in Mt. Crested Butte, Riverbend, Crested Butte South or Gunnison. But not everyone “deserves” to live in the town limits. With expanded bus service and cheaper land values, it ultimately makes more sense for some affordable units to be built around the valley outside of Crested Butte. Both deed restricted and free market local units are likely to expand past the ten blocks surrounding Elk Avenue. Some already see Gunnison as being a legit place for people who work in Crested Butte to live. In other words, the “community” is expanding.

And that’s all right. While no one wants to see the town become a second-home zombie zone, there is simply not enough room or financial wherewithal for everyone who wants to live in town to have a house there. The free market is making that really difficult and like it or not, the free market actually impacts Crested Butte. It is important to have places in and near town for teachers and waiters and plow drivers to live. But given economic realities and amenities such as free bus service, not everything will end up in Crested Butte. The vision of neighborhood and community is growing.

It’s sort of always been that way but not to this extent. Many people have moved out of town when they grew tired of roommates or wanted to start a family. It’s always been more affordable in other places. It’s just going off the charts these days. Many working families already live in places like Riverbend, Meridian Lake and Crested Butte South, and they like their homes and consider themselves to be Buttians.

Ethan summed it up with the council saying all the entities in the valley impacted by the affordable housing issue need to “collaborate and coordinate” to make headway. The equation is complex and the answer will always change as more people relocate to the valley. There is no single solution. But it is positive that both private businesses and government entities are focused on the issue.

As this place changes more and more as a resort community, people need to see beyond just the Crested Butte grid when they think of community. That’s just the reality and that reality needs collaboration and coordination.

—Mark Reaman

Coming down on those not renting their accessory dwellings

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte town council and staff are beginning the gritty work of digging deeper into the affordable housing issue. They have instructed town attorney John Belkin to begin drafting an ordinance to put more teeth into enforcement provisions for those not actively renting accessory dwelling units as they are expected to be.

They also spent an hour-and-a-half Tuesday at a work session looking at the broad picture of how to develop rules, regulations and requirements to address affordable housing with more focus. That includes determining how to phase out the 61 potential units on blocks 79-80 on the northeast side of town that is seeing infrastructure installed this fall.

“This is a 100,000-foot view to start off the discussion and eventually we need the council to decide on details and end up with guidelines,” said town planner Michael Yerman as he led the discussion with Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority executive director Karl Fulmer. “I already have 90 people on a list who are interested in the units on blocks 79 and 80. I would expect that we will ultimately see a list of 200 to 250 who want a space over there.”

Yerman said the town and housing authority will sponsor “home ownership” classes later this fall to let interested people know what is involved in getting an ownership opportunity with a town deed-restricted lot. He said some people have expressed surprise they would have to come up with a down payment, for example. They also have to understand they are not getting a house tied to the “market rate” in a growing resort town.

“The town has several good affordable housing projects,” Yerman said. “But we want to move more to a steady program for the community. Right now there are different rules and qualifications for each project. We need to pull them all in and simplify. The ultimate goal is to put people in successful housing situations.”

Part of that goal, he explained, is accomplished through simple and practical qualifications that make financing a home doable. He wants an ongoing pool of qualified applicants. There is little interest in building condominiums and under the state Tabor limitations, having the town construct rental units isn’t likely without major outside funding.

“The town itself is having issues and will need housing for its employees,” he said. “We need to think about people like snowplow drivers.” He suggested a need for at least nine more units to be added to the current seven set aside for town employees and other essential employees (such as Mountain Express drivers).

“CB South used to be the place they lived in the past but that is disappearing,” agreed town manager Todd Crossett. “We also need a funding stream for affordable housing projects and maybe fees on vacation rentals is one way to address that.”

Fulmer said the council needed to decide who should be allowed to apply for a chance at town controlled affordable housing. Using the AMI (Average Median Income) figures for Colorado, the question was how high should a person or family’s income be before they cannot apply. Fulmer and Yerman said the council should decide on somewhere between 160 percent and 200 percent of AMI. A two-person household could make $91,840 and meet the 160 percent requirement. The 200 percent of AMI figure would allow a couple to earn $114,800.

“That sounds like a lot of money but given the spread between income and housing prices, it isn’t,” said Fulmer.

The theory was that mid-level managers make in the 160 percent range while upper level managers, school employees and even department heads in the town would qualify under the 200 percent of AMI figure (again, for a two-person household).

“This valley is similar to other resorts,” said Fulmer. “We are not unique. We understand that if you choose to go above 160 percent, it is politically problematic. But the reality is the cost of housing is high and trending up.”

Councilman Jim Schmidt asked where that put the couple making 100 percent AMI ($57,400) or under. “That’s a big, important question,” he said.

“We are just determining who can apply to be in a lottery,” said Fulmer. “There will be other qualifications but a lender wants to make sure they can make the payments. It is a hard dilemma.”

The council will consider how to handle retirees that want deed-restricted housing along with people who live here but earn their income outside the county. There appears to be a growing demographic of people in such situations.

Yerman said the town would start out selling deed-restricted lots next year to qualified local buyers. That might include three of the six so-called micro-lots that are part of the project. That revenue would help replenish a dwindling affordable housing fund. In 2017, the town could then perhaps build a couple of duplexes and a triplex on the blocks. He laid out a seven-year timeline to fill in blocks 79-80.

Upping ADU enforcement procedures

Meanwhile, the council wants the town to be able to take effective legal action against people who have deed-restricted accessory dwelling units on their property but are not using them. They have figured out there are about 20 such situations and it appears the same property owners choose to not rent the units year after year. The ADUs are deed restricted to long-term renters as part of an agreement with the town that waived construction tap fees and allowed more density on the properties when the houses were originally built. In return, the ADUs were to be rented regularly to long-term residents.

Mayor Aaron Huckstep said the vague language in the agreements made it somewhat unclear if the town really had any opportunity for strict enforcement. He suggested reaching out and interviewing the offending ADU owners to determine their reasoning.

Councilperson Shaun Matusewicz was the most passionate about turning up the heat. He said that while “carrots are great, these people are in violation of a contract. Let’s pull out a stick to enforce the contract. We need to go after them.”

Councilperson Chris Ladoulis said the goal was to get the ADUs in the active rental pool and if the language was so unclear that citing them into court would be difficult, the council needed to focus not on “sticks” but on ways to get the units rented.

Town attorney John Belkin was not at the meeting but Crossett and town building and zoning director Bob Gillie said Belkin had talked to the Telluride town attorney and felt confident the council could tighten up the code to impose meaningful enforcement provisions on current and future ADUs.

“We have a fairly good compliance rate already,” said Gillie. “But when John (Belkin) is here, he can explain the potential choices to pursue. I do think there is a moment in time when you have to try and force people to comply. If there aren’t repercussions, some people will never do it. We can approach them first and talk to them, but we have done a lot of that already. But we can ratchet up the communication. Without a stick at the end of the tunnel, what’s the point?”

“That would be the cheapest way to start,” said Schmidt. “Let’s see if it gets us any replies. They made a pledge and aren’t keeping it and that bothers me.”

Gillie said many people owning homes in town with ADUs no longer need the rental income. He also said most of the new houses being constructed don’t have ADUs.

Citizen Priscila Palhavã said perhaps more incentives would entice people to build more ADUs. “If you keep putting more and more sticks on people, there will be less and less of these,” she said. “Enforcement is necessary but incentives are also good.”

“The council is just searching for ways to figure out how to enforce a well intentioned policy,” said Huckstep.

While Huckstep wanted more specific information from Belkin about how the Telluride affordable housing enforcement situation was playing out, the rest of the council wanted the town attorney to immediately start drafting an ordinance to tighten up ADU compliance. Look for a draft of such a code change in the near future.

Experimenting with six lots

by Mark Reaman

The town of Crested Butte will experiment and allow six so-called “micro lots” on one of its affordable housing blocks on the east side of town. Using three corner lots on block 79, infrastructure is currently being put in for future affordable units. While the shift to micro lots will add only one unit of density from the original plan since two of the lots were already zoned for duplexes, the move will allow for smaller single-family homes.

Under town regulations, the maximum size of a home is determined by the size of the lot. So with this action and a change in the zoning code, there could be a home built as small as 400 square feet or as large as 1,250 square feet, depending on the lot. The council will have to approve the change to the town zoning code to allow structures to be built on a lot with a minimum area of 2,750 square feet. Currently the minimum lot size is 4,000 square feet.

Councilman Jim Schmidt, who resides in the affordable Poverty Gulch subdivision, opposes the mini lot and micro house movement.

“We can accomplish the same goal with duplexes and they are cheaper to build and less expensive to heat,” Schmidt told the council at the July 20 meeting. “Poverty Gulch works great and I would like to try to duplicate those buildings over there. It is more efficient and prefab buildings keep the cost down. To talk about a house being 400 square feet—that’s a garage. I think it is too small a place for people.”

“I’m supportive of this move,” countered councilman Skip Berkshire. “It provides a mix of options that we currently don’t have in town. People said they were looking forward to building a house that they want. There are still duplex lots and multi-family lots over there in the same area, so we aren’t throwing them out. But this provides a nice mix and a different opportunity. I’ll bet those mini lots are the first ones to go.”

“It’s an experiment,” added councilman Glenn Michel. “We are trying something new and they can work on these corner lots. The trend is toward smaller, more energy-efficient houses. I think this is a good move.”

The rest of the council at the meeting agreed and voted 4-1 to proceed. Schmidt voted against the idea while councilmen Shaun Matusewicz and Chris Ladoulis were not at the meeting.

The shift to the six micro lots will add about $5,000 to the cost of the infrastructure installation. Yerman said he has a list of 82 people who have expressed interest in applying for a place in the new affordable housing blocks. Final density and guidelines for blocks 79 and 80 will be discussed by the staff and council in August.

Micro lots possible?

by Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Town Council continues to take a few steps to address the shortage of affordable housing in town.

Town manager Todd Crossett reported to the council at the July 6 council meeting that a person has been hired and will start work this week to conduct a survey of the accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Crested Butte.

Town planner Michael Yerman said he is researching the possibility of allowing so-called micro lots in town. The idea is to take a lot that is platted for duplexes and split it in two. That would allow two individual single-family homes that could be up to 1,100 square feet. That is not currently permitted in town but Yerman said it might work well in blocks 79 and 80, so he is investigating how the idea could be put into a zoning change for those blocks.

Councilman Skip Berkshire said he attended the regional Housing Authority meeting and there is an effort to conduct a broad Needs Assessment Survey. Each municipality that participates would have to chip in between $10,000 and $15,000 for the project. Some Crested Butte councilmembers have said there is no need for such a new study but a formal request for participation will come to the Town Council at the July 20 meeting. “There is a sense of urgency to get it started to compile data in the summer,” said Berkshire.

A council subcommittee—Crested Butte mayor Aaron Huckstep and councilman Jim Schmidt along with town staff—will review the so-called VRBO (vacation rental by owner) report put together by the Colorado Association of Ski Towns and come to the council with some site-specific recommendations on how to address the issue in Crested Butte.

“It seems everyone is going at it a different way,” said Schmidt. “After reading, it seems it is not easy but some steps can be taken.”

The subcommittee will present its recommendations on VRBOs to the full council at the first meeting in August.

Alleys this year, homes in 2016

Through financial contributions from the Whatever, USA promotion, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and the town of Crested Butte, work will begin this summer to install infrastructure on land earmarked for affordable housing. Read More »

$100k equity agreement from county keeps the
ball rolling

The Gunnison County Board of Commissioners earmarked $100,000 for the affordable housing project at Crested Butte’s Anthracite Place on Tuesday, December 16. This puts the community one step closer to affordable housing at Sixth and Belleview. Read More »

Goal is for physical units

Affordable housing fees on new non-residential construction are rising toward the level the Crested Butte Town Council wants. Ultimately, the council wants all new construction to include actual affordable housing units, but if that isn’t done, they want the payment-in-lieu of housing to be at a 20 percent mitigation rate under a complicated formula. Read More »

“Holistically it will help the town…”

The Crested Butte Town Council voted 5-2 on Monday to change the zoning of some property at Sixth and Belleview from “Business” to “Tourist,” paving the way for the proposed 30-unit Caddis Flats affordable housing rental project. Read More »

Trust funders need not apply to
Caddis Flats…

The Crested Butte Town Council Monday night asked questions and requested information about the 30-unit, three-story affordable housing project being proposed next to True Value at Sixth and Belleview. The council did take the first step toward approval as they agreed to hold a public hearing on changes to the zoning code that would allow a T (Tourist) zoned lot to accommodate 100 percent affordable housing units. That public hearing will be held December 2. Read More »

Pre-application process continues

The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council agreed to release its share of the pre-application funds being used by the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority to pursue a 30-unit affordable housing project in the town of Crested Butte.

Read More »