The Chaffee Housing Authority (CHA) met in regular session on June 15, 2023. After making short work of approving the Consent Agenda, the board heard some very good news. A 2023 projected $214,000 budget deficit had been greatly narrowed to $19,000 due to eliminating inadvertent underbilling for the Health Disparities grant. The board then moved on to New Business items requiring a board vote.
South Ark Neighborhood Update
Cheney Bostic, Founder of consultant Studio Seed and Arleen Taniwaki, Principal of ArLand Land Use Economics provided a brief update on the South Ark Neighborhood Master Plan. Bostic discussed some rough allocations of the land parcel, setting the table for a discussion for the number of potential housing units.
She said that 50 percent of the 100 acres are in open space due to topography, water tables, ditches, and hill constraints. 10 percent might be for active recreation, leaving 40 percent as developable. Zoning allows for a maximum of 400 units but constraints suggest a more likely 300-350, with possibly 50 percent rentals and 50 percent ownership. There is a potential to be 100 percent deed restricted for the workforce, but the market realities of the target population and eventual resales might dictate otherwise.
Speaking to concerns expressed earlier by the Development Committee, Taniwaki said “We are hoping for your support moving forward and we are working to help address your concerns about AMI levels and the number of units.”
In other updates, Bostic related that Colorado Mountain College (CMC) is still interested in housing at the site but less so about a “campus”. Designers are talking with an assisted living/senior housing group, infrastructure costing is underway, and they are also reviewing wetlands studies and impacts.
The design team will make a presentation to the Salida City Council work session on Tuesday, June 20 and they say that the master plan is on schedule, heading toward refined final presentations to the Council in late summer.
Coalition Position Letter Tabled
CHA Executive Director Ashley Kappel then spoke about a coalition of housing stakeholders that is being formed. It includes the Executive Directors of the CHA, Chaffee Housing Trust (CHT), the Chaffee County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and the Chaffee County Community Foundation. She presented a draft of a “Position Letter” advocating a strong stance; a maximum number of housing units to be built at the South Ark Neighborhood.
“Everybody else has approved it,” said Kappel, (indicating their boards). “We spent two weeks on it…The spirit of the letter is the most important thing…”
Given the lengthy discussion that followed, it became clear that not everyone was on board with the strongly worded language it contained. Some board members supported it as written, saying it was not a mandate.
“It’s a position letter; it speaks the way we need to speak,” said board member Eileen Rogers.
Board Vice Chair Joseph Teipel agreed. “It’s a message that needs to be conveyed… we need to maximize the number of units and use the Housing Needs Assessment that CHA adopted to guide the affordability criteria.” Mayor Libby Fay, subbing in for an open Town of Buena Vista CHA board position, suggested the coalition could soften the language and make it sound less like a demand.
Attempts to clarify language and moderate the tone did not receive widespread support. While potentially placing the CHA in an awkward position with its partners, a suggested motion was made to table Resolution 2023-11; not supporting the letter itself at this time.
Instead, the CHA plans to make an ask during public comment at the June 20 Salida City Council meeting. They will request a work session to be held with all the parties at the table. “We want the coalition, the city, their consultants, and developers to optimize the plan. How can we make this the best situation possible?” said Kappel.
Board Chair Craig Nielson suggested that this would inform revisions to the letter and that the CHA Board could take that up in a special session to meet the urgency of the situation.
Board agrees to enter negotiations with Fading West
Jack Jones and Scott Simmons of Fading West made a presentation describing the proposed Carbonate Street project in a walkable area of downtown Buena Vista, which would include an early childhood education center. The two-building projects, of keen interest to those who work in the north end of the county, would include 30 Studios, 24 1-BR and six 2-BR rental units targeting an average of 75 percent Area Median Income (AMI) for the Studios and 100 percent for the one -BR units.
Fading West would own and operate the 100 percent deed-restricted, three-story project, receiving tax abatements; the CHA would be a minority owner, with the town donating the land and owning the child education facility.
The Fading West presentation was received enthusiastically, and Teipel said that town staff had spent substantial effort on it for more than a year. The developers noted that they have received $3 million in grants so far and are pursuing two others for 1.68 million. While their AMI target figures were self-described as “conservative” they also hope to bring them somewhat lower if grants for a high-efficiency electric heat pump system, come through.
Resolution 2023-16 authorized the Development Committee to use the previously approved CHA Special Limited partnership (SLP) policy and enter into negotiations with Fading West on the proposed SLP. The resolution passed unanimously. The project aims to have tenants move in between April-May 2024 with the units being built in the Fading West factory in late 2023. Fading West also agreed to fund up to $10,000 in attorney fees for the CHA.
In other business
Resolution 2023-13 for an Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee approved the formation of the committee whose task is to update the 2022 Strategic Plan after first setting a calendar timeline. The scope of the update is for the next 12-18 months.
The Six-Month Operation Plan for the Executive Director was approved having previously been reviewed by the Executive Committee. Kappel noted that it “is ambitious but I am committed to it,”
Two new board candidates were also put forward, filling slots at the County level. Former interim CHA Executive Director Jeff Eaton and restaurant owner/housing developer Rob Gartzman were both recommended after individual votes by the Board. Their names will now be considered by the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners for formal approval.
Resolution 2023-12 — a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Policy was proposed — which now includes an embedded “whistleblower policy”. The JEDI Policy was approved after discussion as to how to budget and plan for annual JEDI training.
Resolution 2023-14 BETCH Report Standing Agenda Item proposed that the BETCH housing advocacy group led by Salty Riggs be allowed to make a short report at each CHA Board meeting. While this had support from Kappel and others, concern was raised by Teipel as to it setting a precedent for other housing stakeholders.
A question was also raised as to what work BETCH was doing in the north end of the county, but it was noted that no one else is currently attending Salida City Council and CHA meetings and that this should not be an issue. After some discussion as to whether a trial period would be good, the motion passed, although the vote was not unanimous.
The meeting closed after a brief overview of a memo written by Jeff Eaton described as “observations” of the CHA (as opposed to a formal assessment). “It’s really about organizational stability,” Eaton said. Nielson thanked Eaton for the feedback and said this could be input for the Strategic Plan update.
Featured image: South Ark Neighborhood Master Plan. Image courtesy Studio Seed and City of Salida.
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