City councilors and developers hope the Three Springs development in Grandview will be a model for a future affordable-housing policy in Durango. Pat Vaughn, the president of GF Properties Group, met with Durango city councilors in a study session Tuesday to receive direction for the second phase of construction at Three Springs. Developers, city councilors and affordable-housing proponents all offered suggestions on how to make an untried system work.
GF Properties is the real-estate division of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's Growth Fund, which is building the 2,000-plus-unit housing development. Vaughn said his company has been waiting to hear from the council about a modification to a 2005 proposal in which 10 percent of all Three Springs housing units would be classified as affordable and 15 percent attainable. The first phase of construction is under way, and Vaughn will ask the council for final approval on the second phase later this month. About 300 to 350 total units will be built in the first two phases.
To comply with the original agreement, Three Springs must provide 52 attainable units for the first two phases. The developers fulfilled the requirement for affordable units for at least the first two phases by donating land for the 63-unit Mercy Housing Piñon Terrace development adjacent to Mercy Regional Medical Center.
Jennifer Lopez, director of the La Plata County Regional Housing Authority, said the Three Springs proposal, if it works, would be unprecedented. "We're going to use this (second) plat as a way to see if this works, but it could be amazing - I don't know when this community has ever seen 52 attainable units available," Lopez said.
"Affordable" units are defined as being affordable for households earning as much as 80 percent of the area median income, or AMI. "Attainable" units are those which are affordable to households earning between 80 percent and 125 percent of AMI.
Councilors are wary of land donation alone as a method to fulfill the attainable requirement. Other methods, including paying fees in lieu of building attainable units, are also a point of contention. "My question is, will this ensure their commitment for on-the-ground and built affordable units and not create a fiscal means by which those units aren't built?" Councilor Renee Parsons asked.
The agreement leaves much of the methodology up to developers, and Vaughn said a combination of land donation, constructed units and in-lieu fees will likely be used. He said he would like to provide lots for Habitat for Humanity projects as well as have his own builders construct several attainable units and donate land both on and off the Three Springs site. The agreement specifies that at least 50 percent of land donations must be on-site.
"(Councilors) are trying to digest a lot of information, and ultimately we're looking for a win-win for the community. There is certainly an acute need for these units, and there are a lot of smart people working on this. We're committed to provide something of value to the community," Vaughn said. He will have discretion on how to implement affordable and attainable housing methods, and if councilors decide any of the methods prove to be unsuccessful, the trial period will be limited to Phases 1 and 2.
"The devil is in the details, and they needed to know what would be acceptable implementation of the agreement to move forward," Councilor Leigh Meigs said. "Now we'll see how it works, and if something needs to be fixed, we'll fix it." Vaughn said he would like to submit the final plat for Phase 2 of construction in Three Springs to the City Council later in November.
Source: DurangoHerald.com