Focus Team: Housing & Non-Residential Demand

Date and Location: Monday, February 21, 2022 – Community Center West Room

Estimated Attendance: 23

Guiding Questions:  

• Plan for housing need today or long-term growth need?
• Try to serve a percentage of everyone or focus on specific groups (eg most need, hardest to  reach, or urban-design driven need)
• Importance of renters vs. owners served.

Key Technical Information Shared: 

Dana Schoewe, Vice President RCLCO, shared preliminary findings in RCLOC’s housing demand study for  Brown Ranch. See attached slides. Additionally:

• Review of YVHA units becoming available in 2022 and beyond.

o Sunlight Crossing – 90 rental units targeted to 80-120% of Area Median Income (AMI) (entry level) – Delivered in 2022.

o Anglers Four Hundred – 75 rental units targeted up to 80% of AMI (affordable) – Delivered in 2023.

o Mid-Valley – 100-200 units (mix of rental and for sale) targeted 80% – 120% AMI (all  details still tbd) – Delivered in 2024.

• AMI has grown 2.5% each year consistently in Routt County. Home values grow an average of  11% annually. Divergence between income and appraised home categories.
• 47% of move-up supply is currently associated with a mailing address outside of the county.  Public Input: 

Questions:  

Q: Why plan 20 years out and not further?

A: The further we read into the future, the more difficult it is to predict anything. State demographer  projections get foggy beyond 20 years.

Q: Regarding Steering Committee vision: how is “affordable” defined?

A: The Steering Committee vigorously debated this question and, so far, have left it undefined to allow  for feedback from the broader community through the focus team process. However, the industry  standard definition of affordability is that a household will not spend more than 30% of gross income on  housing expenses.