[Note: For more recent information about Summit’s proposal for Lyons Valley Park, see this column. ]
The Lyons community has been supportive of six Habitat for Humanity affordable for-sale homes in town, under construction since the 2013 flood. Affordable rental homes are needed just as much in Lyons, if not more, and I hope new taxpayer-subsidized affordable rentals can finally become a reality in town.
For two years, I’ve been following a proposal from Summit Housing Group to purchase land in the Lyons Valley Park subdivision to build a total of 40 rentals (both in multi-family buildings and on single-family-home lots that are already platted). Summit, based in Missoula, MT, is under contract with landowner Keith Bell to purchase both Tract A of Filing 8 for multifamily buildings, and all the existing platted single-family-home lots in the subdivision. All of the proposed rental homes must be affordable for households at 60 percent of the area median income or less, required by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funding that Summit plans to use.
Summit has approval for both federal Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds and tax-credit and bond funding for the proposal, approved by Colorado agencies in the spring and summer of 2019. However, since then, delays on Summit’s development plan for Tract A have pushed out dates repeatedly. The sales contract date with Bell was pushed out, and deadlines for using federal disaster recovery funds were extended.
The public got an update from Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen at the January 21 Lyons Board of Trustees meeting. Summit president Rusty Snow is unable to attend the next few Board of Trustees meetings, she said, but Summit plans to have a new development plan “submittal packet” before the end of January. She said that Snow plans to present an update to the trustees in February.
“After approved for completeness, the public process starts,” Simonsen said. She explained that Snow “told me they now have an option with Mr. Bell to purchase all of the available residential parcels in Lyons Valley Park. They are revising their plans to include more single-family housing [reducing the number of apartments], and that’s why they are revising their submittal.” The site plan was previously for 11 single-family homes and 29 multifamily homes. Based on previous discussions, the new number of proposed rental homes might be more like 19 single-family homes and 21 apartments, however these numbers have not yet been confirmed with a final development plan from Summit.
The development process for the rental homes on platted single-family home lots that Summit proposes is like all others already platted in the Lyons Valley Park subdivision and elsewhere in Lyons, requiring a permitting and development process with the Town of Lyons. However, the development plan for the apartments in multifamily buildings on Lyons Valley Park Tract A is a longer process. The development plan will go through the site development review process with the Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC), including public input at official public hearing meetings.
“They got an extension (to September) with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for the Disaster Recovery funding, and I did confirm that with the state,” Simonsen told the trustees. “They still want to start construction this summer.”
In February 2019, the State of Colorado Housing Board approved Summit’s application for CDBG-DR funds (at a maximum of $100,000 per home, $4 million total for 40 total rental homes). In May 2019, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) approved tax credits and bonds for Summit’s proposal.
Simonsen’s administrator’s report on Tuesday also stated that after the development plan materials are reviewed for completeness, they will be made available to the public.
As part of earlier engagements with Lyons residents, representatives from Summit held public meetings in the Lyons Valley Park neighborhood (at Lyons Middle/Senior High School) in May and September 2018, where they answered questions and collected input from neighbors and other surrounding residents of Lyons. Based on input at the first of those meetings, Summit reduced the number of multifamily homes (apartments) in the proposal. This latest information presented to the trustees this week shows they are still reducing the number of apartments, keeping the total proposed rentals at 40 total.
Summit specializes in developing and managing low-income tax credit and mixed-use developments in six states, including Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The property management site for Summit buildings shows what the applications are like for other rentals built by Summit, including homes in Longmont. The area median income (AMI) changes every year, and varies depending on the number of people in a household, but you can download recent Colorado County Income and Rent Tables here. Examples of rent estimates that Summit representatives have given at past meetings for two-bedroom apartments are $906 a month for a 40 percent AMI household, and $1,200 a month for a 60 percent AMI household, varying depending on family size.
I hope Summit can follow through with building these homes–and that the Lyons community will support this affordable housing. Adding 40 affordable rentals into the Town of Lyons would make solid progress in replacing the nearly 100 homes destroyed in the 2013 flood.
Thanks for clear review of the situation to date Amy. I hope Summit don’t keep trying to change the ratio of affordable to private. It would be such good news if the plans get finalized, supported by the town, approved by PCDC and built beginning this year!
Hi, Sarah.
Summit is NOT “keep trying to change the ratio of affordable to private” – ALL of the 40 proposed rental homes MUST be affordable for households at 60 percent of the area median income or less, required by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funding that Summit plans to use for all 40 proposed units. I have written about this in all my articles that mention the LIHTC funding, and have learned a lot the many post-flood years I have been writing about affordable housing in Lyons.
But I’m so glad to hear that you think it is good news if Summit’s plans for Lyons Valley Park get finalized, approved, and supported by the town and built! Thank you for your support!
Rheinholds writes, “Based on input at the first of those meetings, Summit reduced the number of multifamily homes (apartments) in the proposal.” I was at both meetings and the reduction of multifamily units had nothing to do with attendees’ comments. The reason the multifamily units were reduced was because Summit test borings showed Tract A could not support the number of multifamily units they first proposed. As a result, they then contracted with Keith Bell for 11 single-family lots. Now it appears that the ledge issue on Tract A has further reduced the likelihood of multifamily buildings, and Summit has bought more single-family lots. The enormous cost of constructing the Carter Drive loop – mostly through ledge – was why Michael Markel walked away from this site. It’ll be interesting to see how Summit handles the road issue.
Hi, Anonymous. Thanks for your comment. I was at both meetings as well, and here’s a quote from one of Summit representatives at the May 17, 2018 meeting (the first meeting Summit representatives held in Lyons). Sam Long, senior project manager for Summit Housing Group, responded to one neighbor who said “There are a lot of people [here in Lyons Valley Park] who want affordable housing for everyone, but we just don’t want that much. Help us do that smaller amount.”
“That’s an option,” Long said. “I’m listening to you, but we’ve also made a commitment to the Town of Lyons,” he said, referring to the request for proposals that Summit Housing Group applied for and was selected by the Board of Trustees in March [2018]. “We will take it through the process, but if you tell the Board of Trustees that you want 29 units, and that is what the town wants, we’ll build 29 units.”
You can read the entire column at https://lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com/2018/05/17/summit-housing-group-hears-from-lyons-valley-park-homeowners-and-the-lyons-community/
I agree that it will be interesting to see what the next proposal from Summit is. I’m in support of all the taxpayer subsidized affordable rental homes being in the already platted single family home lots in Lyons Valley Park, which be be regulated the same way, requiring that the rents be affordable to people who earn 60 percent or less of the area median income. It will be fewer total homes, but still better than nothing.
I’m glad neighbors like Sarah and others say it is good news if the plans get finalized, supported by the town, approved by PCDC, and built beginning this year. Based on how long it is taking Habitat for Humanity for only 6 total units to be completed (one building is still not completed), this project might take a long time, too.
The latest information about the affordability requirements for the Summit Housing Group proposal for Lyons Valley Park is the March 5 column here: https://lyonsrecorder.org/2020/02/27/regulations-summit-must-follow-for-affordability/