Town Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to our Tuesday, April 14th town council meeting. Uh we're going to go ahead and start with a work session though on the Midland design guidelines. Um and we've invited uh planning and zoning and we have Bill Marone here. So uh yeah. Yeah. And the rest of the council is in the room or online or coming in and uh Jessica Hubard's on. I see some folks. But uh I think this is going to be uh James and Carlton kind of running the show here um as far as the work session. So I will turn it over to you both. Carlton's going to run with it here. Good evening council. Uh

actually before before you get started also this is a work session so like Elise you can come sit up here because this is you're going to be this is you're going to be part of this. So, everybody who's going to be part of it should be up here in the front as long as you guys are okay. I think it's Gloria and I talked about it. You you go with that, Jack? Just take Let's get up. Let's Let's get close.

This is a work session, not a council meeting. So, we want to, you know, the idea is we we've seen it. You've seen it. We have a new council that's going to come vote on this. Um so, we all want to level set on what we're going to do um together. So that way the next council when they vote on it, it's, you know, we've all kind of been there and spoken together. That's the idea. So Carlton, sorry.

All good. Good evening, council. Carlton Henry, planner 2 with the town of Asalt. Uh, I'm here this evening to uh introduce a work session on the Midland Avenue District Design Guidelines. Um, we also have Jessica Hubard from uh GMJ Architects online uh who will be uh walking you guys through the work session and presenting the draft of the Midland Avenue District design guidelines. Just a little bit of background for the record. Uh this project began last summer when town council passed a resolution to approve a contract with GMA in order to pres perform consulting consulting services and establish architectural design guidelines in Basalt's historic commercial core. Uh 2025 was a milestone year in the history of Midland Avenue with the complete completion of the Midland Avenue streetscape project. The development of the Midland Avenue uh district design guidelines was a natural um uh successor to the completion of this project. Uh the completion or the creation of the architectural design guidelines seeks to implement the 2020 basalt master plan goals regarding the historic character of Basalt as listed under related town statutes and/or town actions below. Over the last nine months, the consultant team has conducted research, engaged in extensive community outreach, and produced sever several drafts with consideration given to feedback from staff, planning and zoning commission, architecture, and design industry professionals and members of the public. At the March 10th town council meeting, council considered a presentation of the design guidelines from GMA and requested that staff and the consultant team return for a work session at a future meeting. Council also requested that planning and zoning

be invited to discuss the design guidelines with council in a work session. And as mentioned, we have Bill Marin here from planning and zoning um to provide input as well. GMJ architects have provided a draft of the district design guidelines for review by town council and that those design guidelines are linked in the agenda as well as in this memo below. Um, we ask that council hear a presentation from GMJ architects, ask questions of the consultant and of staff, provide feedback on the drafted design guidelines, um, and uh, I'll just add that a final draft of the design guidelines and a resolution will be presented at a future meeting for council approval. With that, if you guys have any questions, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Otherwise, I will hand it over to Jessica.

Great. Go ahead, Jessica. You are muted, by the way. Okay, great. Yeah, I was wasn't sure if there were any questions. Uh, can everyone hear me? Okay. Slash see my screen. Yes.

Okay, great. Well, yes. Uh, thank you, council, for having me this evening. I apologize. I'm not in person. Um, but I'm I'm very honored to be here and to present the design guidelines to you. Uh, tonight we are going to dig in a little bit deeper into what the guidelines specifically entail. And I know most of you have heard this presentation before, so I will try to give the background um just a few minutes. But for those that are new to the project, uh we're just going to talk about the history and what design guidelines are really quickly and then we'll dive into the draft itself. So, um for those of you that have not met me, my name is Jessica Huard. I'm an architect, planner, and uh principal of GMA. And uh we'll we'll dive in. Okay. So for those of you that are not familiar with what the project is, as Carlton gave a background, we were contracted by town planning to develop design guidelines for what we determined as the Midland Avenue district. So the district aligns with the C2 downtown business district in the zoning and then most properties that are fronting Midland Avenue. And we have a map that I'll get to in the next slide. So here you can see the district boundary. All of the buildings that are within the hatched blue region are buildings that will be um upheld to the design guidelines. Uh it's kind of hard to see on the screen, I'm sure, but the small orange circles represent what we're calling contributing buildings. And we'll get more into that when we talk about section two. So, what are design guidelines? As you've heard and as we've discussed many

times with planning and zoning and with council on March 10, design guidelines are policies. We are thinking of them as an overlay to the existing zoning. They specifically describe architectural styles, features, and characteristics that essentially define what assault is. So for any new development or existing buildings that are purchased by an owner, a new owner, uh basically these guidelines are going to help them craft uh making more basalt and contributing to what basult sense of place is. And so they really are a planning tool. They're proactive planning tool and they'll be upheld by town planning staff or the commission through site plan and building permit review. And then just why design guidelines? As Carlton mentioned, 2025 was a large year for Basalt with the Midland Avenue streetscape project. And so the design guidelines will really support again creating more Basult celebrating the culture of Midland Avenue. It'll also provide a framework for the planning department so that as development comes down the valley as new owners are coming into town um new applicants they will have a framework to look to for when they are building new developments or altering existing buildings. And the guidelines help uh town planning and or the planning and zoning commission council property owners make informed decisions about these potential projects. And then also uh we in these guidelines are encouraging preservation of some of the salt's most unique and historic buildings. Uh and those are what we're referring to as the contributing buildings that we are encouraging preservation of.

And then this we always like to highlight this in each presentation. This came from a resident of Basalt just asking what really makes Midland Avenue special. And if when you think about Midland Avenue, you think about the vibrant colors, the playful roof lines. Most of the buildings are either two or three stories, which means they're designed to human scale. They're not like a huge skyscraper making you feel like a small ant when you're walking on on the street. Uh Midland Avenue really is designed to scale to human scale. It also has an inviting walkable street environment. And then there's a ton of connection to history and nature with Basalt being a railroad town. Uh there's a lot of history and connection to why Midland Avenue is the way that it is today. And then just to highlight that characteristics like this, playful roof lines, vibrant colors, the scale of buildings, um creating inviting walkable streets comes from storefront at the ground level. These are all characteristics that are driven by zoning, but they're reinforced by the design guidelines. So digging into the guidelines themselves, we have divided the guidelines into seven sections. So we'll start with the introduction section and then we'll dig into the meat of the guidelines which is the existing buildings and the new construction and then we'll conclude with sustainable design and the review processes in chapters six and seven. So section one, this is truly an introduction to how to use the guidelines, the history of basalt and uh what to expect in the design guidelines. So for example, just to put this project

flow diagram to use, for example, I'd like you all to think about what if an owner, a new owner comes into the town of Basalt and they purchase the Alpine Bank. So they'd start at the top rectangle. So the project located in Midland Avenue District. Yes. Step one, does the project involve an existing building? Yes. Alpine Bank is existing. Two, is the building historic? Yes, we are considering that building a contributing building. So then we'd follow that line all the way down to um C-section 3.2 working on contributing buildings. And then we do have a subsection of is the building restorable, but I don't think we need to get into that during this work session unless council requires we dig into that. So anyway, just using that as an example of how to use the guidelines. Obviously, if a owner came in and purchased a parcel of land, I'm not sure where, that does not have an existing building, we would consider that new construction and then they would be directed to section five architecture and new construction. So then moving on to section two. This section we really dive into the history and character of Midland Avenue. So what architectural styles and periods of significance developed from the history of Basalt? And this section and chapter 3 really stem from whether or not to designate the Midland Avenue District as a national historic landmark district. And what that means is that it would be registered with the National Park Service and it would adhere to the Secretary of the Interior standards most of the buildings that are contributing. And so since that is not a that has not been formalized, this is the next best

way to preserve some of these existing buildings that are so cherished by the the entire town. And so in order to identify those contributing buildings, we also had to identify certain periods of significance. And if you're not familiar with that term, it's essentially a time frame in the context of historic preservation. So you're most likely familiar with the false front commercial period of significance or the queen revival is or there's those are probably the top two that you're most familiar with with buildings around the soul. And then diving in a little bit deeper of what is in section two, we then took these periods of significance and we broke down in alignment with uh history Colorado which is our state historic preservation office. We broke down the history of these periods of significance and then we also identified common features so that say an individual comes in and wants to create more of a 19th century commercial building or wants to restore or recreate false front commercial. They have some of those common features. And then finally we outlined the contributing buildings. So these are the cherished buildings. These are buildings that if we ever wanted to, we could apply for these buildings to be listed on the national register because right now there are not many protections for these buildings. Uh an individual or or company or or whoever could come in and purchase these buildings and there's no protection that it's beyond just town planning. So naturally, if we're going to designate contributing buildings, we need to talk about how to treat these

existing buildings. So in section three, we begin to outline types of existing buildings. So this is where we define historic, contributing, non-contributing, and non-historic because there is a difference. We then go into the recommended treatments of historic features. And this all comes from the Secretary of the Interior standards. So preserve, repair, replace, reconstruct. That those are the four types of treatment. Um so a lot of this is is in direct alignment with the National Park Service. And then we also go into discourage treatments. Naturally, demolition is a very large discourage treatment for historic buildings. But then we talk about exterior alterations, additions, and then treatments of some of these details. So, foundations, windows, historic doors, roofs, materials, things like that. And so, tonight, the format is a little different than our presentation on March 10th. I really wanted council to see how the guidelines align directly with the checklist for an applicant. And so the checklist is divided into two sections. It's essentially existing and new construction. And so I've included a snip here for you all to see. We have a different row, different line items. So site, foundation, window and window openings, doors, roofs, and then other. And then when you dig into the guidelines, you start to see that those line items are tied directly to the guidelines. So here we have where we talk about the work on contributing buildings, the different types of treatments and then we start to talk about historic sites. Again, this comes from directly from the secretary of the

interior standards. So, for example, if someone wants to come and purchase Alpine Bank and they want to move it, that is not recommended or allowed per the Secretary of Interior standards. So, just trying to layer in some of those parameters for historic buildings. And then, you all saw this last time, but just some more diagrams of how to treat historic doors and entries. So you can see in this diagram on the left, the top left, we're showing the window proportions, original window openings have been reduced from two single hung windows to one, but we're still maintaining the same proportions. And then similarly on the bottom, you can see that there used to be a door here, but in the process of infilling it, now the proportions are the same. it's just been turned into a wall. So, and then on the right hand side here is an example of how to treat historic roofs. Uh at the top, the historic roof has not been altered. That's acceptable. In the middle, dormers have been added to the rear elevation. That's acceptable. But what's not recommended is a front gable dormer has been added to the primary elevation and dominates the facade. So again, just thinking about and showing design characteristics that tie back to the historic nature of the contributing or non-contributing building. And then I just wanted to show one more example of how we're thinking about what's acceptable, what's not permitted. So you can see here on the original building uh now the alteration there's an appropriate awning that's been added but if you see in the not permitted diagram

that that awning is slightly too large and it's covering the brick recess or the brick sign uh panel and then similarly you can see that the original cornness was kept in the acceptable version but removing the cornness is not permitted. So again, small details that uh are acceptable and nonacceptable. So moving on in section four, this is now applying to new construction and in this section we are focusing on anything with the site. So, compatible infill, parking, landscaping, um signage, what's appropriate, what's not appropriate, overhangs and awnings, arcades and galleries, uh really focusing on those design elements that contribute to a site and not necessarily the design of the building. And then looking at the checklist again, you can see that the line items directly correlate with the section. So in this checklist we have a line item for site design, compatible infill, parking and curb cuts, landscaping, fencing and overhangs. And then moving on to show you some of the diagrams. So here we have compatible infill. This just shows uh we have more diagrams but you can see here in the diagram on the bottom where the building that is extremely recessed is not allowed. And a lot of this overlaps with zoning, but just to show a diagram of of what's expected and and what will contribute to a walkable and inviting streetscape. And then we're also identifying that we prefer when the facades align and also aligning with

zoning that there is a zero lot line. So zero foot setback from the property line. And then here we're showing just appropriate and not appropriate awning treatments. So you can see up here in the top right where the awning is covering a part of the building and extending past the opening. That's not acceptable. Whereas we would prefer that the awning is broken up or if it's extending over a piece of the building that that piece of the building is a max of 2 feet. And so these are proportions and uh design elements that we've studied and we came up with some of these parameters for how to make more of a salt. And then keep in mind that again everything that we're talking about in section four, five, and six, well six could be for existing four and five are for new buildings. So, anything that's already existing on Midland Avenue is essentially grandfathered in unless they were to apply for any alterations moving forward. And then here's another example of one of our diagrams uh showing arcade treatment and dimensions. So, it's recommended that the arcade is 10 and 1/2 ft minimum. um that the arcade is minimum 60% of the overall length just so that it doesn't feel too short. Um the bulkhead is what this is called. The area under the storefront is 18 in minimum. So again, just small guard rails to help um contribute to making more of a soul. And then here is a snip from our sign matrix. we start to build on what's already in the zoning code. So we go

into the different types of signs. Um and then so a wall or projecting that layers in with what's existing into the zoning code. But then we go and define a wall sign versus a sign band versus a blade sign. Um a vinyl decal, what percentage is allowed, things like that. And then I just want to point out that the town of Basalt sign application must be in must be completed in addition to the COA checklist. So uh we already have some processes in place, but this again builds and reinforces the zoning code and what processes are already in place. And then finally, we're at architecture, which is the bulk of the design guidelines. And so here we're really digging into the details. We are outlining guidelines for windows, detailing, um, massing and scaling, doors, building entrances, roofs, and exterior materiality. And this is uh continued in the new construction checklist. And so you can see those line items align with what I just showed. So transparency, windows and window openings, doors and door openings. And then here in this column, there are specific requirements. So transparency, there's a ground floor percentage, upper level percentage, and then do the windows meet the proportion and size requirements, yes or no. And if if no, the applicant would have to explain what their reasoning for that is. So here we break down some of the minimums and maximums of that transparency requirement. So how much glazing is allowed at the ground level versus on level two or level three. And here you

can see the basically the hatch of of what that transparency should be, the minimum and the maximum. And then down here we just have some simple simple equations for proportions. Um, and it it looks a little scary, but if you do the math, you can you can actually see that there's a lot of flexibility in that, but the equation just allows for maintaining proportions. And then roof lines. It was really important for our team and we received this feedback from a lot of our survey results that the playful roof lines is is very uh distinct in basalt. And so we created some guidelines around how to recreate that. So uh if a if there's a roof plane change it has to be 12 in minimum. You can see that in these existing buildings on Midland A. It's currently 4 and 1/2 ft. Similarly, on the other side, it's 40 in and there's a 12 in minimum. So, it's a guardrail. It's it's very small in comparison to what's actually on Midland, but it just ensures that we can maintain playful roof lines. And then this is pretty textheavy, but essentially we dig into encouraged materials. So peach glow brick is um is a vernacular material to the valley. Novelty sighting is a material that is uh it's part of the uh periods of significance. So wean Victorian and uh false commercial both have no novelty sighting traditionally or wood sighting. However, wood sighting is prohibited in accordance with an ordinance in the zoning code. So exterior cladding shall be composed of fire retardant and

non-combustible materials such as etc etc. And then uh we also have some requirements around storefront windows. So the minimum exterior mullions must be 1 in exterior mins must must be 3/4 of an inch which essentially we're talking about what's dividing the panes of glass in the storefront. And then again I had put this in another diagram at the bulkhead there's a min and a max suggestion and then material materiality around doors. So wood aluminum storefront or proposition panelized design is encouraged. And then section six is is pretty small but it's very straightforward. Here we are talking about just recommendations for applicants and owners on how to make their building more sustainable. So we go into different types of green certifications that they could pursue. And then here in this diagram, we tried to do an all-in-one showing what sustainable strategies you could implement into your building and how you could treat that, especially if it's a contributing building. So, where your solar panel array could go, where your bike rack should should fall, uh where awnings could be, and then uh how you can control solar heat gain, things like that. And then finally, so review process. This is where we talk about the certificate of appropriateness checklist, which we've been talking about for the duration of this presentation. But then we also have a another flow diagram of when you need a COA. Um, essentially if your project's located in Midland Avenue, you will need to fill out the checklist and submit the application. And then once you have an

approved COA, then you can proceed to site plan review and or building permit. And then in this section, we also talk about appeals to the design guidelines. So any building types that may not apply such as a monumental building uh as we've discussed before like the library would be an example of a monumental building that are typically civic or institutional in nature. And then there's also a few sentences about a form that applicants could fill out if they feel that their design should not or does not meet the design guidelines. And then this was asked about on March 10th. So we just threw this in here, the glossery of terms. So I'm sure I've said a few things tonight that some of you are not familiar with. Uh so if if any of those questions come up as an applicant is reviewing the guidelines, they can uh head to section 8. And there are a lot of definitions here and diagrams too. And then just wanted to uh remind council that this uh process was very extensive with the community. Um we hosted two open houses. We were consistently posting on Let's Talk the Salt for those that were unable to attend our in-person sessions. We met with planning and zoning and we also attended the farmers market to get the word out about the project at the beginning. So, we've gotten extensive feedback from the community and from town planning staff. Uh, and we feel very strong that this has been a community centered approach from the beginning. And then you all saw this on March 10th, but this just gives you a timeline of of how we got here. So, we were at the

farmers market. We conducted a survey. Then we came up with the first draft which we presented at the open house number one. We had draft number one ords that were posted on let's talk basalt. Then we revised and came back with draft number two. We presented draft number two to planning and zoning commission as well as the second openhouse. And then we took all of that feedback and compiled the we had two versions of draft number three because we also got some feedback on let's talk the soul and some of the commissioners gave us feedback as well. And then uh that brings us to the PNZ commission recommendation to council on February 17th. We uh continue to work on the draft that was up on Let's Talk the Salt. And then we now have the final draft which all of the diagrams and all the information that you saw tonight is part of that final draft. And then uh you all saw me on March 10th and here we are on April 14th. So the next steps have not changed. Um I look forward to discussing. Um sorry I took a little bit longer but hopefully we have some good time to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Um otherwise the next step remains the same. Team is requesting a resolution for adoption at a future meeting and I'll open it up to the floor for questions.

Thanks Jessica. Every time we go through this I learn something uh new in this in this space. So appreciate it. What questions or comments do you all have? Well I wanted to make a comment that goes way way back. I've been on turn that way.

I've been on planning commission for a while now and I participated in three master plans chairing two of them and every single one the the subject of small town character or community character was the major subject to everyone in every public outreach from the very beginning and everything that people complain about for every large project we have ever seen downtown or not. And so, um, you know, with with the that being of such a high importance to the electorate at large and the citizen body at large, um, there has been in the past a lot of pressure for the town to institute design review boards, which having worked in development for in mountain towns for 30 years, those are just a nightmare to deal with. and they can and sometimes do get co-opted in in strange and funny ways. And um Aspen does it, Tellelurai does it, Mammoth Lakes does it, and I've dealt with all of those boards. And they aren't they don't really function as intended, but people feel like, oh, they're there doing their thing, but um they make development really really painful and you get results that the community doesn't necessarily like and it's more impedimented to the process. But the thing about this design review guidelines that I as an architect working in the community for a long time have felt would be is useful is it's very prescriptive. You can look at it and know what you can do, what you can't do. It's been through a rigorous public process, so it's very defensible. It is is it always the best design? No. Is it a pain in the ass? Yeah. But um for a lot of people coming here, they come here for downtown and we even have a similar process in Willlets. It's different because Willlets is different,

but you know, it's it's I think it's really useful and it's very it's simpler than it seems for the staff to administer and it's simpler for uh the planning commission to deal with because you have prescriptive rules just like with the with our master plan. um is very clear what we wanted and it's very easy to judge a project before us based upon those criteria and those criteria are all vetted by the community. So it you have something to stand on. So that's why you know for us as a board this is a very useful tool.

Thank you for your comments. Yeah, I tend to agree. It's you want something that's going to define and help people. But if it's too constrictive and not just prescriptive, but you know constricts people their ability to get things done and makes it painful, then yeah, why you know that's not that's not what we want to do. And I I agree. I don't think this does that. And design review boards can be fairly capriccious.

You know, um HBC and Aspen can be a real pain in the ass. And this wouldn't be like that. that you know it's not like you're going in front of a board who you know may like dislike you for other reasons or you know Clark and Tellyide which has political concerns and you know or Mammoth Lakes kind of backed off of theirs and went more to a prescriptive planning uh department-based process as opposed to a board which you know I had been in front of that board a number of times and you couldn't figure out what they wanted. So that that's why this is is useful. What else? What other thoughts and comments with this?

Well, I you know, Bill's touched on a lot of things I was going to say. I think that small town character has always been a negotiation at every level, and people have different definitions of what that is. For me, it's uh in especially with Midland Avenue, it's the scale, it's the simpleness, it's the organic nature of it. it's well balanced. um you know and and it stayed that way for a long time and then in the last 10 years it you know the changes have accelerated significantly and some of them were you know took a long time to resolve you know and and I'm not talking about the replacement of the infrastructure and things like that but just other things that were built on top of that that started to enhance or potentially detract from what was a quintessent ential description, you know, of a mountain town or described as quintessential. I think that um it's a multi-generational downtown and it's taken 125 years to get to where it is and the last 20 have probably been the most challenging I would say. But the success of recognizing the importance of downtown Midland and the confluence of the rivers and fighting hard to keep the post office a gathering place. You know, someone mentioned that you'd say, "Well, we'd meet at the post office." People are saying now, "Well, we'll meet at the statue of this." So, but I so I think there's a transition that we see that could commercialize it more than it needs to be and keep that same feeling that it's a place you return to and that you do it mult, you know, multiple times over your life. Um, we don't yet know what the full-time occupancy of the building across the street's going to bring. So, you know,

what's next with that? I really think too that on the technical side, those are all tactical type conversations. I think the construction impacts um really have to be part of that checklist. You know, construction management plans, schedules, um planning, notifications, uh you know, oversight, management of those things to tear down and replace. You mentioned foundations, there's a groundwater issue here on the street. Um, things like that that you know below grade construction, all that stuff gets to be very complicated in a core like this. So, I think that's got to be taken into consideration and maybe P&Z can bring some expertise to the table with someone that could advise on that. Uh but other than that, if we can keep it low impact, organic, balanced in a way that doesn't overwhelm one thing or the other, the spaces that are open now, the alleys, all the little funky places need to be maintained, stuff like that.

Thanks, Rick. This is a very minute thing, but I grew up in a historic district in a historic house, and the thing that my parents always complained about was the single pane windows and not being able to upgrade to a double pane window. And I saw in section six it says you should maintain the original window. And I'm all for original window shape, size, vibe. Um, but if someone wants to update the actual window in there, I I would feel fine about that. Can you comment on that? Is that

My understanding is that would be the wood and the frame and not the actual glass. The glass could be it could be rebuilt, so to speak, but I don't know

exactly. So, because those historic buildings are technically not registered, you could very well replace all of the windows. um if a building if a contributing building is on the national register then it's it is very difficult to get away from the single pane window but um and maybe I should revisit the section 66 fix language because that is our sustainability section where upgrading to an energy efficient envelope would be encouraged and so uh yeah the the guidelines honestly this is the the perfect application of having a historic quote unquote building, but also being able to upgrade it to more quote unquote modern systems and energy efficiencies.

That's a good call. Yeah. Anything else like that that we need to kind of make sure we got baked into this before it comes back for resolution. All right. Well, um it's 5:46 and now we have our regular meeting. Yes. This is I didn't know if you wanted to do this. I just did see some people in the audience. I don't know if you wanted to invite have any public comment or anything on this on the Yeah, if you wanted to. So, yeah, Laura, I know we've had others come in since, but Laura, if you have anything, you know, feel free to come up to the mic. Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, sure.

Thank you. I appreciate being able to sit in and listen to um this, I guess. My question remains whether we're dealing with historical or design wish list. And sometimes I think that they get um mixed in together. So I guess my concern is the purpose of this document, this overlay. Is it historical? Is it design wish list? Is it is it both? I don't know. Um I I will say I don't think there's been rigorous community input. Um I've had to proactively find out where meetings are to find the information. You know, it it I went to a meeting, the second meeting, there were four people there from the community. Um so that's my observation. Um, and then my final one again since you asked is, um, and I know it's been explained to me a few times, but how an overview overlay guideline, how what the relationship specifically is to the C2 zoning. So, if someone's asking, I want to do something that it's been zoned for, which comes first, I guess, or

like the use or the uh or the I don't know that's like might be a planner question to answer but yeah so so the these guidelines were designed with the zoning in mind and are compatible with the the C2 zoning as well um so that includes uses any kind of standards like setbacks um so this doesn't infringe on the C2 that's that's correct Okay. Um those are my comments. Thank you for your time. Can you comment on the uh the design wish list versus um

yeah so so these guidelines similar to our housing uh guidelines uh are a town regulation. Um but it's not zoning code. Those two things are legally separate and Jeff could probably expound upon those at length um if you guys need. But uh so it it is a town regulation and applicants uh for development in the town who qualify by being in the Midland Avenue District will be required to provide um documentation through the COA form that Jessica prov uh you know touched on and is provided as a part of the packet materials um for redevelopment um within the Midland land avenue district. Uh, does that answer your question?

That for me it does. Laura, I mean hard more or less. I I um Can you come back up? Sorry. The COA is an interesting thing to me. Um, and I just ask that you look at that closely. Um, yeah, but I I I got what you're saying. But the the COA I read that and I was I don't know just take a look at it.

I I have one real quick quick hypothetical then I think that's going to probably Laura's question and concern is that let's say someone bought Temperno wants to build a whole new building. It has to fit into these guidelines. Correct? Because it's late in the zone district. Yet the building next door is from 1980 and completely different. And so if if someone came and and touched on a handful of these, maybe it's not everything, then does that supersede does this supersede the the general building guidelines that if it if it doesn't if it doesn't have the perfect brick front and a door in this way and the window in this way and a certain awning, does that mean that they have to go back and check everything in these guidelines.

So,

so I I I see this as like a two-part question here. So, the the one answer would be that if it's a if it's new construction that it follows the new construction section of this. If it's redevelopment of an existing building such as Temperno, it would follow the the redevelopment section of the design guidelines. In regard to the buildings that were constructed before these guidelines were uh established, which you know there are a lot of buildings um on Midland that are similar to what you're referring to that late 20th century architecture. Um those are not going to be required. you you can't require folks to go back and institute architectural elements to a building that is non-contributing. And so Jessica touched on that a little bit, but the contributing buildings have a different standard uh for replacement. So you're not going to be required to go back and uh put in V Victorian elements to a building that was built in 1985.

But then that so then this would supersede just a C2C zoning. This is like redirecting the zoning is kind of what she's asking like Ryan actually zoning applies. So zoning is really dimensional requirements and uses, right? Y

so the dimensional requirements and uses are are limitations in zoning that that would apply to a new project that would apply to improvements to an existing project, an expansion to or other property that's existing. Um, you also have the guidelines which the guidelines have certain requirements in them and there's a waiver process that if if certain requirements don't fit the historic nature of the building which Tempo and some of the other properties on Midland Avenue are designated historic through our local historic designation program. um they have to be the improvements would have to be compatible with the existing

character and nature of the structure but it's an it's an added layer sure of restriction to a building that's designated in this map correct correct that that's the answer Lauren's looking for it doesn't change the zoning zoning but that building is going to have to fit in if I'm going to redevelop temperno right now Yes, it has to fit in to everything on this checklist. E either that or get a waiver and and so so there is a waiver process. There is a waiver process and and

you know for Temperno which is a historic building and and fits into one of the timelines that that was established in the guidelines. We wouldn't be looking to you know requiring brick on tempo which wouldn't fit with the time period. But let's say you're going to scrape temperno. Yeah. Right. And take advantage of the lot, right? Yeah, you can. Yeah, we can. Yeah, you could do whatever you want. It's the C2C. This doesn't protect the building. No, but we have historic protections through our historic designation and certain properties including Temperno are historically designated under the current code.

That that's separate from these design guidelines. My only point and what I think you're saying is that you're adding more restriction on certain buildings um certain buildings get it and certain buildings don't in this overlay. We're we're shooting we're hoping for and so character. Yeah. So what honestly what do you what do you provide for the building owner

to give that up? Well, and and actually just as clarification, all buildings get additional design guidelines. So, it's not just historic buildings. It's not just certain buildings. These design guidelines apply to all buildings in the district or would would apply if adopted. And thank you for the feedback on the uh on the communication process, Laura. We'll we'll talk about

All right. Well, it's 5:55. We got a lot of people out there that you guys can hear for some of the agenda items coming up, which will be pretty exciting. Thank you, Carlton, and Jessica and James for uh leading us through this. This was helpful. And looking forward to and Bill for for being here. Appreciate it. And all of you, it's good to see you. And we'll take a quick break and be back uh just after 6. Thanks a lot. Oh my god.

Good evening and welcome back to uh Basalt Town Council. It's Tuesday, April 14th. Uh we're going to go into our regular meeting now in a moment. Uh earlier tonight, we had a work session on the Midland design guidelines. That's completed now. And uh just really quick before we get going, I always give the announcement about how to join on Zoom. If you're interested in that, you can go to basalt.net, look at the agendas and minutes and uh find the April 14th and the link instructions are all in there. Um I'm going to go ahead and call the meeting to order and Pam, would you please call the role? Absolutely. Let's begin with Deer Schindler here. Angela Anderson, Rick Stevens here. Hannah Berman

here. also her honel dupart here. Ryan Slack here and David Knight here. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. They both

All right. Um, next up on the agenda is the consent agenda, but I'm going to propose we uh modify this slightly. We are going to do items uh if everyone's amendable to this item 6A and 6B next before the consent agenda. Um, we have a lot of folks here for that. Um, we're going to do 6A in the room here. Um, the proclamation recognizing Tim Goodwin of Timbos. And then 6B is the proclamation recognizing Basalt High School coach Carl Freric's. We're going to do that as well, but we're going to take that outside once we get done with, um, the proclamation for Tim. So, um, we're going to go ahead and do those. So, uh, item 6A, proclamation recognizing Tim Goodwood from Timbo's Pizza. And uh Robbie uh you can come up here and uh speak there or at the table.

Uh Basalt is so fortunate to have Tim Goodwin and his family as a part of this community for the past 29 years. Tim needs no introduction, but here is Tim Goodwin. Um I guess I'm sort of flabbergasted. It was quite the surprise of an honor and I'm just glad to be one of the citizens of town and I grew up in Carbondale and started at Pipinos when it was a Papinos here. So I've been in that building for 40 years and watching kids and families grow up here has just been a real special honor and thanks for uh thanking me I guess.

Yeah. Well, thanks for for doing what you do. I know um I have an 11-year-old. Our kids go over there and hang out. You know, it's a always a place to go if you want to get a slice. said, "I'm a progressive rock fan as well." Nice. So, I mean, I go in there and it reminds me of uh my high school years with the Rush and you you got even the deeper cuts in there at times, the Dream Theater. What? Yep. Exactly.

What? So, uh No, it's pretty cool what what you've got going there. And you know, just thank you for being a part of this community for so long. We have a proclamation for you that um we'll go ahead and read it and pass it around. Everybody will read a different paragraph. So um a proclamation honoring community service in the town of Basalt. So whereas the town of Basalt acknowledges that the performance of government and other social institutions is powerfully influenced by citizen engagement in community affairs. And whereas individual citizens and citizen networks working for the common good of the community are part of special character of the town of Basalt. And keep going down.

Yeah. This is a big paragraph, so you got the big one, Rick. I planned it that way. Lot of responsibility. Tim Goodwin and family members Julian, Jason, and Jesse have long been more than just the owners of our beloved Timbos Pizza. Tim has served as a steadfast pillar of our community. You are right there. Timbos is more than a place to eat for those fortunate enough to enjoy his triedand-true recipes. It is a place for students to gather and adults to run into friends. A hot spot for delicious food, good music, positivity, friendships, and a place where the spirit of Basalt comes alive. You want me to just keep rocking? Sure.

Take us home. With the yearbooks lining the walls and photos of the sports teams he has sponsored tell quite a story better than words ever could. Each one a testament to the lives that have intersected with those doors and they support freely given and the support given freely to all who enter. It may take a village to raise a child but it takes a pizza joint to raise a community. Therefore, what's that? Therefore,

therefore, we the Bassalt Town Council proclaim that on this 14th day of April, 2026, the town of Basalt is a far far better place by the role model and good deeds of Tim Goodwin and family. So, well done. All right. outside.

All right. Well, next up we have and we're going to after I read this, we're going to go outside, but item 6B is a proclamation recognizing Basalt High School coach Carl Freric. And uh we're going to go ahead and go outside out here because there's a crowd out there for that. So, you're all welcome to come on out.

Okay. I just need to stand up. Still still not in yet.

All right, welcome back. We are back inside from our uh have done our two proclamations for the evening. Um but stay tuned. There's more. Uh next up is our consent agenda item two and I'm going to read a laundry list of things that are on that. If anybody wants to pull anything off, let me know at the end. Item 2A is resolution number 17 series of 2026. Resolution of the town council of Basalt, Colorado approving the 2026 streets m streets maintenance chip seal project and authorizing staff to enter into contract with GMCO LLC. Item 2B is to continue to April 28th, 2026 public hearing and introduction meeting 555 Basalt Avenue development application for special review PUD amendments and associated development review actions for 54 commercial storage units and 47 residential units. Item 2 C is an Arbor Day proclamation. Item 2D is resolution number 18 series of 2026 resolution to the town council of Basalt Colorado granting approval for the 2026 Basalt Sunday market on Midland Spur in Lions Park in downtown Basalt 2E resolution 19 series of 2026 resolution the town council of Basalt Colorado ratifying and approving an intergovernmental agreement for the operation administration and financial support of the picking county regional emergency dispatch center 2F is a reappointment of basalt public arts commission member mber reappointment of Liz Bell to the BPAC for a three-year term to expire April 14th, 2029. And last, item 2G, special event activity permit, food truck at 72 Sunset Drive. I would entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda items as presented.

Mayor, I move that the town council approve the consent agenda items as presented. Second. It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. Hi.

Hi. Thank you. Um, next up we have our item three, which is the call to the public. Uh, just a reminder on this, um, if you, uh, are going to speak, you have three minutes, and you can address your comments directly to me. Uh, make sure you identify yourself by name and address and sign in the back of the room. Comments should be courteous, civil, and constructive. Um, town council will make no decision or take action except to direct the town manager. And, uh, we're going to have our timer set up. up and this is the last timing maybe I ever have to do there is so uh if anyone wants

anyone wants to come up to the podium floor's open hi you can start

okay hi I'm Stacy Stokes and hopefully I won't be here for the next couple of months because I'll be out of town but I am here because a few years ago we moved to a property that is on Few Lane. It's a very dangerous street. It's not even a street. It's an alley. And I'm starting to lose my mind because the accidents that I see waiting to happen are horrible. Um, regardless, I want to put a few requests out there to you. I can follow up with an email. I've spoken to a few neighbors. But we need a slow children plane sign. We can't have little green men that fall down in the wind. They don't do any good. We need an absolute sign saying we've got kids playing. We need a speed limit sign saying 15 miles an hour. We need a street sign that says we are East View Lane because people drive around in circles trying to find East View Lane because we look like Basalt Avenue. Uh we need a stop sign at the end of Few Lane in Alexander where people fly right through. And let's see, the other thing is we I would like to see the straight at some point be made one way with a nice big 5-ft bike and safe pedestrian path that then can be used as emergency access within minutes if need be. Um because on to I mean I just feel like we need to be have a progressive vision about what we need to do with this road because it's scary and it's horrible and I I tell people all the time to slow down. And I'm probably like known of the pitch of F Lane by now because I walk there. But I'm scared about Mayor Wolfer's kids. I'm scared. She's scared. You know she's scared. She's talked to you. And unfortunately, people have lost the decorum to take good care of each other. On to the road that was supposed to be by big O. I'm going to implore you yet again to get with Picking County. Get with the state. Get with your people here. We've

got to get another access in and out of Southside and Stosmill. You have to You've You've approved all this dense development thinking that was going to be there. It's not fair to those residents. That's grass up there. They don't have time to get out. For where I live, I can run to the river. They can't. And I guarantee you, if they got some sort of information with some evac plan that only has one way in and one way out, they might be in this meeting, too. asking you to put the road in that you were supposed to put in and we have to find the money to keep the residents over there safe or everything needs to stop before somebody dies and it's going to be a lot of people if it happens. So that's um that's all that I have to say and I will stop talking at some point about this but I think my points are valid. I think they're very important and I don't think people pay enough attention because like I said last time, they just want a home to raise their family in Stats Mill, but they need to be safe at the same time. Thank you all.

Thank you, Stacey, for your comments. Perfect timing, too. Look at that. Yeah, use the whole three minutes. All right. Uh, speak. Anyone else? Anyone else like to come up and speak for public comment? All right. Anybody online? I don't see anybody raising their hand. So, going to move on to uh mayor and council reports and comments.

Well, I'm going to start real quick because this is probably one of the last times I can do this, but I would like to thank the police force. Um, you guys have done an amazing job over this last year, two years. Um, I just can't thank you guys enough. So, and then also Jordan left, but public works. Um, they had a big water valve change last week, two weeks ago, and uh, I went over talked to one of the guys. Just can't thank our public works department. Can't thank the staff. Can't thank everyone enough for this town. Um, just awesome. We're lucky to have all this great stuff.

You're here. Thanks, Ryan. Anyone else?

Um, well, I'm not I might be remote the next meeting. So, I'm going to take this opportunity to say it in person. Thank you to Ryan and to Deer for their service. Uh, and congratulations to Angela who gets to keep her seat as well as our two new counselors uh that'll be coming on board. But specifically for tonight, um Ryan has given eight years uh to the town of assault and is only leaving because he's termed out. Um and deer, you know, thank you. I think that um our police department, our public works, our town staff, everything. Um, this town wouldn't be the same, of course, without any of them, but it also wouldn't be the same if not for people like you who give their time to do this um job, this service. And so, thank you for your service. We'll miss you guys. Anyone else real quick? Um, you know, it's evenings like tonight where you have Tim Goodwin and Carl in here. It makes you appreciate what this community is really about. And I, you know, most of us don't forget that, but sometimes you need a reminder. And tonight was a nice reminder. So, thank all you that showed up and the young men on that football team for doing what they do. And with any luck at all, they'll stick around and become our future leaders. And you know, football's not the only activity that young men and young women and young people can engage in. There's a lot of it going on around here. And uh we need to support it as much as we can uh everywhere we can all the time. And uh I appreciate it because that's I was raised by guys like that and it makes a

difference. So when you see him on the street, say hi. Same with these two that are leaving, don't forget about him. He's a big person. You can't forget about him. Thanks you guys for coming out everybody. Thanks, Rick. Anyone else? This community is so great and just nights like tonight remind me that there for just so many people in this community that are just giving so much of themselves and of their time and talents and um I don't want to raise my kids anywhere else. Thank you to everybody that's here

for just for being a part of Basalt. It's so encouraging to know that there are communities like this. Sure. All right. Anyone else have anything to add? Any comments you said? These are like the most memorable comments of the year. You're already crying by me. I know. Um, we'll move on uh to our next agenda item, which is the manager's report. Um, item five, which also includes 5A, police lieutenant pinning.

Yes. I would like to start off my manager's report with the pinning ceremony for our new lieutenant, Travis St. Thank you all. Yeah, you're good right there. Um, I own a little proclamation since we're on that kick tonight. So, uh, to all who shall see these present greetings, know ye that reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of Sergeant Travis Still, I do appoint this officer a lieutenant for the town of Baal Police Department to rank as such from the 14th day of April, 2026. Effective with his appointment, you are charged to carefully and diligently execute the duties and responsibilities of a lieutenant. and I do strictly direct and require all personnel of lesser grade to render obedience to appropriate order. As a lieutenant, you must set the example for others to emulate. Your conduct and professionalism, both on and off duty, shall be above reproach. You are responsible for the accomplishment of your assigned mission statement and for this safety, professional development, and well-being of the officers in your agency. You will be the embodiment of our institutional core values of integrity, compassion, and professionalism. You will lead your officers with firmness, fairness, and dignity while observing and following the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the state of Colorado, and the ordinances and policies and procedures of the Town of Assault. Given under my hand at Town of Assault Colorado, this 14th day of April, 2026. Congratulations. To do uh to do the pinning, I'm going to have uh Travis's wife Christy and his two kids come up. They're right behind me. All right.

You want to start with the batch? There you go. Excellent. Baby You don't have to say anything. All right. Well, the other day I failed, so I'll just um I just I appreciate the uh vote of confidence to fill this role to assist you in leading our team, which is a phenomenal team. uh which is also in part due to support we get from you guys as council. So I'm super excited for this opportunity and thanks.

Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. I APPRECIATE like a perma smile on my face right now. Good feelings. Yeah. Okay. I have more on my manager's report. Um just wanted to report out that the

bad news. It's actually a good news. Um ebike safety working group um with RAFTA. Uh we attended last last week. Um and Basalt is joining Aspen's campaign in Go Slow Say hello. Um so you'll see more um more stuff coming out on Go Slow Say Hello. We're also evaluating how we can effectively uh regulate emotos. Um so that's something that we're working on with the school resource officer. So um we're also partnering right now with Eagle County to do a curbside chipping program to encourage residents to clean up their yards and reduce fire danger. Uh so this is funded through Eagle County but will serve the entire town of Basalt. Uh and pickup will start at the end of May. Um and then we received 10 proposals for the design and entitlement services for public service building and we will or we're actually calling it public service facility and we have a we will have a recommendation to you all by um April 28th we're doing um and then I wanted to remind everyone that Earth Day is next week. Um so we are hosting an Earth Day celebration. Um so that is on Wednesday, April 22nd from 12 to 6 pm. And um we'll have activities including guest speakers, um solar power exhibits, electric car demos, um and uh free composting bins, kids crafts, tree giveaways, and a food and music. So um stop by from Yeah. from 12 to 6 on Earth Day. And you know, do you know offh hand what which time is the elementary school kids coming over? I know that's

So they are going to be doing their performance at 12:30 p.m. 12:30. That's a that's a good one. It's all good. But that's a really Yes. All right. That is my manager's report. All right. Great. Thank you, Gloria. So, we are going to move back into presentations uh and to 6C, which is a presentation on Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park and John Fox Rubin. Sir, if I might, um we do have our translator available this evening. Okay.

And yeah, if anybody else wants to come up and and be up here at the front uh with the mics, they're more than welcome to. Thank you everyone. We're just getting prepared.

Well, I haven't seen some of you in a while. I've sat in your chairs a long time ago when Rick Stevens was the mayor. And I'm here for one of the issues that we worked on back then, which is preserving community through mobile home parks. And tonight we just want to share with you what we're doing around Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park.

We've got um couple folks here that live in Cavern Springs. Monica Mun is the vice president of the Soress Mountain Collective, which is the organization they've formed to try to become a residentowned community. and her colleague here, Anadina Garcia, is going to speak and share her story. And then Enid Richie, who is another member of Mountain Voices Project, Mountain Voices Project, she's going to tell you a little bit about what it is for those of you that don't know, has been involved throughout the community with other mobile home communities that are at threat of being um displaced, etc. So, those are the people that are going to speak tonight. Monica's going to go first there.

Just pull it. Yeah. Speak into it. Okay. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Monica Monise. I am the vice president of the Sus Mountain Collective, which represents the residents of Cavern Springs community. just next to Habitat Restore on this side of Glennwood Springs. There are 98 families. Several have lived here for over 30 years. There are uh 260 uh residents, children, disabled children, and adult senior citizens and veterans. Um 22 of our residents work in Basalt and 14 of them al work in Elabel. My husband and I moved to the Royin Fork Valley in 1998 and then moved to uh the Cavern Springs um which at that time was called HL Lazf in 1991 raising our daughter and caregiving our my special needs brother. We enjoy our view of Mount Srris from our home and our garden and the longtime connections and the new ones we have developed in our community. I own a small business in Carbondale and I have served on the Royan Fork Resource Center board. I enjoy uh volunteering in community events in the Royan Fork Valley. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Thank you. And I'm going to This is Inadina Garcia and she'll speak. is Garcia Spring. Spring. Yes. They spring. Kilo

fresco fresco. AJesa. Colleen Audencia Pimar. Um seasoning device. The interpreter would just request one moment because that was a little

good. You're good introduction. Good evening. My name is Anedita Garcia. I've lived in the valley for 26 years and I've lived in Cavern Springs for five and a half years. I have three children. I have one uh who serves in the US Army. He's been there for five years and he comes to the area about three times a year. Comes uh about three or twice a year. And whenever he comes back, he comes back to Cavern Springs. And we always celebrate when he comes back and visits. His desire is to be able to have his own family back in Cavern Springs at some point in the future. And we're fighting to be able to retain our home and our community. I also have another son who is a plumber in the Basalt area for a company and based out of Basalt. Um and I myself have worked uh for six years also in the basalt area. Um, we have um our home is uh very calm and our family enjoys living in the area um in Cavern Springs because um well, I

really enjoy it because it's close to work and and it's very calm and and safe and tranquil.

I have an tree in my patio. It's very fresh. It's very fresh in my patio. Um uh that I uh upkeep during the summertime and I've had the opportunity to be able to get to know my neighbors better because of work. And we're currently uh pursuing the uh the ability to be able to establish a residence in our community. Uh just this past weekend we had our fifth uh community collective just last weekend and we were uh between all of us there's um we were able to make about 5,000 tamales and we were able to raise about $6,000 and that's money that we planned uh on using those funds to be able to pay for the upcoming expenses that we have with the preliminary preliminary hearing. Um there are other residents in the area uh some of which are uh elder and encompasses also uh young individuals and children. Um thank you for your time and for listening to part of my story.

Thank you. Good evening. I am Enid Richie, a Basalt resident for the past 9.5 years. I joined my daughter and her family in the Roaring Fork Valley. She has been a teacher at Basalt Elementary. Her husband works for Sko. Both my grandchildren are currently attending BHS. Not knowing anyone in the valley except my family, I reached out as a volunteer in the following organizations. A tutor in English in action, a library board member for six years and currently a library trust member. As a representative of English in action, I became a leader in Mountain Voices project early in it in its inception. I continue to volunteer in each organization. Tonight, I'm here on behalf of Mountain Voices Project. MVP is a regional organization from Aspen to parachute consisting of 20 organizational members from faith, nonprofit and community sectors to address civic issues. Early on we had structured small groups group community conversations where deep concerns bubbled up. We took action. Examples are MVP was instrumental in the early childhood tax initiative on both the ballot and its successful passing during COVID. A housing crisis occurred. Tenants were unable to pay rent due to

the clo the US closing down during the pandemic. Property owners were unable to pay their property bills. Uh um and we helped them both the um renters and the property owners to find the money they needed to survive through the pandemic. Currently we are dealing with a different community issue regarding housing. The next speaker uh John will clarify the issue and the needs. Thank you.

Thanks Enid. I also want to recognize Ellen Dubet in the audience here. She's a member of Mountain Voices Project as a leader from the Snow Mass Chapel. We have leaders throughout the community from our member organizations. My member organization is the Aspen Jewish Congregation. So, I act as a leader and bring their perspective to our community conversations. The thing that you may not know about me, a lot of you probably don't. Rick, my I I lived in Aspen Village when I was seven years old for a few years and it was a wonderful experience and that's probably what where my passion for preserving mobile home communities came from. Historically, they've been a very affordable a market-based affordable solution for housing in this community. There are over 50 mobile home parks between Parachute and Aspen. And about 25% of the people you see, or maybe you don't see, but that do the work for us with us live in mobile homes in this community. We are concerned that the privatization, the hedge funds, the private equity funds that have been pretty active are getting even more active. There's an article in the paper recently about seven parks from Rifle to Grand Junction that all got purchased by one entity. That's really challenging because if you live in one of those parks and the rents go up, you don't really have another place to go. Even with the legislation that's been advancing in the state, the state has been very proactive in trying to make a difference here. But the legislation is not quite there. So, Mountain Voices Project has also been involved in some policy papers to help strengthen the legislation and there's two bills that are that are being pushed right now that would continue to help strengthen it, but it's still not there.

And meanwhile, Cavern Springs has this is the second time they've been sold under the new opportunity to purchase law. I worked with them the first time they got the notice in 2019 and they were being sold for $18 million and we couldn't come up with the financing to keep the rents at all from doubling and so the residents turned that opportunity down. There was not wide community support for that. Today there's a lot more community support. We've already received some community support from some municipalities. Pigan County is weighing in on it tomorrow. We presented in front of Garfield County and to be determined if we can get anything from them. However, their housing authority is potentially participating as a special limited partner which would allow for property tax abatement. So, we're really trying to weave together the right equity that would come in as a subsidy and the right lending from what's called a CDFI lender, community development financial institution lender. There's a company called Rock USA which is the primary lender that helped the two parks already in this comm actually three in this community. Basalt Carbondale and one in Glenwood already. And so we're hoping to follow that with with them and another one called IDF Impact Development Fund out of the Front Range that has been active in a couple of the the capital stacks in our community. So the reason we're here tonight is just to educate you, let you know what we're up to. Mountain Voices Project has also created a fund at the Aspen Community Foundation that funds uh legal support for residents like Cavern Springs, but also for other communities. We our goal at Mountain Voices Project is not to be solving this one at a time, but it's to really to get things like a tax initiative that can cover preservation of communities. There's a there's a fund called the Prop 123 fund at the state level that is designed for preservation

and construction of new affordable housing. But in the Colorado Sun recently, there was an article that only point two or was it actually 0.02% of the funds in Prop 123 have gone towards preserving existing units. And when you look at the bang for your buck, your ROI on preserving units, in this case, we're looking for about a $8 million total community investment for approximately 100 mobile homes. So that's $80,000 per mobile home saved from uncertain future and most likely doubling rents if the Cavern Springs residents do not prevail in purchasing and becoming a residentowned community. So, that's pretty much why we're here today is to let you know what we're up to. And we'd love support in raising this capital. We're talking to businesses. We're talking to philanthropists. We're also looking at creating a loan fund where people who may not be able to donate but could put some of their capital into a a loan fund that would probably be managed by another CDFI or a local institution where your money would only earn 3% per year, but that's a possibility as well. So, we're trying to be very creative to finance this this community. Any questions?

And I don't know what was in your packet. Did you end up putting in the slide deck in the pack? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, you can review that and if you have questions, we're more than happy to to answer.

This is this is good kind of getting the um the talk track over because you already read the slides, but kind of getting the commentary I think is important. I mean, like I I read that Colorado Sun article as well. And that's what just struck me is, you know, it with limited resources for affordable housing, what can we do? And this is I'm not asking you to see you have a great idea, but like we need to change the the focus to be a little more balanced between existing housing and construction. It seems like there's a lot of a push a lot of a push like let's do have nonprofits be able to develop inexpensively. Let's you know density your transit that's great. We also have a lot of housing that's um kind of affordable by design that we need to preserve. Yeah,

it's going to be a lot more um expeditious and efficient with money to make that uh stay affordable. And that's what just kind of confounds me is why we're not focusing on that more. Um so I don't know. I mean that's kind of a rhetorical question of sorts, but that's that's what strikes me with this because I mean Cavern Springs is one of of many like you said was it 50 40 50 to parachute. I would say about 8 to 10 have been preserved. So when I say 50, it includes Smuggler Mobile Home Park in Aspen.

And so as you get closer down here, almost all of them have been preserved one way or another. Either it's RORO or, you know, Woody Creek is actually a metro district that that manages it in manages it instead of an HOA. Um, you know, over here we're lucky there's a land use restriction on the Roaring Fork mobile home park, but that's been slated for development a couple times when a developer bought the parcel. And I don't know the the current status of it. I know that's something of long-term interest for you all as well is how do we balance the needs there?

Thanks. Other questions or comments for the team here? Thank you for taking the time to come out and share about your community to let us know what you're doing to preserve it. Are there specific things like there, you know, web pages, social media, like you know, the things that we can do to, you know, help?

Yeah, the the what is it called? The housing justice fund. It's a special interest fund at the Aspen Community Foundation. We have readily raised over $100,000 with small donations already to that. And so that's that's a great thing where anyone in the community can play a role not just for Cavern Springs, but for the ongoing work that's that's going to need to occur. We are going to be talking to businesses. We're just starting the kind of the the philanthropic side. We've been working pretty heavily on the municipal side with commitments from Carbondale, Snow Mass Village, town of or city of Glennwood Springs, city of Aspen has said yes to some amount there. They haven't determined the amount yet. And then picking county and Eagle County will be approaching as well. So we're now that those are those conversations are in flight with different communities. We our target there is about $6 million and and April Long of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition is going to manage the municipal and county piece of the work as she's done before and has done, you know, an incredible job with that. And then we're going to tap our networks for the business community. And the business community rose to the challenge last time and it's very hard on the heels of that for for all of us to, you know, to just keep keep doing it. Um, so we're gonna we're trying to expand that business community network.

Good. So any anything you can do and touch base with me if you have ideas and we're trying to be creative and keep it moving forward. You know, we've we've talked with RAFTA, we've talked with all sorts of interested organizations that that have already invested in affordable housing. And, you know, we're we're looking at flexible ways for things like buying the opportunity if a if a mobile home needs to be sold for a business to be able to purchase it for their staff. Uh, which which actually worked with Garfield County and Habitat for Humanity. That approach helped Garfield County get their first affordable housing units that were paid for by the government, which was a big big step for them. Yeah.

Yeah. I actually watched the RAFTA presentation and I was really interested by coming up with creative ways to try and figure out more pieces to that capital stack. And I just want to say thank you for being here, Monica and Elena. Gracias. Your stories are important to hear. And in partic and I know we're we're in a tight place for funding, but I think thinking creatively and trying to see where we can help um elevate your stories is really important. Every bit helps. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you so much for your time tonight. Thanks for coming out. Good luck. All right, we have uh council actions next and the first one and the only one is item 7A which is a resolution number 20 series of 2026 resolution of the town council of the town of Basalt, Colorado allocating funds from the town's short-term rental regulatory fee and lodging tax fund toward acquisition of a deed restriction on a free market unit at 720 Lakeside Drive in partnership with Eagle County and James you're up for this one.

Yeah, thank you. Uh, as the mayor indicated, this item is a resolution to allocate funds to participate in a buy down of a deed restriction uh, in partnership with Eagle County on the free market unit at 720 Lakeside Drive. Uh the council previously approved the framework for a prior buy down potential uh that didn't go through at that time and now uh we have this new opportunity at 720 uh Lakeside Drive. Uh the town's contribution would be 97,500 uh which equates to 15% of the purchase price. Uh and Eagle County would be putting in 15% of the purchase price as well. Uh the resolution would allocate approximately 80,000 from the town's short-term regulatory fee uh which is what we have uh gained this year from the regulatory fee. And then the remainder would be made up uh from the additional lodging tax funds uh that were uh granted by the voters uh this past uh election. Um and so staff believes that this is a good opportunity to increase uh the number of uh buy downs that we have uh in the uh town of Basalt. Uh it is within the town's boundaries. Uh so staff would suggest uh uh approving the resolution uh to allocate the funds towards the buy down uh so that we can participate with Eagle County in this buy down scenario. Jeff, do you have anything to add? We've been working uh with Eagle County staff um on kind of the framework of the buy down a bit and so we're we're still kind of talking to them about that, but staff would suggest uh allocating the funds.

Yeah, I think you covered it. How does that work on the p the purchase of the unit? I assume this unit is for sale. Person who wants to buy it has applied for the benefit is getting the benefit and then what is their role and responsibility beyond that other than to just sign it off as a restricted unit. Do they still have to come up with 20% of the down that's left or how does that all

uh you know in terms of you know what would the buyer have to come up with in for down payment and so forth? I think it might vary. I don't know that it's prescribed. Harper might be the best one to answer this having gone through this but or all the way to the you have a near finish line. I don't know. Do you want to can you help with that a little bit?

Yeah. So trying to re recollect my um memory but I think the um the buy down is it's 30%. So the buyers has to put in at least 3% of their own funds and however they come up with that is up to them. But um typically the good deeds program requires that the the buyer put in some of their own equity so that they have some teeth in it. Um and then and then between Eagle and the Town of Assault, then they provide the rest of the um of the funds for the initial down payment.

And and I think it's a 3 to 5% uh range for the actual purchaser to put down and it's on a case-byase basis. It's my my understanding. And then Eagle County and the town in exchange for the down payment get the deed restriction to prefer preserve the affordability of the unit.

And it comes with a 3% appreciation cap on an annual basis and a requirement that they be a full-time employee the next purchaser as well. I had a question on on on the funding source to see if a a different scenario we could perhaps explore. I know in the past um we had had a hundred,000 um from the Balt forward 2030 money budgeted for I think even last year um budgeted for uh deed buyowns. Um, and that that was a a sticking point with West Mountain as far as a contribution because it could only be used within um, you know, because of the ballot language only could be used within the town limits. Um, so what I would I would like to explore is looking at taking if we didn't use that 100,000 last year. Um, and we I think we were considering that for the last deed buy down, even that 100,000 using that for this purchase and the and the funds that we have from the short-term rental fees and lodging tax because they have greater flexibility, could we use that instead for um West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition and like a regional um effort because that's going to be recurring. Um we're a member and you know I know Angel and now you Gloria sit on on that board representing BAL but I'm also there for RAFTA. So, I know that um you know, we don't kind of have a free and completely free and clear um funding source for them at this up until this point, but we could use this money for that and we could use um basalt for 2030 money potentially for uh for this deed bite down because that's important too, but it's in the town limits, so it would fit better. Um I wanted to see if that was feasible and

and what what others thought. Well, and so for a while we've been telling West Mountain, oh, we can't give more. Our hands are tied because this money sits in a pot that is tied to this ballot language. And so it has to be used within the boundary of basalt. And so and and David and I, you know, are in agreement on this that why not use that money that is so restricted for this specific purpose for which it was intended and free up the other funds, the STR and the lodging funds that aren't as restricted for other use to, you know, it can be what we give to West Mountain as our annual commitment because then it can be used outside of the boundaries of assault. I think that makes a lot I think that makes a lot of sense.

Doug has some opinions on the or Jeff about like the specific uses of funds and the where they are in the ballot language and I'll let you speak to where this money lives in the budget. I can speak to the restrictions, but go ahead.

Yeah, I mean I think um it's not really in my opinion. I think it's like the it's true that the ordinance for the short-term regulatory fees can be used for at the sole discretion of council. So it's quite a wide aperture on how the funds can be used. I believe that's similar to the lodging tax as well. And it is true that we have about right now 83,000 or so collected in short-term regulatory fees. We have that in the books and I'm anticipating that we would likely get somewhere between two to $250,000 of additional lodging taxes for the 2% lift that we received in the fall. So those those

I feel pretty good about those numbers. I would caution the uh using the the basalt forward money is really the bond money. Uh we had taxable and a tax exempt offering. The tax exempt money for the bonds went for Midland. The taxable bond offering went for affordable housing in green. And this council um had and this was before me um I think had some sort of allocation that 25% of that should go to green and 75% should go to affordable housing. So we really been dividing up the money in my mind 75% affordable 25% green. So right now I would say to you that we we do have money uh in the bond taxable bond money to use for this purpose. Uh my caution would be is that we're looking at funding parcel nine. Parcel 9 rugby field has 16 units has a funding gap of potentially $8 million and um and that's you know could be more could be less but it's looking look looking at now there's two different people looked at the same time and both came up with $8 million. So I'm thinking you know it's probably going to be $8 million. So it would be good to use in my view of closing that gap the bond money and that bond money would be parcel 9. Now if you use the bond money this as we're referring to as bought forward money for this deed buy down that's just another $100,000 or so you won't have. So that would be just laying it out. That's how I would view it. It's up it's up to it's council's decision about how it's used. Just kind those are all the facts as I see the field. Well, it's not necessarily money we wouldn't have because we could then apply STR and lodging tax money to parcel 9 as well.

That's true. And money money is fungeible. That's true. I guess that's our point is that the bond money is highly restrictive. It is. Whereas the other revenue sources are less so. So if we have a kind of rare opportunity to apply the bond money I I don't know within the town limits within the town limits which obviously pal 9 is too parcel 9 is as well but I guess you know I've been sitting in West Mountain meetings for in these meetings for two years and we've been saying we wish we could do more but we can't because this bond money can't be used outside you know and then here we are using other funds

to fund exactly what we have been waiting for the opportunity to use the bond money to fund. So it's also just a little bit contradictory, you know, to what we've been saying.

I I would agree. I mean, and that was one of the big re I mean reasons I wanted to support and I supported the short-term rental fee is I wanted to have another lever, another source to use at the uh the regional level. I mean, that was that was a big driver for that. I I don't think I'm the only one. Um, in that case, I I know we're going to we we have a gap. We're going to have to find a partner. I mean, and we're probably going to talk about that at some point, but I this is again it comes to that balance too of, you know, building versus um preserving existing

as well. And I think to relate it just Jeff opinion this was again my view is that you know I don't believe it's been written anywhere that that arbit it was somewhat arbitrary how the the money was divvied up between green and affordable balancing I don't think that's really ordained anywhere and I think the bond offering uh contemplated the construct of both of them and did not specifically call out that money. We have had we have had one green project and that was the installation of the solar roofs at the basically the high school and the middle school and we're not we don't have anything on deck to to use that money for the question% of the bond money. Exactly. So could we use the green money

and I and again that's not a decision for me to make but that would that would open up the that would open up the available that's over my hands too. It's all good. Can't steal the green money. So that's that's my plan. The green money. Why? No, but I get um but just removing the money. Like it's like this is such semantics. Like I get it. I'm sure we can figure it out on the back end. I think we all agree on it. We're going to talk ourselves in a circle. I I I would say whatever you want. We'll tell Doug he'll get it done and we'll vote on it. Let's go there

on the on the bond money. I'd have to go back and look at this, but I mean there was it's not in the ballot question, but it was specifically I know contemplated how that money would be allocated between the three purposes at the time it was put forward because there was, you know, rough estimates for calculations of the work on Midland and so on and so forth. And so, and I I don't recall if that was in like recital to the ordinance that submitted the ballot question or or not, but just before we rush into reallocating money related for for green purposes, I just would want to take and we're not doing that today. Yeah. Yeah. We we have either

an example, but I don't think we're looking to do that. We're going to have either an 8 million or uh an $ 8.1 million gap. a different different kettle of fish than uh trying Yeah, that's another conversation. We're I think for tonight the 100,000 is or so is what we got to figure out if we want to source that from uh but the salt the bond money and I I would support doing that. Yeah. is my support. Mayor, I move the town council adopt resolution number 20 series of 2026 with the change of the money coming from the bond fund instead of STR and lodging the S str and lodging tax.

Second. All right, it's been moved and seconded. Uh Pam, will you please call the role? Okay, let's begin with Angela Anderson. Yes. Rick Stevens. Um, yes. Angel Dup Prebuchart. Yes. Ryan Slack. Yes. David Knight. Yes. Deer Schindler. Yes. Hannah Berman. Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you.

As a caveat though, I think that, you know, just running numbers in my head here. If someone was to come in with a million half dollar purchase and apply for 30% from the fund, they would get $450,000 if Eagle County and Basalt still agreed to the same policy. Where's where's the cap, you know, and how fast can this six million be exhausted if people that are willing in this, you know, a different market um to come in and you offer their home up for sale with a deed restriction attached with the current benefit attached and then not have to and then the purchaser doesn't have to come up. The purchaser just has to qualify for the 70% of the original purchase price with no down payment. It's it's kind of a slippery slope, I think, at the end of the day. And the bond proceeds are are six million bucks. That's it.

Well, we Well, we don't have six million more. It's a it's a fair point. I mean, I But in my mind, we have a we had a h 100,000 that we've been budgeting for at least one if not two years, right? And now we've allocated that. So if if there are more requests for deed restrictions, we're going to have to have a different conversation because there is no more money budget if this was our in town potentially. I think there is if people but we could that would be a different you know we'd have to basically be reappropriating or appropriating additional funds. So

but back to the original like intent though is that what this decision in my mind allows us to do is to if the council wanted to give more to West M up their contribution to West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition comes from another because it can come from STR and lodging fees which has a broader use

uh allowance and that can still help buy you know buy down houses outside of the town boundaries. So it doesn't h that's the whole point is that like doesn't h we don't have to use bond money. It's very unusual, I think. I mean, to find someone that can afford a mortgage on a million dollars, which is what the homeowner still has to do, I think it's the limiting factor. Um, yes, that's narrow. Yeah. Market for that. Anyways, all right. Um, well, thank you all. And, uh, next up we have, um, our, uh, an executive session. So, I'd entertain a motion. May there

mayor move the town council enter executive session to discuss personnel matters in accordance to CRS24-6-424F, more specifically town manager review. Second. It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. I. I. So, thank you very much. We're going to move into executive session in a moment. Um, when that is and so we're going to cut the uh TV feed. When that is over, the meeting will be adjourned. So, uh, those watching online, good night. And uh take a few moments here to set