Durango City Council voted to approve changing the city’s future land-use map on Tuesday from a range of uses to low-density residential use only in a move that broke with the Durango Planning Commission’s August recommendation to deny the change.

The change concerns 81 acres in the Grandview area outside Durango city limits but within the city’s future land-use map area. Specifically, the property is located north of U.S. Highway 160 and east of County Road 233 near Elmore’s Corner.

The property, called the Tree Farm Village Property, has been targeted for development by California manufactured homes developer Harmony Communities.

City planner Vicki Vandegrift said Harmony Communities requested the change because it wants to tap into the city’s water at the development, which proposes approximately 310 rent-controlled manufactured homes on the property.

Residents turned out both for and against the development during a public hearing held the same evening. Among them were Planning Commission members Susan Ulery and Alma Evans, who explained their concerns about the development proposal.

Ulery said extending water infrastructure and services to the Grandview area is her top concern because of a current lack of water redundancy in the city’s water plan, hundreds of units have been approved for development in the Three Springs area and everyone will want to tap into new water infrastructure installed there.

Evans said the city’s comprehensive plan details the need to ensure new city growth doesn’t surpass its ability to provide services, such as water.

“(The Planning Commission has already) approved over 840 units within South Fork and Three Springs,” she said. “Staff has made great strides in affordable housing with the revamp of fair share and the work toward the goal of providing workforce housing within the city. Phase 2 of Three Springs has yet to even be initiated. I believe this will provide additional opportunities for homeownership within our city boundaries.”

She said she prefers developing areas of the city such as Three Springs before expanding into new areas, and the city’s water master plan recommends having redundant water supplies in place before expanding the city’s water service.

“It’s not prudent to commit our water resources and CIP dollars right now to facilitate a project that has yet to be vetted or approved,” she said. “That was my (concern) in August. It remains my (concern) today.”

Regional Housing Alliance of La Plata County Chairperson Pat Vaughn spoke in support of the Tree Farm Village project and for changing the property’s use to low-density residential.

Reading from an RHA letter of support, he said Tree Farm Village addresses the critical need for additional housing stock and diversity of housing, and the RHA commends Harmony Communities’ self-imposed rent-control restriction.

“In the era of escalating housing costs, their commitment to maintaining reasonable rental rates sets a positive example and reinforces their dedication to long-term affordability,” he said. “The development’s contribution to the local housing supply will benefit the existing market and provide options for a demographic in need of housing.”

Ulery said another item of concern to her is Harmony Communities’ framing of the project as an affordable housing project.

“The developer is trying to sell us on affordable housing with this project and I don’t see it,” she said. “They don’t own the land. They buy a box. It’s on a frame that can roll out if you can move it. These projects are not designed to build equity for the person who buys that box. So what are we giving our people if we approve something like this?”

Harmony Communities’ Brandon Sindel said on Tuesday the price difference between a manufactured home and a site-built home is almost $535,000, and Harmony Communities’ target price for its manufactured homes is $225,000.

“As a result, this will cost approximately $2,000 less per month to live in Tree Farm (Village) than it would to live in a site-built home in Durango, Colorado” he said. “To purchase a home in Tree Farm, a would-be homebuyer could put down as little as $17,000 versus the $147,000 required for a site-built home in Durango.”

He said if the development is approved by La Plata County’s planning commission – a decision further down the line and beyond City Council’s discretion – the project would be the first rent-controlled manufactured home community in Colorado.

In addressing water redundancy concerns expressed by Planning Commission members and residents, Sindel said the Planning Commission incorrectly interpreted the city’s water master plan that was developed in 2021.

The master plan says additional water line redundancy is needed by 2045 or when current water use grows to 15 million gallons used per day, but the city currently delivers at most 10 million gallons per day, he said.

“To reach this 15 million gallons a day, the city of Durango needs to increase its usage population by nearly 50%,” he said. “Tree Farm will use approximately 350 gallons a day per unit, or overall usage of 0.11 mgd.

“If you take Tree Farms’ projected usage plus the city’s current usage, we’re going to get 10.11 million gallons for the day. Which is nowhere near the 15 (million) required for the additional redundancy,” he added.

Sindel described the proposed development as “an all-age community equipped with a clubhouse and pool, basketball courts, sports fields, walking trails, barbecues, picnic pavilions and a community garden” and units would range from two to three bedrooms.

Residents who voiced concern about the possible later development of the Tree Farm Village property said a traffic study is needed, and some speakers questioned the true affordability of the proposed housing units.

cburney@durangoherald.com