Five candidates for Durango City Council outlined plans Thursday on how they would address housing, homelessness and safety along East Third Avenue among other problems in town.
The Boulevard Neighborhood Association hosted the educational forum at the First Presbyterian Church for Chris Bettin, Melissa Youssef, Tom Eskew, Dave McHenry and incumbent Councilor Dean Brookie to explain their views.
They are competing for three seats in an election that will be decided on April 4. Mail-in ballots will go out March 18.
The candidates agreed that housing is a priority, but they differed on how to address problems.
Brookie would like to see deed-restrictions so that once affordable housing is created, it could not be turned into a vacation rental or some other use.
Allowing tiny homes to expand options for affordable housing beyond apartments and condos could be another avenue, McHenry said.
Fees on real estate transactions could provide a source of revenue to help support housing, Bettin said.
Once Three Springs is fully built out, those homes will help meet much of the city’s housing needs, and Youssef said she would like to encourage growth there.
“Development will go where it can afford to go,” she said.
Infill along north Main Avenue could also help, Eskew said.
Councilors also had some diverse ideas to improve safety along East Third Avenue.
Bettin, Brookie and Youssef would like to consider separated bike lanes and reducing the number of vehicle lanes to one in each direction.
McHenry would like to see the city put in a pedestrian light at East Third Avenue, 15th Street and Florida Road and four stop signs at 10th Street and Third Avenue.
Eskew suggested lowering the speed limit along many residential streets to 15 mph.
When asked about the impact of more homeless people, most candidates generally agreed greater police presence downtown is needed.
The city stopped enforcing an ordinance against loitering for the purposes of begging in 2014 after it received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union claiming it violated free-speech rights. The rules were later revised, but some residents noticed panhandling has become more visible.
“I would be in favor of pushing the boundaries with the ACLU,” Bettin said.
The new police chief plans to direct officers to walk around downtown and spend time at Manna to help address the problem, Brookie said.
Several candidates would like to research solutions that other cities are using.
“We need to step up and find out what is working in other places,” McHenry said.
Introducing a residential habitability code also gained support from all but Eskew.
“The market should sort itself out,” he said.
Others think the code could help prevent renters from living in substandard conditions.
Bettin would like to see a certification program introduced to encourage people to improve their rentals.
“I would encourage us to look at it like a carrot, not a stick,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to correct the number of lanes East Third Avenue would have if reconfigured.
