Durango’s workforce – police, firefighters, teachers, young families – can’t afford housing inside city limits, and city staff are trying to find creative ways to tackle the problem.
Affordable housing is cropping up as one of Durango’s top priorities in 2021. The City Council listed it among its top five goals. Residents and community leaders have repeatedly said it is a fundamental challenge for families and attracting new employees.
This week, the city outlined its plans to re-evaluate and revamp its existing programs while gathering data and input about new ways to create affordable housing.
“We worked really hard over the years to say, ‘Because housing is such a crucial issue, we need to weigh all of our decisions, all of our applications, in that light,” said Scott Shine, city planning manager, during a City Council study session Tuesday. “We’re also are focusing on housing as a top priority throughout our department, and where we can, throughout the entire organization.”
Many Durangoans don’t want the city to turn into a tourism-focused, mountain resort town. They want it to be a place where people can live, work, raise a family, start a business and retire.
But people in essential jobs frequently earn less than they need for housing: teachers earn $45,000 to $50,000 or less, food service workers average in the $20,000s and many workers in construction trades make in the $25,000 to $45,000 range, according to the 2018 Durango Housing Plan.
For those who earn between 80% and 120% of the household area median income, which was $66,160 in 2019, it can be difficult to find “affordable” housing, which costs 30% or less of their income.
For these people to purchase a home affordably, they would have to find something that costs between $240,000 and about $360,000. That’s with a 30-year mortgage, zero down payment and a 2.5% interest rate, Shine said.
“Between $240,000 and $360,000, there’s probably not a lot available,” he said. “We need to really focus on incentivized housing in that range.”
Several councilors agreed affordable housing for the city’s workforce should be a priority.
“I would love to see (workforce housing) be a key part of this program so that people who are working in those communities can actually live and work in Durango. That’s what makes a great community,” said Councilor Melissa Youssef.
The city is making progress on its goal to create 1,000 housing units that are affordable for the long term by 2040. So far, 524 long-term affordable units exist in Durango.
In 2020, 53 affordable units opened through the Volunteers of America senior housing, a development on land donated from the city’s land bank. The city also permitted 40 affordable units at Espero Apartments, near Greenmount Cemetery, which are expected to open in 2021.
City staff also started looking into development options for city-owned land in 2020.
Staff members are also considering changing parking standards to reduce barriers for housing developers.
The city’s Fair Share ordinance, a local affordable housing law passed in 2009, might need to be updated and re-evaluated, said Kevin Hall, assistant city manager.
Under that law, developers must make 16% of new units affordable to low-income buyers, or they can pay a fee in lieu of doing affordable housing units.
“That ordinance and program was really intended to put units on the ground,” Hall said. “What we’re finding is that it’s a fee-in-lieu program at this point, which is certainly helpful. But it wasn’t what was intended a decade-plus ago.”
The money from the fee goes to the HomesFund to provide mortgage assistance of up to $25,000 to help new residents bridge the gap between high home prices and low wages in the area. As of July, the HomesFund had provided 29 assistance loans through the Fair Share fee-in-lieu program, helping 60 people reach homeownership.
The city is considering modifying the ordinance, and its procedures, to make it more effective. Staff members also plan to work with HomesFund to determine other possible uses for the Fair Share fees.
“The (mortgage assistance program) is probably one of our most effective tools right now,” Hall said. “But we do think we should look at some other alternatives.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
