Summit County Citizens Voice

Housing was the main topic at a joint BOCC-Frisco work session Tuesday evening.

Town and county want to develop a combined approach to housing, with a focus on finding locations in the existing urban areas

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — County commissioners and Frisco town council members are generally on the same page when it comes to affordable housing. New projects should reflect a combined housing strategy, commissioner Thomas Davidson said during a joint work session Tuesday evening. To that end, the county and the town may set up a small working group to discuss potential projects.

Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier said the county was paying attention as Frisco went through the public process of approving an affordable housing project on the 12-acre Peak One parcel, especially as it related to a perceived conflict between housing and open space.

“The best place for housing is in the core of the developed urban areas,” Stiegelmeier said. “We want to work with towns and take advantage of the best locations,” she said, adding that the buffer areas between local towns should be avoided if possible.

Frisco town manager Michael Penny agreed, saying that areas adjacent to development, serviced existing infrastructure, are the most appropriate in order to avoid unwanted sprawl.

Frisco and the county have held some early talks with the U.S. Forest Service about potential housing development on a big parcel of federal land between I-70 and the Dam Road called the Lake Hill Parcel. The Forest Service may be interested in disposing of the tract, which is cut off from adjacent national forest lands, or perhaps developing a long-term lease agreement that could provide opportunities for housing, including for Forest Service rangers.

Whether that parcel falls into the buffer category was not addressed at the joint work session, but some local open space advocates have expressed concern about potential development in that area, calling it an important buffer between Frisco and Dillon.

Friso officials also asked whether the county had any updated plans for senior housing in the County Commons area. A small parcel near the community and senior center has been identified as a possible site for senior housing, but the county commissioners said there aren’t any immediate plans to move ahead with development. For the short-term, the tract near the center will be used for community greenhouses starting this spring.

Wwe do have that parcel identified, and we’re not interested in taking that parcel away, even though some people say it’s too small to make a business model work,” said commissioner Thomas Davidson. “From my standpoint, we’re not going to shake up the master plan for the county commons to carve out a big chunk for senior housing,” he said, raising questions about how far into old age people can remain in the high country.

“Land is very valuable up here, it’s very hard to come by. For the time being, our priority will be for workforce housing over senior housing,” he said. Davidson suggested there should be more of a focus on finding ways for seniors to “age in place,” remaining in their own homes. He said that’s the preference for most people.

Filed under: affordable housing, Summit County Colorado Tagged: | affordable housing, county government, Frisco, senior housing, Summit County commons