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HomeMy WebLinkAboutbocc.res.021.2005RESOLUTION OF THE PITKIN COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SUPPORTING THE BURLINGAME AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT Resolution No. tga~/ -2005 RECITALS 1. The BOCC supports the Burlingame affordable housing development for the following reasons: The 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP) and other studies and plans such as the Interim Aspen Area Citizens Housing Plan, and the 2002 Aspen Affordable Housing Strategic Plan have affirmed that there is an additional need for affordable housing which will house workers generated by jobs in Aspen and elsewhere in the upper Roaring Fork Valley. The AACP Housing policies include: "Providing 800 to 1300 additional affordable housing units within the Aspen Community Growth Boundary" · The Housing Strategic Plan re-confirmed an existing shortfall of 995 units. The Burlingame development is located within the Urban Growth Boundary UGB as defined by the 2000 Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP). The UGB is defined as an area in which urban levels of development should be located because this is where centralized services are available such as water, sewer and bus service. 1998 The Interim Aspen Area Citizen Housing Plan notes that housing should strive to meet as many of the following Criteria as possible and the BOCC believes that the Burlingame project meets the majority of these criteria: 1. Community Growth Boundary Location; 2. Proximity to available public mass transit; 3. "Containable Development" compatible with neighborhood and does not promote sprawl; 4. Contiguous to existing public facilities and infrastructure; 5. Amenable to transit, bike and pedestrian oriented design; 6. Visual compatibility with surrounding area; 7. Optimize the site's development potential; 8. Contributes to the Aspen/Pitkin County housing goals; 9. Quality of life: range of income groups, mixed uses, access to open space; 10. Quality of design and construction; 11. Utilize and conserve natural features; 12. Fiscal impact of site compared to other sites. The BOCC upholds green building construction requirements for affordable housing and believes in providing a sustainable product for the employee. The Burlingame development provides workers with the ability to live within the community in which they work. This generates vitality and sense of community for both the worker and the community as a whole. The ownership component of the project allows a degree of permanency for the individual, pride of ownership and makes economic sense for someone to invest his or her time as an employee in the Aspen area. The Burlingame development lessens the strain on Highway 82 and RFTA relative to longer commutes from communities further down the valley. Getting people off the highway makes it safer and helps to preserve air quality and lessen stress for the employee. The Housing section of the 2000 AACP states: "When employees have an opportunity to live near where they work, their reliance on the automobile lessens and they have an opportunity to become apart of the town's social fabric." NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners that they hereby support the Burlingame Affordable Housing Development because it reflects the policies of the Board of County Commissioners concerning affordable housing as stated below: CITIZEN HOUSING: It is the policy of the County to ensure the existence of a supply of desirable and affordable housing for persons employed in Pitkin County, senior citizens, the handicapped, and other qualified persons of Pitkin County. Pitkin County seeks to preserve existing affordable housing to the extent possible and to encourage the development of affordable housing within established urban growth boundaries, where employment, services and facilities are typically already established. · A diversity of housing types and densities is encouraged in order to ensure affordable housing for a range of individuals and families. Citizen housing outside of the urban growth boundaries is only acceptable where the densities are appropriate for the surrounding area, and where such development is containable. Caretaker or employee dwelling units may be acceptable uses in a rural environment. Projects such as Burlingame would not be appropriate outside the Urban Growth Boundary. '1,' Rehabilitation of existing residential facilities is promoted where feasible, as the use of existing units promotes affordable housing goals without increasing growth rates or impacts LAND USE PATTERNS: It is the policy of the County to locate future urban development within adopted urban growth boundaries in order to eliminate residential sprawl and strip commercial development, to ensure the provision of adequate service levels, to preserve agriculture, forestry and open space land uses, and to maximize the utility of funds invested in public facilities and services. Lands outside the growth boundaries will be deemed most appropriate for the preservation of agriculture, natural habitat, environmental resoumes, open space and rural residential uses. Planned unit style development (PUD), designed to integrate siting in harmony with the environment and consistent with land use policies, is encouraged. Such development tends to minimize the cost of governmental and other services, maximize open space, preserve agricultural lands, and minimize automobile congestion and hazardous conditions on public roads and highways. APPROVED AND ADOPTED on the a~ ~day of /~b~..td,~O~/ , 2005. ATTEST: ~ Deputy Clerk and Recorder BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITKIN COUNTY COLORADO Date: fi"[,q,~cff ~ 200.5-- APPROVED AS TO FORM: John Els( APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: ~ihdy Hou~en - Community Development Director 4