{"id":45016,"date":"2021-08-25T00:41:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T06:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bayfield-pushes-ahead-with-affordable-housing-plan-after-batting-down-concerns\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:22:55","slug":"bayfield-pushes-ahead-with-affordable-housing-plan-after-batting-down-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/bayfield-pushes-ahead-with-affordable-housing-plan-after-batting-down-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Bayfield pushes ahead with affordable housing plan, after batting down concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"An
An architectural image of proposed duplexes the town of Bayfield is planning to develop to provide 60 units of attainable housing in town.<\/span>Patrick Armijo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bayfield is moving ahead with the town\u2019s affordable housing development, called Cinnamon Heights, even as a few community members call for the project to stop.<\/p>\n

Across La Plata County, attainable housing stock is low and prices are sky-high. In response, Bayfield embarked on a plan to buy 30 lots, for a total of $710,000, and turn them into new townhomes with deed restrictions to maintain affordable living options in the town.<\/p>\n

About three community members have submitted statements opposing the development, citing concerns about the government\u2019s role in the project, transparency and funding. The town board, feeling the majority of the community supports the project, pushed back against those concerns in a work session Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is listening to the community, and that\u2019s who you are supposed to represent,\u201d said Lori Lazzeri, a Bayfield community member who opposes the project. \u201cI\u2019m just appalled that this small town of Bayfield, that I want to be a part of, is not looking out for the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lazzeri said the town\u2019s involvement adds a layer of cost to the project and expressed concern that the town would go bankrupt or have to raise taxes to pay for the project. She said there has been a lack of transparency and the town board did not have the experience to complete the development project. She cited two other Bayfield area community members who felt the same way, although they did not speak at the work session.<\/p>\n

\u201cSell this land, and let the market work it out,\u201d she said. \u201cBuilders will come \u2026 and they will do it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trustee Brenna Morlan said she has heard support for the project from others in the community through her work in the banking industry and with the town chamber of commerce, local Rotary chapter, library and other organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not heard anyone else say this is a bad idea,\u201d Morlan said. \u201cEveryone I talk to is saying, \u2018Great job. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re doing this.\u2019 I\u2019m taking the majority (opinion). I take the majority every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The town plans to designate about 25 to 28 of the future townhomes as deed-restricted and priced around $275,000.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s lower than rising home ownership prices. For 2020, the median-priced townhome in Bayfield was $331,500, according to the Durango Area Association of Realtors. Homes in a nearby subdivision, Clover Meadows, have been selling for about $400,000, according to the town.<\/p>\n

Renters are also struggling to meet rising housing costs. Rent for a two-bedroom unit in Bayfield is $1,190 each month, which requires a yearly income of $47,600, according to a HomesFund presentation at the meeting.<\/p>\n

A 2021 housing study said affordable housing will be an increasing issue for Bayfield if housing stock is not increased, said Mayor Pro Tem Kristin Dallison during the work session.<\/p>\n

In response to rumors that Town Manager Katie Sickles bullied the board into pursuing the project, the Bayfield town board said Sickles only carried out the board\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s completely false,\u201d said Mayor Ashleigh Tarkington. \u201cWe\u2019re free-thinkers, and for people to say that we\u2019re not, that one kind of hurts as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding concerns about transparency, Tarkington said the town followed state requirements for posting meetings and minutes and got the word out on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, our job up here is to solve problems and to address the concerns of the citizens of Bayfield,\u201d Tarkington said. \u201cIf you\u2019re from Forest Lakes, we love to hear your comments, but at the end of the day, you\u2019re not our constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several trustees reminded attendees of the board\u2019s qualifications in banking, building and planning \u2013 emphasizing they can rely on partnerships and advisers to fill in any gaps in expertise for the project.<\/p>\n

The town board recently approved $85,000 to complete site planning and engineering work on the Cinnamon Heights lots.<\/p>\n

As the town moves forward with the project, the town will have to face other complications, such as heightened construction costs and securing grant funding, according to representatives from HomesFund and TBK Bank.<\/p>\n

The townhomes will have to match existing codes, architectural requirements and other plans for the existing neighborhood. The main difference will be that some of the homes will be deed-restricted, the board members said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deed restrictions are put in place to help protect the economics of the area,\u201d Morlan said. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to put people into those properties that are intending to make (a profit) off of it. We\u2019re putting people in those properties that intend to live and be part of this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trustees address rumors, questions from a few vocal community members<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[731,28,453],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-45016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bayfield","tag-headlines","tag-housing-and-urban-planning"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86315,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45016\/revisions\/86315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45016"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=45016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}