April 14, 2023 |
Photo – Saratoga Town Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Saratoga Planning Commission is considering different ways to tackle the town’s lack of budget-friendly housing and abundance of abandoned properties.
It’s no secret that Saratoga has an affordable housing problem. New home construction isn’t keeping pace with how fast the town is growing. Homes that end up on the real estate market are often priced out of reach for the average worker. During Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, members McCall Burau, Kathy Glode, and Mayor Chuck Davis brainstormed ways to address the issue.
Planning Commission Chairwoman Burau said a former member of the planning board had reached out to a representative from the United States Department of Agriculture about grant opportunities for cost-effective homes. The North Platte Valley Medical Center is partially funded by the USDA and the rep is expected to be in town to attend the grand opening on May 12th. The former planning commission member was attempting to meet with the USDA rep before abruptly quitting the planning commission. The plan is now in limbo and Burau said she wasn’t sure how to proceed.
Mayor Davis said he has spoken to Senator Cynthia Lummis’s office and learned that USDA funding may not be what the planning commission chairwoman expected, anyway.
A shortage of affordable housing isn’t unique to Saratoga. The entire country is experiencing a severe lack of low-cost homes for working-class people. The Great Recession of 2008 brought new construction to a halt. The market still hasn’t completely recovered. The lack of available homes has driven the median price of a house up by nearly 54% from 2010 to 2019. Mayor Davis said Senator Lummis’s staff informed him that the federal government has been unsuccessfully trying to find a solution.
Burau said the town’s 2016 Comprehensive Master Plan mentioned a lack of opportunities for senior citizens to age in place. Without lower priced houses available, seniors have few options for downsizing to smaller homes as they age. Burau suggested the planning commission investigate if the community would support subsidized housing for seniors.
Bryan Drake, owner of Triple D Construction, said he attempted to build subsidized senior housing, but he faced resistance to the project.
Burau said the median income for a family of four in Carbon County is $80,000. In Saratoga the median household income is less, around $62,000. Affordable housing cannot cost more than one-third of a family’s average monthly wage. Burau asked what type of government assistance could be used to incentivize builders to stay within that price point. Drake said the entire process is extremely complicated.
Subsidized housing and government grants may not be the best solution to Saratoga’s low-cost housing shortage. Burau said an easier path may be to focus on remediating abandoned properties. If the town can convince people to sell their vacant and dilapidated homes for a low price, they could sell the land to developers, opening the door for new and more affordable construction.
Planning Commission member Glode said if the town can get people to sell their blighted property for cheap, they could entice developers with the land. Burau asked what the town could offer to convince builders to keep the cost of construction down. Mayor Davis and Drake said the town cannot legally give the land to anyone.
It is illegal for the town to sell land to a private individual for less than the appraised value. The town is obligated to auction off any land to the highest bidder.
Burau said encouraging abandoned property owners to either sell or clean up their land would be the best course of action. Buying the land outright would allow for new construction and having the owner address their yard waste would make Saratoga look better.
Mayor Davis asked how many properties in town were considered abandoned. Drake said a local realtor told him 17 properties fit the description.
Burau and Glode said having a dedicated zoning enforcement officer would allow the town to easily address blighted lots. Saratoga hasn’t had a full-time zoning officer since 2020. The job has been intermittently handled by local contractors since that time. Mayor Davis said he is unwilling to hire a new full-time zoning officer because the money would be better spent on necessary improvements and repairs.
Mayor Davis said he would like to fold the zoning enforcement officer’s duties into the public works director position. The previous public works director, Jon Winter, resigned last October and the town has begun to advertise for his replacement.
Mayor Davis said a zoning officer doesn’t have the authority to issue citations for non-conforming properties. Only the police department may write tickets, and only if they are instructed to do so by the mayor.
The planning commission settled on sending letters to the owners of abandoned or blighted properties, asking them to clean up their land. Mayor Davis asked Burau to draft the letter and he would approve it. Burau asked about the legality of a targeted letter. Mayor Davis said the town has the authority to do so.
If an abandoned property owner refuses to address the violations in the letter, it would pave the way for the town to condemn any structures on the land.
The idea of a Saratoga Clean Up day, where residents would work together to remove trash and debris from the town, was discussed. Coincidentally, during the planning commission meeting, the Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District released a flier advertising free landfill access during the first weekend of May. Mayor Davis said Councilwoman Kathy Beck was planning a community-wide cleaning event. However, he said no date has been set.
