Planning commission gives unanimous nod to Tierra Azul

Preliminary Development Plan heads to city council

Posted

ALAMOSA — The City of Alamosa's Planning Commission voted unanimously in their Wednesday night meeting to recommend that the Preliminary Development Plan (PDP) for the Tierra Azul housing development be sent to the city council for approval.

The PDP is the first step in a multi-step process that could result in the construction of 412 economically and architecturally diverse residential units on 43 acres around 8th and Craft on the south side of Alamosa. The project is a groundbreaking move to address a crisis-level shortage of affordable housing in Alamosa identified in a 2021 housing assessment.

It is a significant step on a project that has already been three years in the making as part of a collaborative effort between the city's Development Services staff and Colorado Resources and Housing Development Corporation (CRHDC). The fruits of weekly meetings between city staff and CRHDC, consideration and accommodation of multiple factors plus, according to city planner Deacon Aspinwall, 50 different renditions and layouts were on display when Aspinwall presented the PDP to the commission.

CHRDC, referred to as "the applicant" in city documents, plans to build a "mixed residential-use neighborhood consisting of single-family dwellings, townhome clusters, 8-plex medium-density multifamily units, 30-plex medium-high density multifamily units, and an amenity space/clubhouse.

"This is the first development within Alamosa to be designed with the 'ladder' of housing shared open space for lower-cost purchase options or upper-end rentals to single-family homes…a housing spectrum is precisely what was envisioned in the Housing Action Plan," the PDP reads.

That building will occur over three phases, with the first phase expected to be complete in six years after CRHDC gets final approval to proceed. The remaining two phases will each take place in five-year intervals after the first.

The structures will be modular, a term that carries a general connotation that unfairly undermines its quality and belies its advantages. Modular housing is constructed to the same standards as "stick built" housing but is built in factory-controlled conditions, which not only protects the materials from the elements but also speeds up the pace of construction while lowering its cost on a square foot basis. Once constructed, modular homes are then transported to the site where final construction takes place.

Aspinwall told the commission that making the units modular could lower the price by as much as $25 per square foot, a significant consideration when making the housing not just accessible but affordable, whether people plan to buy or rent.

The housing development is estimated to provide homes for about 1,000 people. When asked about the impact on the overall population of the city, Aspinwall said it was difficult to predict. However, the 2021 housing assessment conducted by the city indicated that additional housing would serve those who are currently living with family members or friends, those who are working outside of the city of Alamosa but wish to move into the city proper, and those who are moving here from other places to either accept a position or work remotely.

Aspinwall likened it to the "frog in boiling water" — a not-so-pleasant analogy but one that illustrates that growth will be over such an extended time that residents will not feel a significant impact as the development goes through its construction phases.

To illustrate his point, Aspinwall reminded the commission that the population of Alamosa has grown by 25% in the last 30 years.

Also, employers' ability to recruit and hire professionals to work in Alamosa has long been hampered by the lack of affordable housing. This concern was documented in the city's 2021 housing assessment.

The PDP estimates that the housing development will bring about 258 new students to the Alamosa School District. While the assumption may be that so many new students will incur a cost the district cannot absorb, Aspinwall shared numbers with the commission that indicate the opposite is true.

The district is currently funded by property taxes, paid largely by residential owners and, to a lesser degree, by commercial property owners. But the state has also supplemented that revenue to the district at a rate that, according to the PDP, will result in a net positive impact of $136,832 for ASD each year.

In terms of revenue to the city, it is estimated that, after projected costs for the project are subtracted from projected increased revenue from property taxes, the city will experience a predicted annual revenue surplus of $761,189.

When asked about infrastructure to support the development, Aspinwall answered specific questions but also made the larger point that the construction of such a well-thought-out housing development over a period of roughly two decades puts the city in the position of predicting growth and taking steps to meet the need versus being confronted with growth that they then have to adjust to meeting. 

The presentation provided an abundance of additional information, all of that can be viewed in the PDP located on the city council's website as an attachment to the planning commission's March 29 meeting.

Before the unanimous vote, Aspinwall read a quote from the PDP that summarizes the intent of the development — "This is a designed community the likes of which we have not seen in Alamosa before but desire to see much of in the future. The Tierra Azul neighborhood results from months of planning and professional consultation to provide the highest and best use of the property and serve the desperate need for housing in the city."

With the planning commission's unanimous recommendation, it is anticipated that the city council will take up the issue at their next regularly scheduled meeting in April.