One of the more controversial projects being proposed within the Pagosa Springs community — the planned ‘Pagosa Views’ subdivision — jumped through another hoop last night at the Pagosa Springs Town Council meeting, with the unanimous approval of Ordinance 989.
Or we might say, the developers jumped ‘half-way’ through another hoop. A Town ordinance requires two readings, and last night was merely the first reading. The second reading will be performed in a couple of weeks.
Ordinance 989 — if finally approved — will create a special zoning overlay for the subdivision that will allow, among other concessions, four-story apartment buildings and condominiums. The overlay agreement will also prohibit STRs — Short Term Rentals — within the subdivision. About 675 dwelling units are being proposed by the developers, to be built out in three phases. Also included in the plan are 144 ‘lodging units’.
The currently-undeveloped, well-treed parcel is located immediately west of the Pagosa Springs Elementary School and immediately south of Highway 160.
Only one member of the public spoke at the public hearing.
You can download Ordinance 989 here.
You can download the related Planned Development Agreement here.
One of the exhibits in the Planned Development Agreement discusses the developers’ intention to construct 70 units of ‘workforce housing’.
As the developers of the Pagosa Views mixed-use development we are committed to making Pagosa Springs a more affordable place to live, work and raise a family. That is why we are prepared to integrate “workforce housing” into our entire residential development project. Ten percent of the dwellings sold and leased will qualify as workforce housing as per the 2021-2022 Town of Pagosa Springs written guidelines.
The Pagosa Views “Land Use Summary” which has been provided to Town’s planning department and the Town’s Water District outlines how the project is being built in 3 phases. Workforce rental and for-sale dwellings will be included in all 3 phases, beginning in 2024 when the project will be opening for business. All workforce housing dwellings will be the same size and materials as the “market rate” dwellings and integrated into and throughout the entire development.
We commit to work in a spirit of cooperation with Town officials to identify and select those residents of Pagosa Springs that are qualified to participate in this program.
The 80-acre property is currently zoned ‘Rural Transition’, a zoning designation meant to preserve relatively large amounts of open space within new subdivisions. ‘RT’ zoning would allow up to about 160 dwelling units within the subdivision, instead of 675.
This is the second hoop that the developers have successfully jumped through at Town Hall, the first being a preliminary sketch plan approval, by Town Council, last month.
Many hoops remain.
Two of the remaining hoops? Inclusion into the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) for drinking water, and inclusion into the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District (PSSGID) for waste water treatment.
As we’ve discussed in previous editorials, the PSSGID waste water system pumps its sewage uphill through a seven-mile pipeline, to be treated at the PAWSD treatment plant near the Vista mobile home park.
The Vista plant was originally designed to serve a full build-out of the Pagosa Lakes subdivisions. There was no intention, then, for the Town to deliver sewage to the Vista plant.
The PSSGID board and the PAWSD board will be meeting jointly tomorrow at 5pm at Town Hall, and the future handling, and cost, of waste water treatment will be on the agenda.
The PSSGID board is composed of the Town Council members.
Following the joint PSSGID-PAWSD meeting, the PAWSD board will hold its own board meeting and will discuss, among other items, the possible inclusion of Pagosa Views into the district. A new report on the impacts of the proposed subdivision suggests that the PAWSD system has sufficient water to serve ‘Pagosa Views’ — but that certain infrastructure improvements will be required. The report also states that the proposed subdivision — by hooking up to PSSGID and the seven-mile sewer pipeline — will require expansion or modifications of the Vista Waste Water Treatment Plant earlier than originally planned.
Additional hoops include negotiations with CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) to provide access from Highway 160.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.