Photo: ‘Housing Action Plan’ community meeting on January 21, 2026.
Term and Renewal
i. Permit valid for five (5) years from issuance.
ii. Renewal requires re-inspection of utilities and continued compliance.
iii. County may revoke permits pursuant to Section 1.4 for safety, sanitation, or compliance issues…
— excerpt of proposed changes to the County Land Use Regulations related to living in RVs year-round, to be discussed by the Archuleta County Planning Commission tonight, January 22 at 6pm.
The community — the Archuleta County community — is thinking about housing these days. And talking about housing.
And when I say, “housing”, I mean the type of housing that’s affordable for a household earning $50,000 a year or less. That’s a significant percentage of the households in Archuleta County.
Several dozen people gathered at the Ross Aragon Community Center yesterday, to discuss the idea of a “Housing Action Plan”. The Town of Pagosa Springs government and the Archuleta County government are required by a 2024 state law — SB24-174 — to develop such a plan and file a copy with the state government if they hope to be considered for future housing grants from the state.
I haven’t yet read the entire text of SB24-174 (which you can download here) but I did review the summary of the law published by the Colorado legislature, and found this information:
On and after December 1, 2027, for any grant program conducted by the department, the Colorado energy office, the office of economic development, the department of transportation, the department of natural resources, the department of public health and environment, or the department of personnel and administration that awards grants to local governments for the primary purpose of supporting land use planning or housing, the act requires the awarding entity to prioritize awarding grants to a local government that:
- Has completed and filed a housing needs assessment;
- Has adopted a housing action plan that has been accepted by the department;
- Has reported progress to the department regarding the adoption of any strategies or changes to local laws identified in the housing action plan; and
- Is the subject of a master plan that includes a water supply element and a strategic growth element.
Archuleta County and Pagosa Springs contracted for, and filed, a “housing needs assessment” last year, so that part of the process is completed. (I believe the assessment has to be updated every five years?) The community meeting at the Community Center yesterday marked one of the first steps in Step Two”: adopting a housing action plan that the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) finds “acceptable”.
I hope someone knows what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.
As is typical at these types of community meetings, participants were invited to place stickers and sticky notes on large printed posters, to indicate their preferences, questions and ideas. One of the posters asked which specific housing issues the participants want to see prioritized.
As we can see, the answer was “All of the Above”. Which is not really a helpful answer, but it reflects the seriousness of the problem.
Another of the posters showed some data from last year’s Housing Needs Assessment, as a bar graph. The consultants last year estimated that we will need 1,300 new housing units over the next few years, with the majority of those units aimed at low-wage workers (434 units) and middle-wage workers. (76 units plus 364 units).
The consultants last year suggested that all of the units for low-wage workers ought to be “rental units”. And about half of the units for middle-wage workers should also be rentals. Some placed a sticky note on the “51-80% AMI” bar (low-wage households) that said:
Why only rentals needed at this income level? I disagree. I fall in this category. I prefer to own [rather than] rent.
An interesting comment. There are two local organizations — Habitat for Humanity and Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation — currently creating homes aimed at families making around 80% AMI (Area Median Income). Typically, to allow this income demographic to qualify for mortgages for these homes, the home must be priced at below $300,000.
These two organizations together built a total of three such homes last year.
We need 434 such units. So it’s all well and good to say that you “prefer” to own rather than rent, but the prospects are not very good at the moment.
Which brings us back to families living in RVs.
The Archuleta County Planning Commission will meet tonight at 6pm at the County administration building, to discuss proposed changes to the County Land Use Regulations (LUR). The County has been allowing families to live year-round in RVs for the past several years, but has required them to apply for a new permit every 6 months, and has supposedly been inspecting the RV every six months.
The revisions to the LUR would establish two categories for people living in RVs.
1. Recreational Vehicle Temporary Use Permits
2. Five-Year Utility-Connected RV Occupancy Permit
The people with a “Temporary Use Permit” would be allowed to use a variety of methods for dealing with human waste, including composting toilets and vault toilets (outhouses).
The folks applying for a Five-Year Permit would have to be connected to a County-certified septic system or public utility.
Obviously, the housing crisis has sunk to a point where the County imagines families living in RVs for at least five years.
The proposed changes to the LUR also allow only one RV per parcel unless the parcel is larger than 3 acres, in which case two RVs would be allowed.
I find it interesting that where I live in downtown Pagosa Springs, I’m allowed to construct up to four full-size dwellings on a 1/6-acre parcel… but out in the county, I apparently need more than 3 acres to accommodate two RVs.
Can the smart people who lead our community and who know how serious the problem is…
…get out of their own way?
Read Part Six, tomorrow…