Telluride School District to buy Lawson Hill lots; county adopts amended deed restriction with sale deadlines

The San Miguel County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday approved an exception agreement permitting the Telluride R‑1 School District to buy vacant Lawson Hill lots and adopted an amended and restated affordable‑housing covenant to govern those lots.

The board, sitting as the San Miguel County Housing Authority, approved the exception agreement that requires the school district to obtain certificates of occupancy for the acquired lots by Sept. 30, 2028, and adopted a revised covenant that clarifies which duplex and single‑family lots must be sold and which may be sold or rented.

Why it matters: The move transfers responsibility for building and selling deed‑restricted affordable housing from Telluride Ski & Golf (TSG) to the local school district, accelerating a plan the county says is intended to expand housing options for district employees and others. Commissioners and community members said they wanted clearer language in the covenant to prevent future confusion about which units must be sold rather than leased.

The covenant amendments adopted Wednesday revise section 3.5 to state that, except for Sunshine Valley duplex lots SV 110‑R and SV 120‑R (which the school district “shall sell to any qualified purchasers”), the school district “shall be permitted to rent or sell at its sole discretion all duplexes and triplexes it builds as affordable housing” on lots Q4R, Q5R, Q32R, Q33R and Q34R. The board also struck two sentences in section 3.6 that would have allowed single‑family sales homes to be leased if not sold after a short marketing period.

County counsel Maura Fahey told the board the revised language mirrors the sale‑vs. rental structure previously imposed on TSG, but shortens the deadline for the school district to finish construction: "The proposed exception agreement requires the school district to develop and obtain certificates of occupancy for all vacant lots no later than 09/30/2028," she said.

Telluride R‑1 Superintendent John Pandolfo, who supported the agreements, told commissioners he expects the district’s employees will be among the buyers: "I do not anticipate we are gonna have trouble having our employees, buy the 6 units that are included here…From all the surveys we've done… I do believe they will sell," he said.

Two Rivers Homeowners Association members who spoke during public comment thanked the board for the clarifications but reiterated neighborhood concerns about infrastructure commitments by the previous owner TSG. Patrick Sheehan, 2 Rivers HOA board, asked the county to make sale obligations explicit; Anna Wilson, a 2 Rivers board member, said she preferred deleting the fallback language that would permit leasing, noting past units remained vacant even after temporary rental allowances. Both citizens asked for follow‑up on private commitments (trash shed and bus stop) that had been part of earlier agreements with TSG.

What the board approved: Two separate motions — one to approve the exception agreement allowing the Telluride R‑1 School District to purchase the specified Lawson Hill lots; a second to adopt the amended and restated covenant as revised on the record (with the changes to sections 3.5 and 3.6 described above). Both motions passed unanimously.

Key details and next steps: The exception agreement and revised covenant retain the prior structure requiring certain lots to be sold (not rented) and allow other lots to be sold or rented, but shorten the school district’s timetable for completing construction to Sept. 30, 2028. The county noted that once the district closes on purchase of the lots, the newly adopted covenant will be substituted for TSG’s covenant on those parcels; the TSG covenant will remain in effect only on lots TSG keeps.

Commissioners asked staff to follow up on neighborhood infrastructure concerns directly with the school district and the Two Rivers HOA; county staff said private obligations between TSG and the HOA remain private agreements and are not county enforceable.

Ending: The board’s approvals clear the way for the school district to close on the vacant Lawson Hill lots and to sign the amended covenant at closing. Commissioners said they are monitoring the timeline and will expect staff to return with any substantive changes or outstanding issues before final signatures are recorded.