Planning staff previews HDHO overlay workshop and public infrastructure reimbursement program

Planning staff told the Grand County Planning and Zoning Board they will workshop proposed revisions to the HDHO (housing) overlay with the County Commission before scheduling public hearings and that staff are drafting a proposed public infrastructure reimbursement program aimed at encouraging development by allowing pro rata reimbursement to early infrastructure providers.

Chrissy Hawthorne, planning staff, said the HDHO revisions followed two earlier workshops and that she would circulate a red-lined draft to participants before a joint workshop with the County Commission and subsequent public hearings. "Once they sort of get their red lines of what I rewrote, then we will workshop that with the Planning Commission and the County Commission. And then those will go to a public hearing," Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne also described a public infrastructure reimbursement concept intended to help developers recover costs of large, shared improvements. She explained the model as a common approach used elsewhere: an initial developer builds costly infrastructure and future subdivisions tapping those facilities pay a pro rata share, providing reimbursement to the original builder. "If a developer is developing an area that requires very expensive and... involved infrastructure, that future subdivisions could tap onto those improvements and then the applicant who originally put them in would get a pro rata sort of reimbursement," Hawthorne said.

Trisha Dean, providing a County Commission update, expressed concern about packet preparation and legal review during recent Commission consideration of HDHO matters. "What was bothersome to me was the agenda item in general, was there was nothing in the packet," Dean said, and asked for improved vetting and acknowledgement of volunteer schedules for future subcommittee work. Dean credited staff including Laura, Caitlin and Vin Riley for substantial work preparing materials but said she wanted clearer procedures so volunteers and commissioners receive legally vetted documents before public meetings.

Board members asked whether the housing subcommittee meetings were recorded and whether materials were available; staff said they would circulate draft documents and that the revisions had been well-workshopped but would also be debated by the Planning Commission and County Commission in sequence.

No formal action was taken during the meeting on either the HDHO drafts or the infrastructure reimbursement concept; staff will return with red-lined HDHO revisions and a more developed reimbursement proposal for the Planning Commission and County Commission to consider and take to public hearing.