Truckee council authorizes DDA to advance 12-unit Edmonds Lofts workforce housing pilot

The Town Council authorized the town manager to enter into a disposition and development agreement with Paradigm 8 and Sage Modern to develop Edmonds Lofts, a 12-unit workforce housing pilot on a roughly one-third-acre town-owned parcel.

Town planning staff and the developer team told council the project is intended as a pilot to test higher-density multifamily housing on a constrained infill site that is walkable to schools and public services. The preliminary design presented calls for 12 units — six studios and six one-bedroom apartments — with 14 parking spaces (12 resident and two guest spaces) and covered carports. Two units would be deed-restricted for households at 80% of area median income (AMI); the remaining 10 units would be deed-restricted and marketed at affordability levels with a rent cap set at 120% of AMI and marketing flexibility up to 180% of AMI if necessary for project feasibility.

Town planners said the project will request a planned development overlay to adjust development standards (setbacks, site coverage, open space and parking) and noted that one of the planned development mandatory features is providing a defined community benefit. Staff asked council whether the proposed affordability mix — two units at 80% AMI and the remaining deed-restricted with the rent cap mechanism — would satisfy the planned development community benefit requirement.

Blair Porteous of Sage Modern, the project architect, walked through the site plan and renderings, saying the design responds to the site’s slope and aims to provide livable workforce units, private balconies and storage facilities for each unit. The project team said they plan to work with Truckee Tahoe Housing and other local housing managers on tenant qualification and property management.

Council members asked about parking trade‑offs, the project’s affordability mechanics, operations and verification of income eligibility. Staff said the deed‑restriction program administered by the Sierra Business Council (SBC) is available to record affordability; the developer also proposed a credit option (selling in‑lieu credits to other projects) but said that approach carries implementation risk and would require additional code or program work. Staff and the developer confirmed the project would be subject either to the multifamily objective design standards in Town Code chapter 18.25 or to a flexible design review under chapter 18.24.

After deliberation, council voted unanimously to authorize the town manager to execute the DDA with Paradigm 8 and Sage Modern and directed staff to continue negotiating final deal points consistent with the project presentation.

The Council and staff emphasized Edmonds Lofts is a pilot: they said they want to learn from the project about development code constraints on small, infill affordable housing sites and to use lessons learned to inform future housing work in Truckee.