Developers caution Summit County: zoning and timeline risks could limit responses to Klein Valley RFP

Council and staff reviewed a draft RFP for housing on the Klein Valley parcel and then heard nearly three hours of developer feedback on feasibility, zoning and sequencing.

Tony Tyler, representing private developers, flagged rezone and entitlement risk as the chief deterrent to meaningful private-sector responses. "Don't ask for single family homes if you can't actually physically entitle them," Tyler told the council, urging removal or rework of unattainable product requirements.

Nonprofit and public-interest developers echoed that uncertainty about rezoning, confidentiality terms for financial disclosures, and an aggressive deadline across the holiday season would reduce the quality of proposals. Jason Glidden of Mountainlands Community Housing Trust urged reducing risk: "The more uncertainty you can take out of a proposal ... the less risk there is for a person that's proposing."

Design professionals recommended staging the RFP into a master-plan phase followed by a more detailed schematic-design round. Craig Elliott advised extending the schedule to three months (or more, given holidays) for a conceptual submission rather than a full schematic package.

Council direction: members directed staff to revise the RFP to be phased, clarify whether the county will initiate any rezoning (to reduce developer risk), simplify submittal requirements to avoid forcing large upfront design costs, and to circulate an updated draft by email for council comment before publication.

What’s next: staff will update the RFP to reflect a phased master-plan-first approach, extend timelines over the holidays, and return an amended document to council (via email circulation and possible follow-up meeting) before release.