Planning commission recommends council approve CMC’s amendment on nine deed-restricted units at Basalt Center Circle

The Basalt Planning and Zoning Commission voted Feb. 18 to recommend that town council approve an amendment to the Basalt Center Circle (BCC) project to allow Colorado Mountain College (CMC) to acquire and set rental and resale priorities for nine deed‑restricted studio units at 140 Basalt Center Circle.

The commission’s recommendation follows a staff presentation describing the original BCC approvals (65 dwelling units and a grocery), the creation of 17 deed‑restricted units under Ordinance No. 9 (2024), and the fact that eight of those units already were purchased by organizations. Staff said nine units remain and CMC asked to buy them and to give CMC employees and CMC students who work in Basalt first rental priority, then broaden the priority to CMC employees and students across the Roaring Fork Valley if no local takers are available. CMC also requested a first right of purchase for its employees, with a 3% appreciation cap on resale.

CMC representative Steve Scatterin told the commission that ‘‘our students are generally people looking for career changes in life’’ and said many of the students who might occupy the units are training for locally essential roles such as EMS, fire science and skilled trades. Scatterin said CMC already owns two deed‑restricted units in a nearby development and that the requested priorities would help CMC support workforce training and local staffing.

Staff reported that the Basalt Affordable Community Housing commission (BACH) reviewed the request. BACH backed the proposed rental-priority language but opposed granting individual CMC employees a first‑purchase priority, saying that appears inconsistent with the intent of Ordinance No. 9 (2024), which staff said intended employers or organizations to buy units and then rent them under category limits. Staff recommended conditions to update deed‑restriction language so resale would follow the waterfall priority, and presented an alternate “box” recommendation that would remove the purchase‑priority sentences in condition 3.

Commissioners questioned how the priority would apply across CMC campuses (Aspen, Glenwood Springs and others), whether the units—studios split between category 1 and category 3—would meet employer needs, and what would happen if an employee who purchased a unit later stopped working for CMC. Staff and CMC representatives said CMC maintains private resale rules (including a grace period) and that, under the proposed condition language, deed restrictions would be amended so that resale would re-enter the waterfall and offer a first right back to CMC, then to the organizations listed in Ordinance No. 9.

Several commissioners voiced concern about extending purchase priority to students, arguing that students may be transient; others said CMC functions as a valley‑wide institution whose presence benefits Basalt and that the college’s workforce mission supports the request. After discussion, Commissioner Bill Maran moved ‘‘to recommend this to the town with the staff’s language, including the BACH modifications.’’ A second was made, the commission held a voice vote and the motion passed.

The commission’s action is a recommendation; town council will consider the amendment and any final deed‑restriction language. Staff said it will follow up with organizations that declined initial purchase offers to clarify why they passed on units and will ensure deed‑restriction language reflects the commission’s direction.