Moab Area Housing Task Force outlines priorities, asks council for $10,000 support

The Moab Area Housing Task Force presented its annual update to the council on May 12, asking the city to reaffirm support for implementation steps of the 2023 affordable housing plan and to consider a $10,000 community contribution.

Johanna, the task force chair, explained that the group was formed by an interlocal agreement in 2009 to carry out and recommend priorities from the affordable housing plan. The task force described recent work including two communitywide housing surveys used by local nonprofits for grant writing, outreach at community events, research into deed‑restriction templates and plans to update the moabousing.com site.

“We'd ask for a commitment to prioritize the housing priorities made by the city committee,” Johanna said, listing Walnut Lane, deed‑restriction administration, the land‑use code update, ongoing funding and a housing toolbox for the code rewrite.

Ben Riley, who identified himself as treasurer for the task force and noted county grant support, reviewed a modest budget and requested a $10,000 contribution to help pay for community events, outreach and legal document drafting for deed‑restriction programs. He said most of the task force budget currently supports community events and the housing pipeline website and that outside assistance would reduce reliance on volunteer time.

Councilors acknowledged the group's work and asked staff to continue pipeline tracking and to coordinate on deed‑restriction and code‑rewrite items. No formal vote was taken on the funding request during the meeting; council asked for further coordination between staff and the task force.