Owners propose workforce housing on Shady Oak parcel and ask council to consider fines abatement

Owners of the Willow Courtyard mobile-home park told the Cresco City Council on June 15 they want to explore redeveloping the Shady Oak portion of the property into workforce housing and asked whether the city would consider mitigating nuisance fines to help finance predevelopment work.

Steve Heights and Derek Jitler (owners) described persistent property-maintenance problems among a subset of tenants and said repeated remediation efforts produce temporary results. Derek described preliminary developer interest and a conceptual plan that could yield roughly 50 workforce units on the Shady Oak parcel but said the pro forma requires tax incentives or stacked local abatements to produce affordable rents.

"We would really like to explore the idea of development, primarily on the, uh, Shady Oak side of the park," Derek said, adding that financing and incentives are necessary to make the project viable. The owners asked council to consider one of several options discussed during the meeting: (1) temporarily hold or mitigate nuisance fines contingent on demonstrated progress toward redevelopment, (2) make fines abatement conditional on a binding development agreement, or (3) allow the owners to proceed without abatement and pay the fines.

Council members pressed the owners on specific issues: exactly what improvements had been made since purchase (owners cited paving and partnership-based cleanup efforts), the legal and cost implications of evicting tenants who may lack means to move trailers, and who would bear the cost of trailer removal if units are abandoned. Staff advised that rezoning would require a petition of adjacent property owners within 300 feet, planning and zoning hearings and possible city attorney input to craft any conditional abatement plan.

Council members emphasized their interest in finding a long-term solution that protects neighbors and supports workforce housing, but repeatedly warned that any arrangement to waive or reduce fines must be carefully structured. One councilmember summarized the council's practical concern: if fines are suspended and the property is sold before redevelopment proceeds, the city could be left with cleanup costs and no development outcome.

Owners said the property is also listed for sale and they have entertained offers; they indicated a realistic best-case schedule that could produce a groundbreaking by the end of next summer if incentives, approvals and financing align.

Next steps: owners will continue discussions with staff about rezoning and incentive options; staff and legal counsel will evaluate whether a conditional fines mitigation or abatement agreement can be structured to protect the city and ensure a credible path to redevelopment.