Aspen council debates employer-paid priority for Lumberyard housing

Council members spent the work session probing an employer-partnership proposal that would let private employers pay a fee to receive priority for their employees in the Lumberyard housing lottery.

Chris Everson, the city's Affordable Housing Development Project Manager, described the basic concept: "employers may pay a fee to the city separate from the rents related to the units themselves, where those employers receive a priority or their employees receive a priority in the lottery," and said the priority could apply at initial lease-up or for subsequent turnover. Everson said any such partnership would require formal agreements with employers and that fees would be tied to the subsidy level for the type of employee housed.

Mayor Richards framed the policy rationale and limits: "for me, part of the idea of partnerships is to help cover some of the costs or recoup some of the costs so that it can be put into further affordable housing in the future." But the mayor and several council members warned that fee-based priorities could advantage better-funded employers and reduce availability for the general public.

Council members pressed staff on operational risks. Everson said the developer/operator (Gorman) needs clarity on priorities before lease-up because the project carries debt and operating costs: "the developer being the owner and the operator of the facilities... needs to know all of that in advance, how the lottery priorities will work," and he described a model in which employer priorities would be capped and only take effect when used, otherwise units would default to the general APHA lottery.

The council did not adopt any policy at the meeting. Members requested staff return with a clearer flowchart, concrete caps and fee calculations, and recommended pilot terms rather than open-ended, perpetual partnerships.