Basalt Council hears latest on Willits affordable housing, community space

Basalt Town Council heard updates on a public outreach campaign for a planned community center and housing development in Willits on Tuesday.

Parcel 2E, a vacant lot south of The Arts Campus at Willits, has been a question for the Basalt government since the town came into possession of the property in a 1994 Willits Town Center planned urban development approval. 

2E, or the Willits Affordable Housing and Community Space, was designated for eventual “public use,” which allows the area to be developed for a range of uses for the community, like recreation space, education, performing arts and more. 

It also allows for limited housing development, as it is permitted by Basalt’s community housing guidelines. 

“We are at the very beginning (of this process), and we have a long way to go until we would get anything that would be considered a final plan,” Alison Cotey, an architect at Design Workshop, told councilors on Tuesday. “That includes the whole sketch plan process and design revisions that will come along with the preliminary and final (design). You’re going to have the opportunity to see this plan many more times and watch it evolve through comments from the community, from staff and comments from all of you.”

To help figure out how it will eventually be developed, Basalt has undertaken an extensive public input process that began in 2024 following the issuance of a grant from the state of Colorado.

Since then, the town engaged in focus groups, open houses and one-on-one interviews to gauge public preferences on the parcel. 

“We really tried to listen to a lot of people and a diversity of voices, and what came from that is — not surprisingly — housing is really important,” Cotey said. “The idea of maximizing affordable housing is a critical community investment, especially for families that live and work in these communities.” 

The criticism that she reported to councilors was generally focused on worries that proposals may be exceeding height requirements and that additional housing could bring increased parking issues to the Willits area. 

Current plans estimate the housing units available in a potential development would be between 38 and 44 units, depending on whether the community and councilors prefer more square space dedicated to community areas or dedicated to housing supply. 

As for the community area aspect, Design Workshop pointed to public opinion that the space be kept flexible for a wide range of uses such as afterschool programming for students, cooking classes and possible programs for elderly individuals in Basalt. 

But Mayor David Knight pointed out that it may be essential to get a greater understanding of how a community space might specifically be used before proceeding to the design phase. 

“I think we have to get really clear about what we’re going to do with that community space before we can really do the design,” he said. 

Council Member Rick Stevens underscored the importance of keeping the “intensity” of this space low, allowing for more peace and quiet for residents and community members. 

“Sometimes you have to kind of sit back and go, do we need to have everything here?” Stevens asked. “Can we have a place that’s just got more peace and quiet engaged with it, like you’re bringing in the point of view of nature and the streetscape?”

Design Workshop has several more work sessions planned in the near future that could begin to answer those questions for council members and community members, as well as additional community input events in 2026.