Basalt Town Council signals willingness to open up ADU regulations for town

Over the course of two town of Basalt Town Council meetings, councilors signaled a willingness to develop policies in Basalt that would open up the town for potential development of accessory-dwelling units, or ADUs, on some properties in town. 

ADUs have been approached across the state and nation as a relatively low-cost way to create new housing and increase density in town limits. Currently, ADUs are prohibited across Basalt, except for some small special districts. 

“When you look at that as a percent of the total land area of the community, it’s only about 7.1%,” Eric Krohngold, senior associate with Design Workshop, said of where ADUs are permitted at the Sept. 23 Basalt Town Council meeting. 

Design Workshop has been working with Basalt to develop the ADU Incentive framework. 

Councilors met and discussed the resolution again on Oct. 14 before unanimously approving the program. While that does not mean that ADUs will be permitted across Basalt in the short-term, the framework directs staff to explore how such a policy could work in the town. The actual policy implementation remains to be created. 

“Because the presentation was fairly lengthy about the concepts, we didn’t have a chance to have a resolution supporting those concepts,” Michelle Thibeault, planning director for Basalt, said at the Oct. 14 meeting. “We wanted to give you time to kind of think through all of the ideas there. This is coming back and saying that you want us to go forward and work through the details of how to make these things happen now.” 

ADUs can come in a variety of forms, as the councilors discussed in their first meeting on the subject. They can be attached, so-called “mother-in-law units,” garden-level, basement units, or above the garage-type units that have a significantly lower cost for construction compared to an external building ADU. 

ADUs that would be separate from the main home on a property would be subject to higher building costs and higher zoning hurdles as potential builders navigate setback requirements and other zoning rules.

Krohngold highlighted to the councilors that ADUs can provide a variety of benefits to home-owners. They allow some seniors to age in place — meaning they can stay in their home and receive a predictable monthly income from renting their units — or they can allow for multi-generational living. They can also be rented out to long-term renters, creating additional housing and potentially driving rent costs down through increased supply.  

“They’re kind of a naturally occurring form of affordable housing, and given their size, typically they rent a little bit below market rent,” said Krohngold at the Sept. 23 meeting. “They can be an easy way to get into a market without having to rent a full apartment or a town home.”

At the Sept. 23 meeting where the framework was initially discussed, Krohngold mentioned that restricting short-term renting through minimum lease agreements can help prevent ADUs usage as short-term rental units. He mentioned this can be sidestepped through the implementation of a one-year minimum lease term.

Councilor Angele Dupré-Butchart pushed back on a one-year minimum lease term because of concerns that it may prevent seasonal workforce from accessing housing.

“We do have a lot of seasonal workers,” said Dupre-Butchart. “I think six months is reasonable to assume that they could be a local workforce.” 

During the Oct. 14 meeting, this change was added to the framework. 

If the councilors ultimately decide that financial incentives would be a part of an ADU policy, they would have a variety of methods available to them like grants and rebates. Mayor David Knight pointed out that council should carefully consider where it allots dollars for affordable housing programs to ensure maximum benefit from any investment.

“How would we fund this?” asked Knight at the Sept. 23 meeting. “Because we’re kind of picking winners, so what do we like better?” 

Interim Town Manager Doug Pattison noted that the upcoming election could provide some clarity on that point, depending on the result of a ballot question that could increase the lodging tax in Basalt. 

“Where’s the most bang for our buck? As far as giving people the return, the flexibility, etc.,” responded Knight, “I don’t know the answer.”