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The board of directors of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority would like to express its support of the Steamboat 700 Community Housing Plan's proposal to provide affordable and work force housing for the Yampa Valley community. Based upon the financial and market assumptions in the city staff's analysis, the CHP supports the minimum affordable housing policies of the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan. The Housing Authority supports city staff CHP recommendations and believes the CHP complements the mission of the Housing Authority.

There are some details we need to work through, including:

- Further refining the role the Housing Authority will play in the development of the affordable housing components of the project

- Understanding the full measure of restrictions on the use of funds and lands dedicated for affordable housing by the Housing Authority

We understand language will be added to the Steamboat 700 annexation agreement that will include the anti-speculation requirements and restrictions, along with imposition of a real estate transfer fee on second bulk transfers and the first individual lot sales.

We recognize that the affordable housing challenge in the Yampa Valley is ultimately the result of a severe imbalance between the supply of and the demand for affordable housing. During the past few decades, the supply of new affordable housing has become relatively stagnant while the demand has continued to grow at a rapid rate. The WSSAP has correctly identified the west of Steamboat Springs area as the only potential area available for significant new affordable housing stock in Steamboat Springs. The Steamboat 700 project represents the first major project to capture some of this potential.

Additionally, the Steamboat 700 CHP offers to provide a source of funds for the Housing Authority by imposing a voluntary real estate transfer fee. As you know, the lack of a sustainable funding source for the Housing Authority has stymied our efforts to move forward and accomplish our mission of providing affordable housing in the Yampa Valley and has forced the recent reduction in our staff, programs and projects. Although the impact of this real estate transfer fee will only be felt in the longer term, we welcome this and any other creative solutions to this dilemma.

As we move forward implementing the Steamboat 700 CHP, we must be mindful that variables exist that could change the total affordable housing units, both positive and negative, outlined in the WSSAP. Some of these variables are:

- The numbers and sizes of homes needed by the community at various price and income levels

- The changing need for specific types and sizes of affordable housing, e.g. one-bedroom, 700-square-foot condominium units replaced by larger two-bedroom townhome units, as identified by future community needs assessments

- The amount and timing of real estate transfer fee receipts

- The condition of the financial marketplace variables, e.g. level of interest rates, construction and land costs, home mortgage market and the ability to obtain construction or long-term financing for rental or for-sale homes

The Housing Authority wants to see this project progress and work toward providing needed housing for our community. We appreciate having had the opportunity to be at the table with the city and Steamboat 700 as the CHP was discussed and moving ahead. We look forward to the Housing Authority's continued participation in reaching the goals set out by the CHP.