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Home My WebLink Aboutagenda.council.worksession.20260323AGENDA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION March 23, 2026 4:00 PM, City Council Chambers 427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen I.Work Session I.A Mountain Voices Project - Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park Preservation Request II.Council discussion of the items published in the most recent information update, as needed Zoom Meeting Instructions Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83823420393?pwd=Abm8VrcwE5r6uXSILJa1l5y9RBZqJa.1 Passcode:81611 Join via audio: +1 346 248 7799 US Webinar ID: 838 2342 0393 Passcode: 81611 International numbers available: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/keJYt2lOoy Cavern Springs Staff Report to City Council on March 23 2026.docx 1 1 STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Pete Strecker & Diane Foster MEETING DATE: March 23, 2026 SUBJECT: Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park Preservation Request INTENDED OUTCOME: The purpose of the work session is to gauge City Council interest in having staff work with the residents of Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park (CSMHP), other local governments and local, state and national nonprofit organizations to explore the preservation of this mobile home park by converting it to a Resident Owned Community (ROC). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Recently, an undisclosed buyer made an offer to purchase the land underneath the Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park, similar to the experiences of both the Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Parks in which the City participated in supporting. The owner of the land under Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park is interested in selling the property and, through discussions with the CSMHP owners, has come to an agreement to sell the property to the owners for the outside offered price of $23 million. While both City Council and staff were aware that financially supporting the creation of ROCs by the owners of Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Parks (MHP) could open the door to future requests, preliminary staff analysis points to there being a relatively low risk of setting a precedent should City Council wish to financially support CSMHP, specifically because there are likely only three mobile home parks that meet the following criteria:  located between and including Aspen and Glenwood Sprin gs;  not already protected or owned by a family unlikely to sell in the near term; and  have 50 or more units as part of the mobile home park, which are parks more likely to be successfully funded because they have the scale and capacity to manage a Resident Owned Community. 2 The return on investment specifically to the City of Aspen has the potential to be quite high, where 42% of working residents are employed in Aspen and that the acquisition price is a small fraction of the cost to build a new unit. For context, the City of Aspen granted roughly $3 million in 2025 to help preserve 139 units at Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Park. Applying the same ~$21,600 per unit grant to CSMHP would equate to approximately $2.1 million. DISCUSSION: Because City Council has not yet had the opportunity to provide direction to staff on whether to dig deeper into this funding request, staff has completed only a preliminary analysis based upon data and information provided by the CSMHP, former staff at Manaus and data provided through the State of Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program. Cavern Springs MHP Snapshot:  Homes/Community o Size: 98 homes; 300 residents o Location: Unincorporated Garfield County o Work Location: 42% Aspen o Structure: Residents own homes but rent land under home  Financing Structure o Purchase Price: $23 million (agreed to by seller) o Primary Loan: from ROC USA - $10,323,232 o Community Lender: $2,000,000 o Colorado Impact Development Fund Loan: $2,000,000 o Total Grant Funding sought: $10 million  Rents: o Current Average Rent: $1,025/month Cavern Springs Location just off Highway 82 between Carbondale & Glenwood Habitat ReStore Cavern Springs MHP 3 Mobile Home Parks from Aspen to Parachute As mentioned at the June 10, 2025 City Council work session, discussing potential preservation of the Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley Mobile Home Parks, one of the challenges the City of Aspen faces with granting funds for mobile home park preservation is simply the number of mobile home parks from Aspen to Parachute that are owned by private companies and are potentially at risk of being sold and/or subject to higher than average rent increases and who, therefore, may request funding from local governments for preservation. In 2019, the nonprofit Manaus conducted a mobile home park survey and found a total 54 mobile home parks between Aspen and Parachute with a total of 2,861 units. City of Aspen staff have compared some of this data with the State of Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Oversight Program, however staff has not independently verified this data nor sought to update it. Staff was recently in contact with a former Manaus Executive Director who reminded staff that while Manaus identified 54 MHPs from Aspen to Parachute, only a fraction of those MHPs may seek to become a Resident Owned Communities because:  many of these parks are preserved already through deed restrictions and/or government or nonprofit ownership;  other MHPs are at lower risk of sale and redevelopment because they are owned by long-time local families who have made a commitment to affordable housing; and  many of the smaller parks are unlikely to be considered by ROC lenders. According to the Mobile Home Park Preservation Network, ROC USA will only consider MHPs of 25 units or more to become ROCS. Preliminary staff research indicates the ideal MHP candidates to become ROCs are more likely in the 50+ unit range to be at a scale to support the funding, management and oversight needs. Furthermore, while many in Aspen’s workforce travel from Rifle, Silt and Parachute, the City of Aspen may be less interested in financially participating in mobile home park preservation in those areas due to limited resources. 2019 Manaus-collected data showing 54 MHPs from Aspen to Parachute https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/laurine.lassalle/viz/mhp_v2/Dashboard2 4 The table below, using the 2019 Manaus survey data, shows that only 16 of the 54 mobile home parks from Aspen to Parachute have 25+ units and are not already protected or believed to be at lower risk due to a benevolent owner. That number narrows to seven when focusing on MHPs with 50+ units and are not already protected or believed to be at lower risk due to a benevolent owner - a number that is more attractive to ROC financiers because this size MHP can more easily manage the financial and operational responsibilities of being a ROC. Narrowing further, to only those MHPs located between Aspen and Parachute, it appears that there are only three MHPs with 50+ units and are not alread y protected or believed to be at lower risk due to a benevolent owner. Of these three, Cavern Springs is located closest to Aspen. Preliminary Analysis: 2019 Manaus-collected data showing 54 MHPs from Aspen to Parachute https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/laurine.lassalle/viz/mhp_v2/Dashboard2 FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The City of Aspen is the area’s leader in affordable housing development and, even though it is the only local government in the area with an affordable housing Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), those dollars are already heavily committed. Here is a short list, in no particular order, of previously discussed projects and uses underway and/or considered (this does not include other possible projects not ready for public discussion):  Lumberyard  Affordable Housing on the Forest Service Property  West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition Good Deeds Program  APCHA Essential Repairs Program / Capital Reserve Funding Program  Deed Restriction Purchase Program Size # MHPs # Units Known MHPs preserved or Known Benevolent Owner Known Units Preserved or Known Benevolent Owner 24 or fewer units 30 353 2 44 25-50 units 11 463 2 97 50-344 units 13 2,045 6 795 Total 54 2,861 10 936 Location Newcastle & beyond 21 1,249 1 24 Aspen to Glenwood 33 1,612 9 912 Total 54 2,861 10 936 Targets for Preservation Not preserved or unknown status 44 1,925 ROC USA Eligible (25+ units)16 1,616 ROC Ideal Targets (50+ units)7 1,250 ROC Ideal Targets Aspen to Glenwood 3 265 5 For current context, there is approximately $140 million in fund balance with the Affordable Housing Fund, with $110 million already pledged to fund phase 1 of the 277- unit Lumberyard project. Phase 2 will require additional funds of roughly $140 million over multiple years, with up to $70 million anticipated though the issuance of new debt service. Lastly, the Council was anticipated to consider renewing an annual $1M co ntribution to the Western Mountain Regional Housing Coalition for the purposes of supporting the Good Deeds program, a buydown program for middle income earners in exchange for an affordable housing deed restriction placed on the acquired unit. This discussion and decision has not been held yet for 2026. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: Viewed through an environmental lens, preserving existing affordable housing has less of an environmental impact than building new units. RECOMMENDATIONS: Ultimately, City financial participation in helping to turn this property into a Resident Owned Community (ROC) may be expected to limit monies that can be spent on other existing or considered affordable housing projects, as all rely upon the tax proceeds within the 150 Affordable Housing Fund. However, if the Council were to pursue financial assistance to this community, this project will have one of the greatest returns on investment in terms of affordable housing preservation. While no formal discussion have been undertaken between city staff and the residents of Cavern Springs MHP, if Council were to direct staff to follow a model similar to the one used at Aspen Basalt and Mountain Valley MHPs, local government participation would be in the form of a deed restriction purchased on the land that would require it to remain as a mobile home park. If Council is considering some level of support for Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park, staff requests direction to engage with other local governments and community non- profit partners to assess the level of interest from those other partners and then return to City Council. ALTERNATIVES: CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: ATTACHMENTS: 6