A housing-strapped county is creating a first-of-its-kind development on U.S. Forest Service land

Stunning views where new affordable housing units will be built.
(Photo by Hart Van Denburg, CPR News)

In the bustling hilltop town of Dillon in Summit County, Colorado, businesses face a steep labor shortage, but affordable housing must be available for potential hires. The area is about 86% forest, the Forest Service has its own land and an equipped post, but it doesn't have cash or build houses. When the two entities put their heads together, they forged a first-of-its-kind agreement.

"The agency is about to sign a lease to allow a developer to transform the hilltop property. The fire engine bay, the offices and the storage areas will all be rebuilt to modern standards. And just downslope will come the biggest change of all — an entire residential neighborhood of more than 150 units," reports Andrew Kenney of Colorado Public Radio. Anna Bengtson, land conveyance program manager for the national forest, described the plan to Kenney: "Multi-story buildings with housing units of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations mixed in with some green space and a community center and public transit and a rec path coming through."

How was this made possible? An act of Congress. "The 2018 Farm Bill, to be precise," Kenney explains. "Federal lawmakers included a provision that authorized the Forest Service to lease out a strictly limited selection of its land for housing and other purposes. . . . Five years later, Dillon is set to be the first place it happens. . . . The project has millions of dollars of backing from the state and local governments, and it will be built by the private developer Servitas. Summit County will lease the land from the Forest Service for 50 years but will provide housing for USFS staffers instead of paying rent to the agency."

Garrett Scharton, an executive with Servitas, told Kenney, "Frankly, it's going to be beautiful, because the site is epic. Any other developer would absolutely put $5 million condos on this site. . . . Summit County and the Forest Service and Dillon have decided to give back to the local community for essentially locals-only housing." Kinney adds, "In some ways, the project is simpler than other developments. There's no need for a zoning hearing where local opponents might slow the project, since the U.S. Forest Service controls the land. And the agency does have experience building its own housing.

"The project is drawing national attention, a sign of how many other rural and resort communities are desperate for land for housing," Kinney reports. "So far, the Dillon project has been uncontroversial — perhaps because the site has already been developed to an extent. But some officials would like the Forest Service to open up a broader range of sites for housing. . . . Marcus Selig, chief conservation officer at the National Forest Foundation, said that the Forest Service should be — and will be — careful in choosing future properties."