A housing study released in July found that home prices in Rifle have more than doubled in the last decade.
During an election forum hosted by the Colorado River Valley Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 6, moderators asked candidates running for Rifle City Council how they would address those rising costs.
Some of them brought up the potential for accessory dwelling units to boost the city’s affordable housing stock. ADUs are smaller structures built on an existing property, separate from a main house. Sometimes referred to as mother-in-law suites, they can also include things like basements and above-garage units.
They’ve become increasingly popular in recent years as one solution to the country’s housing crisis.
Incumbent Alicia Gresley said the city is currently overhauling its land use code, which she described as “a huge change for Rifle.”
“It's removing a lot of regulation and red tape, and allows private property owners to know what they can do with their property,” Gresley said. “And one of the low-hanging fruit with that is ADUs.”
Gresley said the city could offer additional help by providing building plans for ADUs and lowering permitting fees, which she said were too high.
Rick Steffen, another candidate who serves on the city’s planning and zoning commission, agreed that streamlining the ADU process would help fix the housing problem.
“That homeowner creates a rental income, plus they provide a place for people to live,” Steffen said. “That doesn't really change the neighborhood any, you're not redeveloping anything.”
He said that updating the city’s code could also help them land more state and federal housing grants.
Scott Marsh, another one of the eight candidates, has a background in firefighting and currently directs the Garfield County Road and Bridge Department. He suggested the city encourage more affordable housing construction.
“We could look at doing some tax incentives for developers for affordable housing units,” Marsh said. “Do some mixed-income housing projects, do some incentive policies for builders to help with the lower-cost homes, too.”
Ryan Fideldy is the principal of Elk Creek Elementary in New Castle and said the lack of housing has made hiring a challenge.
“As somebody that employs over 60 people, I do not get many applicants, mostly because I don't have places for them to live,” Fideldy said. “So somebody like me that came from northern Minnesota, sight unseen, doesn't exist out here anymore.”
He celebrated recent affordable housing projects like those from Eco Dwelling and Habitat for Humanity, and suggested repeating the model of buyers needing to apply and qualify for homes.
“I think that might be some of the answer, some sort of an application process to vet who our buyers would be, to ensure that [homes] wouldn't just be bought and flipped and continue to increase prices,” Fideldy said.
Public transportation
The candidates were also asked whether they would use local funding to expand public transportation.
Jonathan Rice is a retired teacher who previously served on council from 2003 to 2015. He said that, compared to other countries, America is lagging on public transportation.
“There's a lot of reasons for that, but that, to a degree, boils down to our love for the independence of the automobile,” Rice said. “It's hard to move people to support public transportation systems because they don't really want to, or not enough of them really want to.”
Rice said he’s not sure the current usage would justify spending more taxpayer dollars on transportation.
Incumbent Michael Clancy said the city is investing in additional bus and shuttle stops, and that he’s heard demand for improved services.
“There's a community member with us today that came and spoke about the difficulties finding transportation from a senior perspective,” Clancy said. “If we can bring public transportation, we'll see riders using it.”
Clancy didn’t provide specifics of those challenges.
Gresley said transportation is one of the top issues in the community, and there’s a need for more services within city limits.
“That could be anything from getting to the hospital, getting up to Colorado Mountain College, getting someone who's, during the summer, their kid is at home and wants to go visit our pool and spend money within our community,” Gresley said.
She said those services were worth spending money on, but that they should look into public-private partnerships.
Infrastructure
The candidates each shared their thoughts on infrastructure development, and what they would prioritize to balance economic growth with quality of life.
Clint Hostettler is running for his second term, and during the forum, he said he would focus on improving trails, sidewalks and streets.
“We've put a lot of money over the years into all these trails, and we probably need more, maybe not just for mountain biking, but for people to get around, just shortcuts through town,” Hostettler said. “But I'm always going to be the streets, streets, streets guy, because I see other towns and I see how bad their streets are.”
Aaron Cumming made a career as a farmer and rancher, served as a fire department treasurer, and currently sits on the Rifle Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
He said there’s room for the city to expand its recreational offerings, including plans to build an indoor sports arena or field house.
“Right now, there's only a few parks and recreation leagues that don't have any waiting lists, which really shows the demand for more facilities and activities,” Cumming said. “If we could build the field house and do it the right way, there's a lot of potential for growth and development, not just for recreation, but for the whole community and for our local economy.”
Rice added that infrastructure investment is made possible by the city’s continued economic growth.
“In the 80s, this community figured out how to slowly transition away from dependence on oil shale,” he said. “And more recently, as natural gas development has withered, figuring out how to transition away from that dependence as well. There's a lot more economic opportunity here than there used to be, and that's a good thing.”
Voters will choose five of the eight candidates on the ballot.
A recording of the Oct. 6 candidate forum can be viewed on the Rifle TV website.
Another forum focused on seniors will be held at the Rifle Senior Center at 3 p.m. on Oct. 21. Voters can submit questions for the candidates to hudhouse@riflecolo.net.
