Develop a comprehensive housing strategy to incentivize and/or reduce barriers to affordable housing development in Delta County, Colorado. Assess constraints and opportunities such as ownership (County) and infrastructure (water, wastewater, roads/access) to refine and adopt qualifying policy and regulatory strategies for affordable housing (as defined locally or aligned with the definition of affordable housing in C.R.S. 24-32-130(1)(a) as up to 80% Area Median Income (AMI) for rental housing and up to 140% AMI for home ownership opportunities). The product should be in a form that can be incorporated into the County's Master Plan.
Prepare a Comprehensive Housing Strategy for
Delta County, Colorado.
Section 1; Overview
Delta County Community Development Department is accepting proposals from qualified
persons/firms to prepare a Comprehensive Housing Strategy with accompanying maps that can
be integrated into our Master Plan (adopted May 2018). Delta County has been assigned a
MURP student from UC Denver through their Capstone program to assist with mapping data for
use in GIS.
Delta County is a rural county located on the western slope of Colorado along two state highway
corridors (CO50, CO92). Like other communities in the region, the county is experiencing a surge
in housing prices impacting households in all income groups, but particularly those with lower and
moderate incomes. In January 2021, the county adopted its first comprehensive land use code.
This Housing Strategy is intended to help implement housing goals, such as;
1) Identify vacant publicly owned real property within Delta County suitable for the
development of affordable housing.
2) Identify underutilized commercial property that can be modified to include affordable
housing units, and create incentives for acquiring or repurposing.
3) Preserve existing affordable housing units.
4) Establish a density bonus program within Growth Management Areas using the County’s
Urban Growth Area Overlay (zoning designation) to incentivize potential construction of
units that meet critical housing needs in the local community.
5) Promote methods that can help reduce infrastructure costs and utility charges for
affordable housing projects (e.g., connection fees, sub-metering, etc.).
Based on a Preliminary Needs Analysis for Delta County, there are a large number of senior
citizens and people qualifying as low-income and/or living below the poverty-level in Delta
County. Future needs of our community are hard to identify because of the rural nature of our
area, and the lack of complete and accurate data to do forecasting. However, considering growth
experienced across the State/Country and the relative affordability that exists here, we anticipate
that Delta County will experience increased pressure and reduced affordability.
Typical models for establishing affordable housing are focused more on urban conditions. Delta
County is rural and lacks infrastructure to support higher densities that can help reduce housing
costs. Resources need to be protected and managed in a way that does not stifle growth, but is
thoughtful and sustainable.
Delta County wants to anticipate pressure for growth, and take steps to create a strategy that will
help ensure we protect our most vulnerable populations by attracting enough development that
keeps housing affordable, and encourages residents to stay in the community. We want to
identify locations where higher densities make sense given local conditions and goals: protection
of prime agricultural lands, limited water, availability/location of infrastructure, etc. Housing
developments will need to be creative in aligning with the unique needs of a rural county and its
available infrastructure (specifically water and sewer).
Any suitable and qualified person/firm interested in the project should submit a proposal to Delta
County no later than February 28, 2023.
Please send any inquiries or questions to Carl Holm, Community Development Director at
planning@deltacounty.com or call 970.874.2110.
To learn more about Delta County and/or land use in Delta County, please visit
www.deltacountyco.gov.
Section 2; Proposal
Provide a proposal outlining a detailed scope of work that aligns with the $40,000 budget for this
study. The following is intended to provide a general outline of what the County anticipates as
the major elements of this project, but submitters are encouraged to develop a scope that they
believe will lead to the best outcome based on the goals and intent of this study.
Scope of Work:
o Review Background Information, Data, Policies and Plans. This should include, but is
not limited to: the Preliminary Needs Analysis prepared for Delta County through the
Housing Authority, work completed by a local Housing Options Work group (HOW)
(changed to HOOD); and work completed by the Capstone student.
This intent of the task is to understand existing regulatory and physical conditions to
identify constraints and opportunities that can lead to meaningful goals and strategies.
o Engage public and policy makers. The outcome is to ensure multiple perspectives and
voices are represented when developing goals and strategies (Board of County
Commissioners, Planning Commission, Town Councils/Boards, HOOD).
o Create Strategic Initiatives and Policies. The outcome is a Housing Plan that can be
incorporated into the County’s Master Plan, and potentially Intergovernmental
Agreement(s) with the municipalities.
o List of Deliverables and Schedule. The grant concludes on June 30th , 2024.
Section 3; Required Submittals
o Provide a review of your qualifications and explain how you plan to complete the
required tasks.
o Provide references for similar projects that you have completed.
Section 4; Criteria
The following criteria will be used to evaluate all proposals:
o Complete submittal
o Understanding of Delta County and our needs
o Understanding of the project Scope
o Ability to provide quality services within the timeframe and funding constraints.
o General organization and presentation of the proposal.
