Blanding places moratorium on mobile homes, rezone hearing for low-income housing project

Members of the Blanding city council approved a 180 moratorium on mobile homes, approved defense contracts for the justice court and held a hearing for a rezone to build a low-income apartment building on the south end of town.
Members of the Blanding city council held a public hearing for a proposed rezone request from commercial to R2 residential at the October 28 meeting.
The three acre undeveloped lot is located on Main Street around 650 south.
The project is being pursued by B3 Real Estate Development and was presented by Bill Knowlton who acknowledged his partners Kendall Laws and Tyler Howland.
Knowlton presented a vision for a low-income housing tax credit (LITC) project.
The for-profit developer shared his experience building 8,000 low-income apartments in the state over a decade.
The proposed Blanding project would have two-bedroom two-bath units starting at around $450 a month.
Knowlton clarified the project would be subsidized through federal tax credits but not Section 8 vouchers.
He shared the credits would allow the developer to charge lower rents. The LITC project requires developer ownership for at least 15 years and is subject to four annual audits, with a failure to comply resulting in being banned from the program nationwide.
Knowlton also noted that the project adheres to high construction standards including insulation, sound attenuation and sourcing materials domestically as required by the federal Build America by America act.
Knowlton pointed out that the Grayson Apartments in Blanding were built under the same program and in his conversations with Blanding police he said the city police don't have issues with tenants at Grayson Apartments.
During public comment the city read an emailed opposition to the project from property owner Jim Hunt of JL Hunt. Hunt opposed the rezone citing potential long-term negative impacts on tourism and the city’s image, as well as increased traffic congestion and accidents on Main Street and the placement of high-density housing in a key commercial area.
Knowlton addressed the site selection sharing after touring nine sites the parcel was the only one B3 was able to come under contract with. Also adding the project has ample parking requirements and adding that the zone change was contingent meaning if the project fell through it would revert back to commercial zoning.
Council made plans to vote on the zoning amendment at the November 25th meeting allowing for further public comment at a hearing held by the Blanding planning and zoning committee on November 13.
Members of the city council also approved a temporary moratorium on mobile homes. The ordinance establishes a 180-day moratorium to allow city staff to update zoning standards, address codes related to fencing, drainage and aesthetics as well as penalties for violations including a potential $1,000 fine and refusal of utility hook-ups.
The moratorium and planned update of the mobile home zone comes after years of discussion but was spurred forward after the council rejected a rezone of a project to become mobile home zoning at a September meeting. While council raised some concerns about the 180-day period being too long the ordinance for the moratorium passed 4-1 with council member Cheryl Bowers voting against.
Members of the council also approved a contract with Stevens and Gailey to serve as the new defense council for the city Justice Court. The contract covers 150 cases annually and has measures to ensure cost transparency for additional hearings.
Members of the city council also approved an interlocal agreement with Monticello city for emergency and backup building inspection services. The agreement allows coverage for the city of Monticello while the county inspector builds a house in Monticello that he cannot inspect on his own. Members of the council unanimously approved the agreement.
At the meeting City Manager Pratt Redd reported that the city is pursuing a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to fund the purchase of 12 new fire department breathing apparatuses. The cost for new breathing apparatuses is $10,000 a piece with the city hoping to receive funds to help cover the cost.
Members of the city council also discussed road crack sealing projects with council questioning the effectiveness of application of large amounts of tar with leaf blowers and whether the job would hold up under heavy truck traffic. City staff shared that the contract has a one-year warranty against deterioration, it was also added that the city is looking at an AI software that would use cameras mounted on vehicles to analyze road conditions to prioritize repairs which would remove human bias from the assessment process.
Members of the council also discussed a $5,000 contribution toward a $250,000 initiative from Grand County for a cloud seeding project in the La Sal and Abajo Mountains. While the project claims an increase in annual precipitation by up to 20-percent members of the council expressed reservations on the process but agreed to review the provided information before making a decision at a meeting in the future.