Residents
The Town of Carbondale’s Community Housing program’s intent is to mitigate the impact of market-rate housing construction on the limited supply of available land suitable for housing. The goal of this program is to require new development to provide community housing attainable by persons working in Carbondale at rates that meet a variety of income levels. The Town achieves this program through a variety of plans, regulations, and partnerships. The program’s goal is that Community Housing (or Affordable Housing, Deed Restricted Housing, etc.) should be disbursed throughout the community and, where possible, integrated into the existing community fabric. The Town encourages community participation in solving and benefiting from solutions to the Community Housing concerns. Carbondale currently contracts with Garfield County Housing Authority to manage the qualifications, sale, approval of improvements, and other aspects of the Community Housing – Deed Restricted program. The following plans, studies, and partnerships overview the Town’s current efforts related to Community Housing.


Town of Carbondale - Community Housing Plan and Guidelines:
The Board of Trustees has identified Affordable Housing as a top priority for the Town of Carbondale. In 2016, the Trustees adopted revised guidelines which were updated most recently with 2020 area median income (AMI) figures. The most recent plan is available:

Community Housing Guidelines (Updated with 2020 AMI)

In 2023, building off of the prior work with the Housing Guidelines and recent efforts of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, the Trustees adopted the Community Housing Plan. The goal of the plan is to identify existing inventory, set forth strategies and timelines to update town policies, regulations, and guidelines to improve affordable housing outcomes.

Garfield County Housing Authority: 
The Garfield County Housing Authority, serves residents of the Roaring Fork Valley, from Carbondale to Parachute, who cannot afford conventional housing.  GCHA assists individuals, families, seniors and persons with disabilities, in locating and procuring affordable purchase and rental housing opportunities.  If you have questions about deed restricted housing within the Town of Carbondale, including availability and requirements please contact the Garfield County Housing Authority at (970) 625-3589 or toll free at (888) 627-3589.

Community Housing Inclusionary Requirements:
Section 5.11 of the Unified Development Code (UDC) was designed to mitigate the impact of market-rate housing construction on the limited supply of available land suitable for housing. This mitigation will prevent the Town zoning regulations applicable to residential development from having the effect of excluding housing that meets the needs of all economic groups within the Town. This is accomplished through the establishment of community housing requirements for development, which requires a portion of all new residential development to be set aside for community housing purposes as a condition of approval.

Greater Roaring Fork Regional Housing Study 2019:

On April 1st, 2019, the Greater Roaring Fork Regional Housing Study report was released. During the month of April, three public meetings were held in which the consultants presented information to the public, took questions, and provided answers. Thank you to all who participated in the study.

Read the full report here.  


Carbondale Affordable Creative Space: 
T
he Arts Market Survey data collection occurred during the summer of 2018. The Market Survey was intended to help us understand housing and work space issues facing our creative community.

Read the 
ArtSpace Market Survey Final Report & the ArtSpace Market Survey Final Technical Report.  
ArtSpace is the nations leading non-profit developer of affordable space for creatives and creative organizations. In December of 2017, ArtSpace visited Carbondale and conducted an affordable housing Prefeasibility study. Click here to see the ArtSpace Prefeasibility Report

Other Resources for Housing Funding and Financing