Glenwood Springs City Council voted 5-2 on May 7 to commit $500,000 in workforce housing funds to help residents of Cavern Springs Mobile Home Park purchase and collectively own the land beneath their homes, blocking a potential corporate buyout of the unincorporated Garfield County park. The forgivable loan will flow through the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition and carry an affordability covenant requiring the park’s 98 units remain occupied by locally employed, income-qualified residents in perpetuity. Voting yes were Mayor Marco Dehm, Mayor Pro Tem Erin Zalinski, Councilor Mitchell Weimer, Councilor Sumner Schachter, and Councilor Steven Smith. Councilors David Townsley and Ray Schmahl voted no.
The park sits just south of Glenwood Springs city limits near Thunder River, housing roughly 300 residents — including 60 children — in 98 homes. Residents own their homes but not the land underneath, paying monthly lot rent to the park’s current owner. City Housing Development Manager Watkins Fulk-Gray told council that a corporate investor stands ready to purchase the property for $23 million if the resident cooperative effort fails, with significant rent increases expected to follow. The city’s Workforce Housing Fund Advisory Board voted 7-0 the prior month to recommend the full request.
Fulk-Gray said cell phone data analysis estimated that approximately 36 percent of park residents work in Glenwood Springs or the 81601 zip code. The park falls within the Riverview Elementary and Glenwood Springs High School attendance zones. The funding model — called a Resident-Owned Community, or ROC — has been used in the Roaring Fork Valley before, including a conversion last year involving two mobile home parks in and near Basalt and Carbondale. The total acquisition cost for Cavern Springs is estimated at $24 million. Aspen has pledged $2 million, Pitkin County $1.5 million, Snowmass Village $1 million, and Carbondale $500,000. Garfield County has not contributed. A lender affiliated with Thistle Rock, a Front Range nonprofit that assists with ROC conversions, is expected to fill the remaining financing gap.
April Long, executive director of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition and outgoing director of the Ruedi Water and Power Authority, told council the city’s contribution amounts to roughly $5,100 per unit — far less than new construction costs — and that losing 98 units of naturally occurring affordable housing while the region is already building as fast as it can would set back valley-wide efforts significantly.
Public comment ran heavily in support. Maria Judith Alvarez, president of the Cavern Springs resident community and a leader of the Mountain Voices Project, told council 96 percent of residents voted in favor of the cooperative purchase effort and asked council to vote yes. Christian Guzman, a Cavern Springs resident who works at the City Market in Glenwood, said most of his coworkers commute from Newcastle, Silt, or Rifle because nothing closer is affordable. Karen Jewel said she has lived at Cavern Springs for nearly 30 years. Ed Muniz, a retired UPS driver and 36-year resident, said the park’s retirees and disabled residents have no ability to absorb a rent increase from an outside investor. Matt Spidell, a Glenwood Springs business owner and 2C board member, said the city was contributing a quarter of what Aspen pledged while the fund had room for it. Rob Anderson, a Glenwood Springs resident, opposed the request, arguing the park sits outside city limits, that many city residents struggle with affordability without assistance, and that Garfield County’s absence from the funding coalition was telling.
Councilor Townsley said the park is outside city limits and questioned whether the city’s 2C funds should cover residents of an unincorporated Garfield County community. A no vote also raised concerns about the fund’s remaining balance and competing demands. Councilor Smith said the deed restriction running with the land in perpetuity was the deciding factor in his yes vote. City Attorney John Pimentel told council the ballot language and enabling ordinance both support funding projects adjacent to the city, and said using the 81601 zip code as the adjacency standard is defensible and supportable.
The new director of the Ruedi Water and Power Authority, Paula Steff, appeared before council alongside outgoing director April Long for the RWAPA annual invasive species presentation. Steff said the 2025-2026 snowpack was dismal and that the Roaring Fork may have already peaked for the season. She told council RWAPA is working with the Colorado River District on releases from Ruedi Reservoir to cool river temperatures and support fish populations. The primary aquatic invasive species concern remains zebra mussels and New Zealand mudsnails; the RWAPA subsidizes boat inspection stations at Ruedi to slow the spread.
Council approved second readings of three ordinances: Ordinance 2026-07, rezoning seven parcels totaling 20.84 acres from the Glenwood Springs Mall PUD to the Mixed-Use Corridor district; Ordinance 2026-08, amending city code on exterior lighting and signage; and Ordinance 2026-09, amending city code on landscaping, screening, and fencing. All three passed unanimously.
City Engineer Ryan Gordon presented updated right-of-way and grading permit regulations. Key changes raise the grading permit threshold for like-for-like landscaping projects from 200 to 500 square feet, scale fees to project size, and add engineering department discretion on penalties. Council discussed the proposals without objection.
Council directed staff to research options for addressing abandoned disposable propane fuel canisters accumulating in homeless encampments along the Roaring Fork River corridor — including an outright sales ban within city limits, a deposit-return program, and expanded fire restrictions — with a work session discussion scheduled for the next meeting.
Council announcements included Councilor Townsley’s report that the GoPro Games are expected to move kayaking and whitewater events to Glenwood Springs on June 5 and 6 due to low water in Vail and Avon, and that Rocky Mountain Youth Corps will conduct fire mitigation work above Oasis Creek this season. Mayor Pro Tem Zalinski reminded the public of a Roaring Fork fishing closure through the end of May. Councilor Smith reported the Transportation Commission is working on the 2027 budget process and updating the city’s long-range transportation plan.
Under the consent agenda, council unanimously approved April 16 meeting minutes, reappointed Carolyn Cipperly, Marianne Ackerman, James Larson, and Eric Hand to the Historic Preservation Commission, appointed Munro Wilcox to the Tourism Management Board, and promoted Kyle Jones from alternate to permanent member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. No citizens appeared for the open public comment period at the start of the meeting. Mayor Dehm proclaimed May 2026 as Historic Preservation Month and presented Structures of Merit awards to 829 Pitkin Avenue and 828 Colorado Avenue. City Manager Steve Boyd, City Attorney John Pimentel, and City Clerk Ryan Muse reported nothing additional. Council adjourned to a social event at Dax’s restaurant.
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