Affordable housing development took the spotlight Wednesday at Kremmling’s town board meeting as developers were present to discuss building a subdivision on land west of Kremmling’s K-8 school.

The subdivision, Cliffside Estates, was originally supposed to be developed in 2007; now the project is ready to move forward. The developers requested a variation of density on some of the proposed lots to allow for more affordable homes to be built.

Currently, the land is zoned as R1, which is low-density zoning that allows for one single-family home per lot, which per Kremmling’s zoning ordinance, lots in R1 zoning are 7,500 square feet.

“Looking at these larger lot sizes, we could change the code to a smaller lot size to add presumably more affordable homes,“ Town Manager Dan Stoltman said. ”So you could fit two subdivided homes on a 7,500 square foot lot.“

For example, homes of 1,000 square feet or less would be allowed 3,750-square-foot lots, similar to the density of Kremmling’s smaller neighborhoods that have R2 zoning.

Trustees were not sure making a permanent change to all R1 zones to allow small lots was the solution, since it might reduce quality of life. They said they would like to hold to the original standard in R1 zoned neighborhoods, to allow for green space and offer single-family homes large enough for professionals and families.

However, they agreed the town is in need of higher-density zoning with affordable housing, and would like the developer to move forward with their project through a special review process. The board decided to pass the developer’s proposal to the Planning & Zoning Commission to receive their recommendation.

Also during the meeting, Republican candidate David Buckley took the stage to discuss his run for the District 3 county commissioner seat.

“Leadership is needed now more than ever. It’s not a criticism of what we’ve had, but where we’re going,” Buckley said, referring to the staffing shortage in Grand County. “I currently work at road and bridge, and I feel the pain of staffing. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

In addition to working with road and bridge department, Buckley also owns Strands Salon where he lives in Kremmling, and his daughters are involved in the agricultural community with a cattle business.

“I’m very passionate about representing this community the way it wants to be represented,” he said.

In other business:

• Dan Stoltman submitted his resignation as town manager, since he has accepted a new position. He will continue to serve until April 15. “It’s been a really difficult decision for me. … I want this to be a smooth transition,” Stoltman said. He has served as town manager since April 2019. The trustees agreed they would immediately begin the hiring process and work together to create a competitive, attractive benefits package for the new hire.

Trustees discussed compensating moving expenses and offering a six-month housing stipend to ease the struggle of finding housing. They would also offer a five-year longevity incentive to be negotiated at the time of contract. If a suitable candidate is not found by the time Stoltman resigns, Police Chief Hiram Rivera will step in as interim town manager.

• The trustees discussed updating the town’s logo to have a more modern appeal as they revamp their website. They decided to add color to the original logo, remove the slogan “A Western Treasure” and add “Est. 1904” in its place.

• The trustees determined that all single-family homes in residential areas should not be permitted to have dumpsters. Residents are still allowed temporary roll-offs, which they can request for reasons such as remodeling their home, etc.