City of Durango Announces Affordable Housing Allocations

Join upcoming public meetings by Area Conservancy Groups on the topic of equitable land access. The City Council agreed to allocate $5.2 million to affordable housing, and the City of Durango will offer E-bike rebates to locals, businesses, and organizations. You're watching The Local News Roundup brought you by Happy Pappy's Pizza n Wings and Pop's Truck and RV Center. I'm Connor Shreve. Equitable Land Access is the focus of five public meetings being hosted by local conservancy groups. La Plata Open Space Conservancy, the Old Fort at Hesperus, and Montezuma Land Conservancy, make up the Southwest Colorado Equitable Land Project, and it's inviting you to five meetings. The first was March 27th in Cortez. The next will be April 3rd at Towaoc Community Center for a listening session about the challenges and possible solutions related to land access. The session runs from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. and we'll focus on connections to land, needs for equitable land access in our region, and creative solution models. You can sign up for the project's mailing list if you can't make the meeting, but do want to stay up to date. At the March 21st City Council Meeting, the council voted to allocate $5.2 million for affordable housing in Durango. The funding includes $1 million from remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding, $3.2 million from the General Fund Opportunity Reserve, and $1 million from a recent grant through the Department of Local Affairs, Innovative Housing Incentive Grant Program. The money for housing will go to the Housing Innovation Fund, which does aim to accelerate the production of diverse types of housing, and ensure long-term affordability of housing for residents. The Assistant Community Development Director, Scott Shine, said of the funding allocation. "This tangibly supports the vision that Council has adopted for this community to be an authentic, diverse, multi-generation, and thriving community. The City of Durango will offer E-bike rebates to locals, businesses, and organizations. Applications for the rebates will open April 17th, and rebates range from $150 for general applicants to up to $1,400 rebates for income-qualified applicants. There will also be a bonus $150 if the bike is purchased from a local shop. The application window closes May 14th, so watch the city's E-bike Information Site for information about applications. Learn more about these and other stories online durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Roundup, I'm Connor Shreve.