After weeks of deliberations, the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority Board of Directors unanimously adopted new amendments to the entity’s regulations Wednesday afternoon.
Noticeably absent from the final list of changes to APCHA’s regulations was a “significant other” provision that was widely panned by board members during a first reading of the proposed regulations that was conducted on June 2.
The provision defined a significant other as “a person’s partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, gender identity or sexual orientation.”
The provision was intended to accommodate APCHA property owners who wanted their significant other — who might not otherwise qualify — to be able to move in with them.
Board members called the proposal a loophole and believed the only way to prove how “significant” two people were was via a marriage certificate. The board was particularly concerned that APCHA property owners would allow people — who did not necessarily work 1,500 hours in Pitkin County annually — to live with them in an employee housing unit because they were “significant.”
More traditional inspection
While the APCHA Board ultimately did not support the “significant other” provision, board members were in favor of other amendments like requiring an “APCHA-approved professional building inspector” to complete a property inspection prior to a unit being listed for sale.
The inspector would examine an APCHA property’s windows, roof, plumbing, electrical system, HVAC, foundation and other life and safety items. The inspector would also examine livability standards like whether the unit has an “odor-free interior” and if the owner had the “carpets professionally steam-cleaned within two days of closing.”
After approving amendments to the housing authority’s regulations, APCHA Board Chairman Skippy Mesirow, who also serves on the Aspen City Council, commended his colleagues for their work.
“I just wanted to ... really take the time to celebrate everyone on the board for getting here,” Mesirow said Wednesday, prior to the board delving into their next agenda item — standards for sellers to obtain maximum sales price. “This is the first big, hairy audacious goal, as they say, that we’ve taken on and there’s been some sausage making … and that’s how this stuff works. But, each of you has made some really, really significant contributions to getting us here and this will be a transformational change for the program.”
A power outage briefly interrupted the APCHA board’s virtual meeting Wednesday but, following a short break, the board was able to reconvene.
During the standards for sellers agenda item discussion, Pitkin County Commissioner Francie Jacober, who also serves as an alternate on the APCHA Board, asked if the housing authority should bring on an additional employee to possibly complete work an inspector deems necessary to a property.
“It just seems like constantly contracting out to other people especially with the delays that we’re seeing with contractors … it might be in our best interest to have an employee who can do a lot of these jobs,” Jacober said. “I see contractors, appraisers, home inspectors … really jacking up their prices.”
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June 17, 2021 at 04:00PM
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APCHA board formally adopts new amendments - Aspen Daily News
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