Summit County officials are pushing back the deadline to issue a request for proposals for the Cline Dahle site in Jeremy Ranch until they can convene a small group of community stakeholders to assess the feasibility of their vision for the property.The draft document is largely focused on addressing the pressing need for workforce housing in the community. Yet Summit County Council members expressed a range of ideas for the land, suggesting the request for proposals wasn’t quite in line with what they wanted to see in the future. Officials struggled with how much to define what they want at this stage or leave for later negotiations.Economic Development and Housing Director Jeff Jones presented specific details about elements of the proposal to the County Council on Wednesday, including allowing a project density of up to 210 units, not including accessory rental units that can be built above detached garages, and the distribution of deed-restricted units.Jones proposed that around 10% of the project site be single-family detached housing, 19% be single-family attached housing, and 71% be multi-family for rent. About half of the units would be deed-restricted and the rest would be market rate. Most residences would be set aside for households making between 30% and 60% of the area median income, which is no more than $91,800 for a family of four. Around a quarter of the units would be reserved for the 61%-80% and the 81%-100% AMI ranges. Less than 10% could be deed-restricted for the 101%-107% range, 6% for the 121%-150% range and 1% for households earning under 30%.The majority of the units would be for two- or three-plus-person households. Jones said there’s been a loss of families with children in Summit County largely because of the affordability challenges in the market. A housing project on Cline Dahle could help address the decline while providing ownership opportunities for the county’s workforce, who is the primary target resident. However, there are additional challenges with larger units because they take longer to sell.But that could all change.“I think that the council has an opportunity to negotiate that once you select the development plan that you think serves our community the best design wise, I think through that exclusive right to negotiate period, that gives the council a unique opportunity to say ‘We want more of this.’ or ‘Less of this,’” Jones said.Most of the County Council found the number to be too high. Members suggested refining the request for proposals to better reflect the goals officials hope to accomplish — though each member slightly differed in how to achieve that.County Councilors Canice Harte and Roger Armstrong had no appetite to see 210 units built on the 17 acres of developable land. They wanted to see the request done right.Summit County officials are considering the best uses for the 30-acre Cline Dahle property, which could include a new fire station and affordable housing. The parcel sits east of Jeremy Ranch Elementary School and west of the shopping center. Credit: Park Record file photo by David JacksonHarte interpreted the draft document to say the land should be filled in with as much housing as possible, and questioned whether that’s what the county wants. He pushed for a more innovative project that better combined a mix of commercial, civic and residential uses.“The way I would read this right now, I really see it as ‘Oh, they’re just trying to pack a lot of units in on this property,’ and all I’m going to see from a proposal, I’m expecting, is a giant rectangular box full of apartments with these various mixes,” he said. “I’m not looking for quantity. I’m looking for quality.”The total number was less of a problem for County Councilor Chris Robinson, though he had pictured more single-family homes on the property rather than multi-family units because he thought it was unrealistic for the county to build a large number of apartments and try to rent them. “I like the idea of having an ‘up to’ number. I don’t personally think, when I think of it and breaking it down, 20 detached homes, 38 or 39 townhomes, and the rest multi-family, it doesn’t make me throw up,” Robinson said. “I’m not saying we have to do this right now. We have enough to do with the DPRE project. We don’t have to do this now. I do think this is very consistent with the moderate-income housing plan. I don’t think we can keep sending the staff back to chase their tail and say, ‘You don’t have it right.’”Robinson noted some of the elements incorporated in the request for proposal may have no position in economic reality, which would likely be reflected in the submissions the county receives. County Council Chair Malena Stevens said she didn’t want to invest a lot of taxpayer money into the project.The Planning Department started collecting feedback on the Cline Dahle project earlier this year with the goal of crafting a request for proposals to find a developer to partner with on the project. Council members have since disagreed on whether the draft clearly articulates the county’s goals, directing staff to modify the document.Jones told the council members they needed to get clear on what they really want out of the site. Then staff can conduct a value check to determine what is and isn’t possible. He wondered whether the county was putting “the cart before the horse.”“It’s really difficult to take all of these pieces and say we want something great, but we can’t define it in this room, but we somehow want someone else to define it,” Jones said.Rather than modify the draft request that staff spent months crafting, officials settled on plans to host a work session intended to determine the economic viability of what they’re asking for. Summit County Manager Shayne Scott indicated it could be a small meeting with Planning Department staff and up to two county councilors or a work session with the entire County Council depending on scheduling. People with experience in development, construction or design would be invited to attend. If that fails, they could consider a design competition.The Cline Dahle property would likely be changed to a neighborhood mixed-use zone once a project is selected. Jones said the County Council could also create a new zoning district that’s more supportive of the product they want on the property. Officials are expected to form a “creative alliance” with the chosen development team to implement the preferred plan.Jones revised the timeline to postpone the proposal deadline until Dec. 18. A project could be awarded by January 2025 with project implementation next May.The post Summit County Council calls for reevaluation of Cline Dahle proposal appeared first on Park Record.