At a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the Keystone Town Council decided to broaden tenant requirements for an affordable housing project at Soda Creek in the Summit Cove area. 

The in-progress development will include five deed-restricted units, funded by Summit County, Summit County Habitat for Humanity and the towns of Dillon and Keystone. 

Last February, when the town of Keystone conditionally pledged $250,000 towards the project, council members wanted restrictions on the units to require tenants to work inside Keystone town limits. This week, at the request of the county, Keystone moved to change those requirements, allowing any eligible worker within county limits to qualify for housing in the new Soda Creek development. In exchange, the Soda Creek project will fulfill currently-unsatisfied Proposition 123 requirements that Keystone committed to accomplishing by the end of 2026. 

Keystone commits to Proposition 123

The town committed to creating five affordable housing units between 2024 and the end of 2026 based on the agreement that, if the town were to fulfill these requirements, it would be eligible to participate in the next Proposition 123 cycle, which runs from 2027 to 2029. Eligibility allows Keystone to apply for benefits, such as grants for housing projects, like the $5 million grant awarded to Frisco in 2024 to build an affordable housing project on Main Street.

Towns that don’t fulfill their commitment from the 2024-2026 cycle are locked out of participating in the next cycle. 

“Staff needs this as a really cost-effective way to meet our Prop 123 commitment, and it’s also really the only logistically feasible way for us to do so before the end of 2026,” said Maddy Sielu, Keystone’s deputy town manager. 

Outside of the Soda Creek developments — which will now count toward settling the town’s requirements — Keystone constructed no Proposition 123-eligible housing between 2024 and 2026. 

The only caveat toward the new Soda Creek units fulfilling the town’s requirements is that ground must be broken on the projects before the end of 2026. But Keystone’s funding of the project is conditional, meaning the town won’t have to pay any money until construction has begun. 

And the county, according to Town Manager John Crone, is confident that work will start on the Soda Creek units in the next four months.

“I honestly believe the county that they only see something emergency-level or higher stopping this construction from going forward by the end of the year,” Crone said.

Expanding tenant eligibility

When finished, the Soda Creek units will be available to tenants working at least 30 hours each week in the county and making 100% or less of the area’s annual median income, according to the Summit Combined Housing Authority.

The decision to broaden eligibility initially sparked debate amongst council members, who expressed concern that efforts would be better focused on serving Keystone’s residents and workforce specifically. 

“When we became a town … one of the things that people wanted was the money that they paid in taxes, they were hoping that that would be redeployed — most of it — to the town of Keystone,” said council member Dan Sullivan. “A little bit of concern is that, is this going a different way?” 

Keystone ultimately decided that it was in the town’s best interest to remain eligible for future Proposition 123 funding cycles, as well as to bolster the town’s relationship with the county at large by participating in larger programs — even if these benefits came at the cost of expanding the Soda Creek units’ deed restrictions.

“I think that it’s a good idea to be able to meet the Proposition 123 commitments,” Sielu said. “Beyond that, it’s a good idea to be cooperative with the county on this effort, just to make that relationship be a positive relationship in our partnerships for housing, because that could be something we continue to do in the future. … And I think we’re still benefiting Keystone by having an employee who works in Summit County have priority or have the unit.”

Additionally, council members noted that, with the Soda Creek units located close to Keystone’s boundaries, a county worker living in the unit could end up in the town’s workforce after all.

“Supporting access to stable housing within the Snake River Basin can help ensure that workers who already contribute to the broader community are better positioned to take on future employment opportunities in Keystone as needs arise,” the town’s now-passed resolution on the matter says.