With Congress embroiled in a spending fight over a must-pass piece of legislation, a little-known but powerful tool for affordable housing in tourism towns risks falling into limbo.
Federal lawmakers , a sweeping legislative package that dictates agriculture and food policy. The bill is meant to be reauthorized by Congress every five years, with the last iteration passed in 2018.
After missing its deadline last fall to pass an updated version of the bill, . If legislators fail again to meet that deadline and the Farm Bill lapses, it could leave a litany of essential programs in a state of uncertainty 鈥� including a first-of-its-kind approach for affordable housing.
Folded into the 2018 Farm Bill is a provision that allows federal officials to lease certain U.S. Forest Service land to local governments for the purpose of building housing. The measure applies only to administrative sites that typically already have some form of housing or storage infrastructure in place.
In Colorado鈥檚 rural resort communities, where land availability is scarce, and median single-family home prices reach into the millions, officials see the leasing authority as a critical addition to their affordable housing strategies.
鈥淭here is no question that if you live in a rural resort community where the majority of the land is owned by the federal government and the state, that tools like this are essential,鈥� said Tamara Pogue, an elected official in Summit County 鈥� home to the .
In written responses to questions from the Summit Daily 暗黑爆料, Sen. Michael Bennet, a chief architect of the leasing provision, said he is pushing for its renewal in a new, five-year Farm Bill.
鈥淪hort of that, we may need to pass another one-year extension to allow for certainty not only for housing projects and agreements but also for the day-to-day operations of USDA programs that help our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities,鈥� Bennet stated.
Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat representing parts of Colorado鈥檚 Front Range and High Country and another key supporter of the Farm Bill鈥檚 leasing provision, told the Summit Daily there 鈥渉as not been much progress鈥� on passing a five-year package before the impending deadline.
Another temporary extension is more likely, with Neguse adding that he wants to see the leasing provision included in the stopgap bill. Not doing so 鈥渨ould certainly be problematic, and it is an outcome that we are working precipitously to avoid.鈥�
Resort communities hope to keep leasing authority intact聽
Nestled in the White River National Forest, Summit County is a recreation hub boasting four world-class ski areas, and a . It's also an epicenter of housing disparities, where and soaring rents have pushed some residents or .
The county last year to use the Farm Bill to develop affordable housing for its residents.
In the fall of 2023, county officials entered a lease agreement with the White River National Forest for an 11-acre parcel of land near the town of Dillon. The site had been home to aging Forest Service facilities and a few units of employee housing.
There, , with several of those reserved for Forest Service workers and the rest going to county residents making between 80% and 120% of the area鈥檚 median income. Officials could begin construction as soon as 2025.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it's any secret that authorization was a game-changer for the county in terms of a project that will let us deliver affordable housing quickly,鈥� said Pogue, who sits on the Summit Board of County Commissioners and for whom housing is a major policy focus.
鈥淲e also, I think, feel a fair amount of responsibility to get it right for all of the communities that are going to follow us,鈥� Pogue added.
Whether or not the Farm Bill lapses won鈥檛 affect the project since a lease has already been secured. But it could imperil initiatives in other resort areas, where officials who鈥檝e watched Summit County鈥檚 plans unfold say they鈥檙e eager to replicate those efforts.
In Steamboat Springs, Yampa Valley Housing Authority Executive Director Jason Peasley said his office is on the cusp of to develop 84 apartments on a vacant 8-acre property.
The units would be rented to individuals and families making between 50% and 140% of the area鈥檚 median income. More than a dozen would be reserved for local Forest Service employees and another 10 for city employees.
鈥淎ll the pieces are in place for us to hit that deadline,鈥� Peasley said. 鈥淏ut things have to go the right way.鈥�
Peasley said he remains in regular communication with Bennet and Neguse鈥檚 offices for updates on the Farm Bill鈥檚 status. While he believes there is enough Congressional support to renew the leasing authority, he鈥檚 concerned disagreements over other aspects of the bill could prevent it from passing before the temporary extension expires at the end of September.
If officials don鈥檛 sign a lease by Sept. 30, and their authority to do so expires with the current Farm Bill, Peasley said it's unclear when the project would be able to move forward.
鈥淚f we miss the 30th deadline, we can鈥檛 do this without Congress acting,鈥� Peasley said. 鈥淪o we want them to understand how close we are and how important it is to get this over the finish line.鈥�
If current legislation is not renewed, Peasley said the Steamboat project would essentially be halted until a new Farm Bill is passed. Any delay would likely have a domino effect on the rest of the project鈥檚 phases.
鈥淭he lease is just one part,鈥� Peasley said. 鈥淲e have community engagement, planning and zoning permits, design and construction. So the quicker we can get on with those the quicker we can deliver the housing that our community needs and that our Forest Service needs.鈥�
Local government officials in other rural resort counties not yet nearing a lease deal still say they want the provision to remain an option.
Eagle and Pitkin County officials, for example, have for years land in El Jebel, which sits in unincorporated Eagle County, as a potential site for new housing.
Discussions haven鈥檛 moved forward in months, however, as Forest Service officials consider what 鈥� if any 鈥� amount of land and water rights they鈥檇 be willing to lease and government officials probe whether the area is the best place for new housing.
Eagle County Resiliency Director Tori Franks, the county鈥檚 lead on the El Jebel discussions, said even if that parcel isn鈥檛 acquired, there are numerous other sites in the county that could be ripe for housing development. Those include infill properties owned by the Forest Service that sit near town boundaries.
In a county where more than 80% of the land is federally owned, Franks said the Farm Bill鈥檚 leasing provision is a 鈥減retty powerful tool in the toolbox.鈥�
鈥淚 think it really allows the Forest Service to really be a partner, both a land owner and an employer, in the housing game,鈥� Franks said. 鈥淚t would be a huge mistake to not let this continue.鈥�
What comes next for the Farm Bill is unclear
For White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams, the Farm Bill provides public land managers with a recruitment and retention advantage they鈥檝e never before had. With the Forest Service bringing land to the table, local governments are providing the funding.
鈥淭hat kind of capital has never been available in the Forest Service for things like housing,鈥� Fitzwilliams said, adding that housing is a desperate need for his staff. 鈥淚 think it's a matter of survival to continue to have people live in the communities where they work.鈥�
Of roughly 200 full-time staff 鈥� and 100 seasonal workers 鈥� employed by the White River National Forest, Fitzwilliams said about half need housing in mountain towns. Some have to commute from as far as the Front Range, others over dangerous mountain passes.
That poses a significant challenge for the Forest Service鈥檚 ability to maintain the level of service 鈥渢hat the public expects,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the folks in Dillon want our engine fire crews to have to respond from far away. It is vital that they are there,鈥� Fitzwilliams said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e unable to have people live here, they鈥檙e going to go work somewhere else.鈥�
With White River running through some of the state 鈥� and the country鈥檚 鈥� highest-cost places, from Breckenridge to Aspen, Fitzwilliams said the Dillon housing project in Summit County is a necessity for his workforce.
鈥淲e鈥檝e certainly, I think, created a model that can be replicated,鈥� Fitzwilliams said, adding that he鈥檚 been in talks with leaders in other resort communities, from Idaho to California, who are interested in similar projects.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to find teachers and bus drivers and all those things that make a community work,鈥� he said.
When Congress will reach a deal on the Farm Bill is unclear.
Democrats and Republicans in both chambers for a host of programs, including subsidies for farmers, support for food banks, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formally known as food stamps.
Bennet in particular stated he wanted to protect conservation and forest resource programs in the Farm Bill that saw millions in new funding in recent years. The boost came from two landmark federal laws 鈥� the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act 鈥� that passed in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
鈥淚t is my top priority to preserve these dollars, as well as to protect nutrition assistance benefits from cuts,鈥� Bennet stated. 鈥淭he funding for the Farm Bill is something we鈥檙e going to have to hammer out over the next few months.鈥�
While those issues remain hyperpartisan, the leasing authority has garnered both Democratic and Republican support, with lawmakers pushing their own versions of the provision separate from the Farm Bill package.
One is the , introduced in the House by Neguse and cosponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Western Slope Republican. The legislation would not only keep intact the leasing authority by increasing the maximum length of time a property can be leased from 50 years to 100.
The measure has support in Congress鈥� upper chamber, where it has been championed by Bennet and Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican. A similar proposal was also included in the , a bill that passed the House and is pending in the Senate.
Movement on the stand-alone legislation is likely dependent on the outcome of either the EXPLORE Act or the Farm Bill, meaning lawmakers have multiple avenues to try and renew the leasing provision.
鈥淭his is a no-nonsense, bipartisan fix in the law that could address some of these (housing) challenges,鈥� Neguse said, adding that the multiple legislative efforts 鈥渟ignals broad support and ultimately underscores why it's so important that we get it done.鈥�
Local officials say decoupling the leasing authority from the Farm Bill could provide greater security for housing projects in the future by both increasing the leasing timeline and avoiding a potential lapse every five years.
But they also support any strategy to keep the provision alive.
鈥淥ur holy grail is always these permanent solutions to affordable housing 鈥� permanent tools, permanent funding 鈥� but those always seem to be quite elusive,鈥� said Franks, the Eagle County official. 鈥淣ot having that option is just one last path that we can pursue.鈥�