Housing affordability can be problematic in GNAR communities. Generally low wages, high volumes of short-term vacation rentals, and rapid high-end development can cause significant lapses in affordable housing. Many workers in GNAR communities are employed seasonally or do not earn enough income to afford available houses.  Without other recourse, workers commute long distances or sometimes live in makeshift housing like campers, cars, or tents. This lack of workforce housing can cause labor shortages for local businesses and result in undesirable, inadequate, and unsightly informal housing. Some GNAR communities have come up with innovative ways to try and address this issue, see examples below.

Think we're missing something or have feedback for us? Please reach out to liz.sodja@usu.edu.

Resources & Tools

Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority

APCHA is the oldest and largest mountain resort workforce housing program in North America after the city and county signed an intergovernmental agreement in 1982. Their website has many resources including GIS mapping of their properties and their new HomeTrek system to manage their 3,000+ deed restricted properties.

ASPCHA Homepage

 

Vail InDEED

Vail InDEED is Vail, Colorado's deed restriction program, created to incentivize homeowners and real estate buyers/sellers to deed restrict their property to help the Town meet their 2027 Housing Strategic Plan. Unlike other deed restriction programs, it has no appreciation cap, no income cap, and no household size requirement. In 2019, Vail also issued an Economic Impact Analysis quantifying the economic benefits of affordable housing.

WATCH THE WEBINAR: The GNAR Initiative did a webinar about Vail InDEED in June 2021.

Vail InDEED FAQs

McCall, ID: Housing Strategy & Deed Restriction Program

Outlined in the 2018 McCall Area Comprehensive Plan and the City of McCall Housing Strategy, a Local Housing Program that includes a number of tools to create a variety of for-sale or rental units with various price points is needed in order to support a year-around community. As part of the Local Housing Program, this incentive-based program intends to encourage the private sector to build units with deed restrictions  to increase the supply of housing for locals.

McCall Housing Incentive Program

 

Tahoe Home Connection: Alternative Rental Program

Tahoe Home Connection (TaHoCo) is a community-based program in the South Shore of Lake Tahoe that works with second homeowners to rent their properties on a seasonal or longer-term basis to professionals and service industry employees working on the South Shore. Their website has resources for renters, employers, and homeowners.

Home Connection Website

 

Community Builders - Breaking the Code Toolkit

The Breaking the Code Toolkit was created by Community Builders. It is composed of two pieces: (1) the DIY Code Audit Tool, and (2) a detailed guidebook. They selected two Wyoming communities, Lander, and Lovell, to use the toolkit in a guided process for achieving their housing goals. To aid in the project, they formed leadership committees in both Lander and Lovell that led processes to learn more about the community's housing issues. Along the way, Community Builders interviewed developers and builders to learn about some of the issues they've identified with regulations.

 

Access the Toolkit

GNAR Initiative: Short Term Rental Toolkit

Short term rentals have a big impact on housing affordability in GNAR communities. We have created a separate GNAR Initiative Toolkit page relating to short term rentals.

STR Toolkit Page

Eagle County, CO: Housing Task Force

The Eagle County Housing Task Force is an all volunteer citizen-led group, created in 2017 that facilitates the creation of more housing through education, data collection, and public forums to create a more efficient process. Despite being volunteer-led, they've made significant strides in building community buy-in on housing initiatives. You can learn more information below.

Housing Task Force Page

 

Tahoe Housing and Community Revitalization Initiative

In June 2020, TRPA kicked off the Housing and Community Revitalization Initiative, working collaboratively with partner agencies and organizations to implement strategies that incentivize affordable housing for locals. This page highlights the ongoing work of the Housing and Community Revitalization Working Group, existing TRPA housing policies, and incentives available for those interested in building affordable, moderate-income, or other workforce housing.

TRPA Housing Page

 

Research & Case Studies

Headwaters Economics: Housing Data - Access Data

Headwaters Economics is a leader in publishing data about issues critical to GNAR communities. This link goes to their page about housing in recreation counties. You can see overviews of housing trends affecting recreation counties across the country and even look up data on your community specifically.

2016 APCHA Policy Study - Download

The APCHA partnered with consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of its affordable housing program to ensure it is meeting the intended purpose as stated in the Aspen/Pitkin County Employee Housing Guidelines.