I lived in Park City, UT throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. My family had a home in Telluride, so I’m familiar with the situation there, as well. I have an idea for a solution that I’m surprised was not mentioned. It’s simple: impose a heavy tax on unoccupied vacation homes but offer an exemption for owners who house one local worker on the property year-round. The concept is that the owner of a big vacation home would build a small apartment, perhaps in a basement or in the rear of the home, or even detached, that could house 1-2 locals, and would rent it out for an affordable price. In exchange, the owner gets a break from the hefty tax and they have an on-site theft deterrent.
Back in my ski town days, I had several friends who lived in peoples’ vacation homes as on-site keepers for the absentee owners. They’d keep the property secure, shovel snow if needed, stock the fridge before the owner visited, etc. In exchange, they lived there for free, or at a much-reduced rent.
> It’s simple: impose a heavy tax on unoccupied vacation homes but offer an exemption for owners who house one local worker on the property year-round.
TFA mentioned explicitly that CB's proposal (not approved by the electorate) was a tax on unoccupied vacation homes with an exemption for owns who house one local worker on the property for at least 6 months of the year.
They really should just have this on the business owners. Make them have to provide housing for the labor they require to make their money vs having homeowners who might not even be patronizing the business front this overhead of theirs. In places like Catalina Island where there isn't much housing, you will see job ads for the coffee shop offering employee housing along with the job. You want to open a starbucks in a mountain town? Better make it a mixed use building with some apartments upstairs for the staff.
The whole reason why housing costs are so high is because there is an imbalance in the number of jobs and units of houses available, so if you mandate that all these employers provide housing for the jobs they bring into the area, you alleviate this imbalance immediately.
This sounds interesting! My sister worked in Park City, UT for several years.
How would you account for the J-1s (Brazilian immigrants in town ONLY for the winter season)? What about the families that need more than a 1 bed room?
My sister mentioned that the "poor class" extended up to a family whose dad was a lawyer. I'm not sure this is true, but I am sure the COL was pretty friggen high (there are, what, 2 grocery stores and one of them is a Whole Foods).
Back in my ski town days, I had several friends who lived in peoples’ vacation homes as on-site keepers for the absentee owners. They’d keep the property secure, shovel snow if needed, stock the fridge before the owner visited, etc. In exchange, they lived there for free, or at a much-reduced rent.