Housing

State of the
Aspen Area

Speaker
Series

Aspen Economy
White Paper

Random
Survey

Small Group
Meetings

Survey
Results

Large Group
Meetings

Planning &
Zoning Review

City Council &
BOCC Review

State of the Aspen Area: 2000-2008
September 17

This report contains up to date information on a range of issues that have traditionally been important to the Aspen community, ranging from transportation to housing and growth. Did you know that the City has issued 9,886 building permits with a value of $2.4 billion since 2000? This is just one piece of information contained in this comprehensive report. Included are reader-friendly summaries
of each topic.

Speaker Series
September 17 - October

Staff visited various groups and organizations in the Aspen area to offer a PowerPoint presentation on the highlights of the State of the Aspen Area report, and the public process for generating a Community Vision for the Aspen Area.

'White Paper' on the
Aspen Economy
October 20

This is a rare opportunity to gain a new understanding of the unique and powerful resort economy that drives many important issues in the Aspen area. The City of Aspen hired an international resort consulting firm (Economics Research Associates) to draft this 'White Paper.' The report is reader-friendly and accessible to the general public.

Random Survey
November

A survey has been mailed to random households in the Aspen area, asking a wide range of questions about your vision for the future. This approach has been tested in mountain communities before, and will be a statistically accurate reflection of community values, likes and dislikes. Results will be available in January 2009.

Small Group Meetings
Oct 27 - Nov 14

More than 150 people recently participated in 11 small group meetings in October and November, offering their visions and goals for the future. These meetings were not intended to produce a consensus of any kind, but to express a range of goals and visions. A summary of notes from these meetings are available on the "Small Group Meetings" page.

Survey Results
2nd week January

The results of the random survey that was mailed to Aspen area residents in November will be available on the website. This is a values-based survey that can help form the Community Vision for the Aspen area.

Large Community Vision Meetings
January 27, January 31

Our goal is to have at least 350 people attend each of three public meetings, so more than 1,000 people can take part in drafting a Community Vision for the Aspen Area. We'll use a number of methods, including wireless voting keypads to explore the community's values. For more information and to RSVP and reserve your clicker, please see the homepage.

Planning and Zoning
Commission Review
March

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Planning and Zoning Commissions of both the City and the County will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

City Council and Board of County Commissioners Review
April

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Aspen City Council and the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area, while also considering the input of both planning and zoning commissions. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

Printable Version

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Housing

During the last eight years, the Aspen area has become home to more than 1,400 people working in Aspen and living in affordable housing - 592 owning their homes and 909 renting. For most resorts, this would be nothing short of miraculous, but in Aspen it's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the issue of housing.

During the same period, an estimated 1,075 Aspen area workers who used to live in free market homes, condos and multiplexes have had to find somewhere else to live, as 597 free market units have been converted into something other than workforce housing.

And yet another wrinkle: As the baby boomer generation ages in Aspen, they are slowly but steadily retiring in their affordable housing units, taking more workforce housing off the table. While the numbers are modest today - an estimated 207 retirees live in affordable housing - that number is predicted to jump to 625 in 2017, and peaking at 1,142 in 2032.

At the same time, the downvalley housing "relief valve" has squeezed tighter and tighter: The option of buying a home from Basalt to Glenwood has become more and more challenging. The average single-family home price in Basalt recently topped $1 million and Carbondale is hovering at about $600,000.

Based on these trends, it seems that over the next 20 years or so, downvalley communities may experience what happened in Aspen during the last 20 to 30 years. As downvalley property owners -- be they plumbers, accountants or teachers -- watch their home prices skyrocket, some will decide to sell for long-term financial security and move elsewhere. And the buyers will not necessarily become members of the local workforce.

In May of 2008, the City of Aspen and the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority completed a study and survey of affordable housing within the City. To see the results of this study, please click here.

Linkage to other issues

There are precious few issues in the Aspen area that exist in a vacuum. Here are a few topics that are directly related to the question of housing the local workforce.

The Economy. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of jobs in the Aspen area increased by more than 1,000 - or about 7%.

Growth Management. In 2007, changes to the City's land use code made it likely that future developers will have to build as much square footage of affordable housing as free market housing in commercial zone districts.

Transportation. Both the City of Aspen and RFTA are planning for substantial jumps in transit efficiency. The City will implement transit-only lanes from the airport to the roundabout by November 2008, and RFTA is working on the Bus Rapid Transit concept of a bus system that functions like rail through an emphasis on express trunk service.