Today’s Jackson Hole News and Guide features an update on affordable housing. I have pulled out a few small portions from of the article here just to give you an idea of what’s going on …
Employers, developers and anyone looking to build homes or commercial space may soon have to comply with a 25 percent affordable housing mitigation rate if the county enacts an interim measure anticipated next month.
The Teton County Housing Authority is expected to present Teton County commissioners and Jackson Town councilors with a proposal to increase mitigation rates from 15 to 25 percent.
The idea grew from a series of meetings the housing authority held with commissioners and councilors about a consultant’s housing needs assessment completed last summer. That report suggested increasing the affordable housing requirement for residential and commercial development from the current 15 percent to 40 percent to stem the flow of workers from the valley. The higher rate would ensure 60 percent of the workforce lives here, the percentage needed to keep a thriving community, consultants said.
To read the full article, 25 percent affordable sought
The 25% rate may not change a whole lot, but it is a step in the right direction. Have to stay positive … every bit helps.
I’d love to work and live in Jackson. This would certainly help. K
Amy, Summit County has the Summit Housing Authority which is a non-profit in charge of making sure that we have affordable housing. They recently got two new taxes passed to support it. One was an increase in the sales tax, and the other was a tax of $1 per square foot on new construction. I am not so sure that one is such a good idea. I prefer to see incentives, like extra density or discounted tap fees in order to get developers to build deed restricted units when they are doing new projects. I will be interested to see how Jackson handles it.
Joanne, It will be interesting to see how Jackson handles this … definitely a hot topic right now. Currently, many are buying property in Star Valley, Wyoming and Teton Valley, Idaho. As far as the Summit County market, where are most first time home buyers purchasing property these days?