This document is an assessment of the workforce housing programs belonging to four rural resort communities in western Colorado. The objective of the study is to analyze the housing mitigation policies used within these communities and later determine the level of effectiveness that this type of housing mitigation has on the responding community. The study was designed to focus on workforce housing that is primarily provided by the municipality and uses a case study approach where cases were selected intentionally because of their similar community sizes and types.
The conclusion drawn from this study is that among the four communities being studied, the City of Aspen has developed the most comprehensive and effective workforce housing program. Their program provides the most affordable units and houses the largest proportion of the local workforce. Aspen has been able to achieve its success by using a combination of local taxes to support the financing of workforce housing. Aspen uses the taxing power of the Aspen/ Pitkin County Housing Authority to collect funding for affordable housing through three main funding sources; the a Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), a portion of the local sales tax, and a portion of the local lodging tax.
It is recommended that rural resort communities seeking to expand or implement a workforce housing program refer to Aspen mitigation program as one that has successfully provided affordable housing for a significant portion of the local low-wage workforce.