Where I Stand:
○ Create a Workforce Housing Overlay focused in the urban commercial core of Jackson and Teton Village that allows significant density incentives for employment-based deed-restricted units.
○ Remove parking requirements from new workforce housing development.
○ Do not increase commercial or free market residential zoning rights, so we avoid adding to our job glut.
○ Do not waste taxpayer dollars on direct housing subsidies to private individuals and businesses.
○ Use taxpayer dollars to subsidize government employee housing and housing for people with disabilities.
○ Ensure robust enforcement of the deed restrictions on the current subsidized housing supply, and of the zoning rules regarding short-term rentals.
The Challenge:
Jackson Hole has a zoning imbalance. We have reasonable opportunities for commercial and free market residential growth, but almost no opportunity for workforce housing development. Our current low-density zoning requires massive subsidies to produce housing for our workforce. When government money subsidizes housing for private sector employees it’s just another form of corporate welfare, and the opportunities for waste, mismanagement, fraud, and cronyism are too great.
The Solution:
We need to create a workforce housing overlay that is focused on the commercial core urban areas of Town and Teton Village. These are areas that have easy walking access to shopping, transit, entertainment, and workplaces. Within the overlay, we need to allow significant density incentives in exchange for employment-based deed-restricted housing. Only people that work full-time in the local Jackson Hole economy will be allowed to occupy these units. The units should be limited in size to increase affordability, and there should be no parking requirements on these units. These units should be bought and sold with no restrictions on price appreciation, and no rent caps. Anyone should be able to own one including individuals, investors, private employers, and government entities. The fact that they are deed restricted to local workforce occupancy will tie their affordability to the local wage structure.
Individuals can buy these units to live in or as an investment. Private employers can purchase them and rent them to their employees at market rates or subsidize the rent if they wish. Government can purchase units to rent to their own employees and for people in the community that are disabled or are in crisis. Owners of these units should be required to pay annual fees that would cover enforcement of the deed restrictions, enforcement of parking restrictions, and to subsidize robust transit service to the property.
By using zoning incentives rather than direct taxpayer subsidies we can get the government out of the private sector housing business with all the waste, mismanagement and corporate welfare that can entail.
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Questions, comments, concerns? Do you have a better idea? Contact Me.