ISSUE #178: Aspen's Workforce Housing Dilemma, Part 2 10/25/20

"Sometimes people don't want to hear the 

truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

ASPEN TIMES COLUMN Today's column follows up on Part 1, further illustrating how Aspen's "housing dilemma" is a problem of our own making. The deliberate choice to house middle class families and retirees in publicly subsidized units has forced the working class to commute to Aspen for their jobs. The pricey consultants and studies all bear this out. APCHA's decision not to house the actual workforce has forced the Valley's largest employers to take their housing needs into their own hands.  While council is rushing to develop the Lumberyard without a clear strategy that defines what to build, for whom and with what funding, there are critical pressing issues with our existing housing stock that simply MUST be addressed first. Building more units is not the answer. Read my column in today's Aspen Times HERE.

CRITICAL SURVEY ON THE LUMBERYARD Please let your opinion be known about housing development at the Lumberyard. Anything short of high-density rental housing for the workforce will only further serve to exacerbate our lack of actual workforce housing. (Ya think?!) Take the quick survey HERE.  There is also a citizens effort to petition council for high density at the Lumberyard. Add your name HERE.  *Again, The Red Ant does not advocate ANY building at this time. But if a decision on density is imminent, let it be FOR density.