Aspen is famous for having housing prices as high as its picturesque snow capped mountains. With a median price of over $1 million, Aspen is quite deserving of that reputation. Like most resort towns, the higher cost of living in Aspen is extremely detrimental to those who help give the city its flavor and warmth, its workers. With the value of land at record highs, affordable housing is at a minimum, forcing those on the low end of the income scale into trailer parks or outside of the city limits entirely. In response to this, Aspen has set into motion an affordable housing initiative that will attempt to stem the tide.

This program has already helped launched numerous housing and rental housing projects to shelter the city’s workers, resulting in as many as 1,500 affordable housing units in and around Aspen, with the potential to provide living quarters for as many as 3,000 residents. With Aspen maintaining a permanent residence base of just over 5,000, this program has clearly taken a broad step in alleviating the problem. At the heart of this program lies the Aspen Area Community Plan, the primary goal of which is to ensure that no less than 60% of Aspen’s work force has permanent residence in the Aspen area. Achieving this goal required a series of policy changes and programs to create a housing environment which was equally distributed among neighborhoods, and most of all, affordable. To combat the booming Aspen real estate market, a housing program has long been in place which set a limit on the amount of new residential units that could be bid for each year. This new housing program further ensures that of those limited new units being built; at least 60% of them will fall within the affordable housing standard.

Furthermore, Aspen’s Housing Replacement Program ensures that the currently existing amount of affordable housing will be maintained. As often happens in areas of high land value, old homes get replaced with towering skyscrapers or expensive condominiums, further exacerbating already existing problems. This program is meant to ensure that the quota for new affordable housing units being built will not be counteracted by existing units giving way to high priced housing. Individual home owners are also given incentive to built small attached or detached units on their lots and rent those new units out to local workers as affordable housing. These units must be approved through a public hearing process, but are otherwise exempt from other housing controls and fees. In fact all affordable housing is exempt from the growth management process, and developments that qualify 100% as affordable housing can receive building permit and tap fee waivers. Partial affordable housing projects may receive a tap fee discount.

The Aspen community, Aspen homeowners and voters all continue to vigorously support these initiatives, with the city of Aspen raising more $2,000,000 annually to be used to help fund their affordable housing programs, purchase property, and build affordable housing for rent or sale to area workers. These affordable housing projects have shifted away from the large, borderline ghetto style housing projects of the past to smaller, more dispersed projects distributed across the community. Guidelines for housing prices and rental rates are based off of the incomes of Aspen’s working citizens, and are designed to ensure that these tenants pay no more than 30% of their income in housing costs. The Aspen affordable housing program is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, which was all but a necessity given the unique climate of the Aspen real estate market, and the growing divide between high end and low road. The programs ensure that Aspen will continue to be a community not restricted by income, and maintain the warmth and feel of the city. While Aspen will continue to be a popular hotspot for the rich and famous, it is now a viable option for those less fortunate as well.

If this news of the Aspen affordable housing program is music to your ears and something you would like to take advantage of, here’s a quick look at what you can expect when hunting for an apartment in Aspen. Firstly, apartments in the city core are still quite expensive, and may be rented only on a weekly or even daily basis, even during the less hectic summer months. Try to find a good rental service or get into contact with a real estate agent with knowledge of the rental market that may be able to help you find the appropriate scenario. You should also educate yourself on the local property laws and the landowner’s track record if possible. Remember to factor in the slightly higher cost of living in Aspen into your budgeting. Everything from grocery store prices, to the Aspen McDonald’s typically features prices in the range of 10-15% higher than nearby cities. If you can manage to swing it, that feeling of pleasure and joy you get from living in a winter paradise in Aspen will surely make that food taste 10-15% better(disclaimer: results may vary).

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