The study was coordinated by the nonprofit Mountainlands Community Housing Trust and was funded by the Park City Chamber’s Sustainable Tourism grant program.
The report concludes that affordable housing has many economic, environmental and community benefits. They include reducing commutes and greenhouse gas emissions, filling local jobs with new residents, along with increases to household spending, sales taxes and property taxes.
The study also claims investments in affordable housing could offset the need to create more parking and increase enrollment in local schools, which brings in more state funding.
Andrew Knudtsen, a consultant who conducted the study for Mountainlands, says Summit County is relying more and more on commuters to fill jobs
“Households making less than $75,000 a year have decreased by 17% since 2010, while at the same time, households making $200,000 or more have increased by nearly 300%,” Knudsen said. “Households that have been earning their net worth from outside the region are bringing that into the region, and locals who are earning wages based on the local economy are not able to compete.”
By estimating the costs of commuting, emissions, unfilled jobs and other variables, he says creating more housing for local workers has an economic basis.
“The big takeaway is there is a return on investment,” Knudtsen said. “On a rental project, we estimate that there is a return to the community of $585,000 annually from the economic activity generated by that dwelling unit and the impact it has on the economy. Assuming a $100,000 investment, there’s a return 5.8 times the return.”
Polly Mendoza, was among the more than 50 residents who attended the presentation. Mendoza lives in affordable housing and spoke about her family’s struggles sharing a cramped studio apartment, while waiting more than two years for a deed-restricted unit.
“Park City is a beautiful place and it should not be just for the rich,” Mendoza said. “It should be for those of us who work here, and we work hard and we make this city run. And I’ve known families, as I’m sure many of you have, who have had to move away from Park City because they can’t afford it here.”
It’s estimated that 12% of Park City’s workforce lives in the 84060 zip code.
In 2016 the Park City Council set a goal to create 800 new affordable housing units by 2026. Park City Chamber Director of Community and Government Affairs Becca Gerber was on the council at the time, and says there’s still plenty of room to improve.
“[The council has] moved a long way," Gerber said. "They’ve made a lot of progress. They still have some units to go, but it does feel like the conversation has moved away from housing over the past few years, and we want to refocus this conversation.”
The group says they’d like to see Summit County set a housing unit production goal similar to Park City.
The full affordable housing study Tuesday can be found here
