By Fabie Van Cappel
The Short-Term Rentals (STR) subject has been a “hot and spicy” topic in Archuleta County and its incorporated city of Pagosa Springs.
In Archuleta and other counties of Colorado, STRs have become a scapegoat. A fallacious narrative consists in incriminating the nefarious STRs who are seemingly responsible for the housing shortage crisis that Archuleta County is facing.
However, what is happening in Colorado and Archuleta County since 2008?
After losing substantial population during the 2008 recession, Archuleta County and its incorporated city has seen a steady population growth after the economic recovery. Archuleta County population has increased by 24% from 2010 to 2022. During this period, the town of Pagosa Springs has seen a corresponding increase of 29% to its own population.
How does this compare to the State of Colorado? In 2010, Colorado was hosting a population of 4,301,262. Today the population of Colorado has reached about 6 million. This represents an increase of about 72% since 2010. These results make Colorado the second fastest growing state in the United States. From 2020 to 2022, about 200,000 people migrated to Colorado. Covid-19 pandemic has created numerous migrations through North America. These numbers do not include the border invasion influx. For instance, New York saw a huge decline of 3.5% of its population in 2021.
In this example, cost of life in NYC has become exorbitant, and remote work is changing the map of the megapolis. With the monetary gain of selling their studios in Manhattan, New Yorkers can afford to buy a three-bedroom house in Florida . Teleworking New Yorkers have moved to the Southern states of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. The surge of population influx has also created a housing crisis in these states.
Similarly, population influx to Colorado has created an enormous demand on housing. Remember, we have seen an increase in population by 72 percent in our State of Colorado. Back in 2012, Colorado was already 55,000 dwellings short (houses and apartments). The demand and supply in housing in Colorado has turned into a snowball effect.
The price of housing is based on the demand, but the supply does not satisfy its demand; thus, the housing shortage creates a scarcity that ramps up prices of housing. The lack of regulation in the renting industry is also causing stress upon its populace. From 2016 to today, Denver experiences a horrendous endemic housing crisis: the high demand combined with unregulated rentals and greed contribute to rent hikes that outstrip earnings. This is putting high stress on middle class and young families as well as low-income earners.
Amazingly, in Colorado, housing, a basic sheltering necessity, has become a precious commodity. Just in the city of Pagosa Springs this year, I have seen the rent increasing 25% from one month to the next. In Durango, I have heard of rent increases of 100-150%% from one year to the next.
From snowball to avalanche, the young manpower and low-income workers have lost their dream and cannot remain in Colorado.
Recently published in the Colorado Sun, numerous county commissioners from Colorado (San Miguel, Summit, Grand, Eagle, Pitkin, Routt, and Gunnison) roared against STRs: these commissioners harshly accuse STRs as solely responsible for the decade’s long workers housing crisis.
These assumptions are not founded on statistical analysis, but they are based on the hypocritical idiosyncrasy of our county representatives.
In February 2008, the Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. published a study and audit on the status of the workforce housing in Archuleta County. This organization presented the “Housing Needs Assessment” for Archuleta County and its incorporated city of Pagosa Springs. The study showed that Archuleta was transitioning from primary and natural resource to tourism, resort, and secondary home-based economy. During a survey conducted from 2007 to 2008, small business owners reported that Archuleta had a serious affordable housing issue. Small businesses couldn’t maintain any employees because it was out-of-reach for their incomes.
“Difficulty to keep quality employees”, “town traffic needed to bypass”, “need for more housing for entry-level workers”, “severe disproportion between wages and housing”, “seasonal staff recruitment”, and “employees ‘burned out’ working multiple jobs” were pointed out in 2008, and remain the same issues after 14 years.
The study suggested that Archuleta County and its outlying jurisdictions adopt “an umbrella definition of workforce housing” that included essential workers, services, and professional entry-levels, etc. The study from Economic & Planning Systems Inc., presented several strategies and policies to help increase workforce housing for Archuleta County. However, it was up to the decision makers, developers, and city planners of Archuleta County to choose which strategies to adopt and implement in addressing the workforce housing problem.
But alas, in 2008, entry-level jobs in Archuleta paid between $12 and $15 per hour. Today, and after 14 years, the wage has not increased significantly, while basic cost-of-living has increased three-fold. There are instances where our local workforce entry-level employees have to choose between housing and three meals per day: rents for example, constitute 70% or more than 100% of a low income entry-level earning in downtown Pagosa Springs. Generation Z and low income workers cannot live as single family and have to share rent to make ends means.
In 2008, Archuleta citizens were asking: “County, get your act together on your budget spending and make people/debts accountable for their actions.”
What happened after the study “Housing Needs Assessment” was tendered to Archuleta County? What strategy did Archuleta County elected leaders and their appointees in the Building Department (such as Zoning Development Director, Panners and etc) adopt to solve the workforce housing issue in 2008?
Today, in June 2022, the saga continues. However, since accountability seems to be a rare virtue these days, Archuleta County has designated a scapegoat who is responsible for workforce housing.
What did secondary or vacation homes do before they became STRs? They were secondary or tertiary vacant housing. In 2008, these secondary homes were empty “vacation houses” where owners would come and spend their family vacation. In between family leisure times, these houses remained empty and stagnant economically. These houses could not be Long-Term Rentals (LTRs) because their owners intended to use them for family vacation.
It is undeniable that STRs have positively contributed to the economical flourishment and prosperity of these Colorado counties. Before the ’90s, Archuleta revenue was sourced from the primary sector and the County was very poor. Then its economical revenue became tertiary and STRs have contributed favorably to expanding this service. STRs have had a positive influence on the small high-country tourist towns all around Colorado. The tourism industry of these resort towns depends on transient visitors. Although Colorado sees millions of visitors every year, this does not mean that all these visitors stay in STRs:
“Eagle County for instance saw 1.5 million visitors with only 12% staying in Short Term Rental homes” in 2020.
Making STRs accountable and responsible for the lack of workforce housing is an evasion to the problem. This is a fallacious issue. Denying STR permits through restrictive and punitive zoning enforcement and mandates won’t solve the issue of the workforce affordable housing in Archuleta. The success of the tertiary service industry was fostered by STRs without being detrimental to the housing crisis in Archuleta: that issue was already discovered and published in 2008.