In the paper the other day, I read a story about Aspen, Colorado’s development woes. Their town council had loosened some development regulations in response to a slowed economy after the crash of technology stocks. There is a great deal of development now underway in this resort community with development dollars flowing, but its all high-end, and there’s very little housing for the workers that will be needed to sustain all the new hotels, shops and eateries.
Aspen just rejected a high-end hotel complex that would have added much-needed hotel rooms to the town. The problem was that the hotel rooms were at the very top of the spectrum ($1,000/night), and that was seen as not sustainable.
There’s already a clog of worker traffic from down-valley communities, creating a morning traffic jam in an unlikely environment given the natural beauty. The addition of passenger bus service and high-occupancy vehicle lanes have helped, but increasing development means increasing pressure.
The plight of Aspen and other resort communities that foster an outdoors-friendly lifestyle coupled with a high quality of living won’t get easier any time soon. There’s an increasing number of remote workers that bring a big-city salary to more rural enclaves, and the boomer generation is gravitating to these outdoor playgrounds as places to retire. Meanwhile, the small and sleepy agriculture towns of the west and midwest see a precipitous drop in population.
Tools to quantify the impacts of community growth go a long way toward balancing the benefits with the detriments. I just interviewed Ken Snyder, executive director of PlaceMatters, on decision support and e-participation tools that help communities better plan their growth. Look for that interview online in its entirety in early September.
