Sun Valley Economic Development is making MIH a priority
BY DICK DORWORTH & DANA DUGAN
Demand for middle-income housing in the Wood River Valley has outgrown the supply and the situation will get worse unless something changes soon. That is the conclusion of Doug Brown who wrote in the last Sun Valley Economic Development newsletter, “I urge policy-makers to get out and talk with builders and developers, employers and house hunters and hear what I’ve been hearing: ‘There is a growing problem we have to address.’ I’m NOT talking about government subsidies; ARCH and BCHA are using grants and other monies available to do what’s allowed within the current guidelines. We support their efforts… As policy-makers reach out to those affected by the situation, they will be more motivated to prioritize the opportunity to foster change in zoning and density and other regulations. More housing will be built… SVED is making the issue of middle-income housing a priority. We are approaching the community to build consensus about the need for change. We understand how important housing availability is to our local economy and our future.
“SVED is dedicating our Oct. 5 Annual Economic Summit to this cause.”
“It’s very hard to have a profit margin under $500,000, at least that is worth the risk involved in building,” said contractor Thad Farnham, who generally builds spec and custom houses in the $500,000 to $1 million range.
“It’s tough when clients want to live in Ketchum or the north Valley,” said Ellie Ellis, an associate broker at Coldwell Banker. “It’s very tight. There are things in Hailey and south. There just isn’t middle-income housing in Ketchum. It’s just the reality.”
As just one example to illustrate the pressing importance of the issue, Harry Griffith of SVED said that he is currently working with 10 companies who have applied for Tax Reimbursement Incentive awards to open new businesses in the Wood River Valley. These companies have the potential to create 500 new jobs with an average salary of $71,000 a year. The mission statement of SVED reads: “Our mission is to create a thriving, diversified, year-round economy for the Sun Valley Region.” Griffith points out that a thriving economy requires housing for the workers within that economy, and the Wood River Valley needs more of it in order to prosper.
As for rentals in the mid-market, “it’s harder now than it’s ever been to find affordable rentals for those who live and work here,” said Realtor Anna Mathieu with Windermere. “You pay at least $1,200 in Woodside and Bellevue and up from there. People often don’t realize what the tax benefits are of owning a home.”
Mathieu added that in the last “few years, some people who were unable to sell their homes rented them instead. The market has improved in most places and the home may easily sell now, and possibly for a higher price. Even though the opportunity to sell in the near future might not change, there could be another opportunity that could quickly disappear for some homeowners in terms of a capital gain exclusion on the profits of a principal residence of up to $250,000 for single taxpayers and $500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly.”
Griffith said that SVED has no set game plan for addressing the matter. Instead, it is reaching out to the entire community for input and ideas for changes in zoning, density and other regulations that currently make the cost of buying land and building MIH difficult. He emphasized that this issue is connected to but not the same as affordable housing of the kind Blaine County Housing Authority deals with. He described the MIH tenants as “…the next tier up of income, a college educated couple with one or two children in their late 20s to early 40s with a combined income of $100,000 to $160,000 a year—and they can’t afford houses in this community.”
Among ideas that will be discussed at the Oct. 5 Economic Summit are: more MIH construction in the Ketchum Industrial Center; another is 10 to 12 mini-homes—700 to 1000 square feet—built on two-acre lots; and other breaks with the traditional building codes of the Wood River Valley.
Anyone who is interested in getting involved or who has ideas to contribute is welcome to contact Doug Brown of SVED at DougBrownSV@gmail.com.