Ketchum’s affordable housing inventory remains too low. This impacts businesses and the economy by reducing workforce availability. Even with Bluebird Village, the city is short at least 581 Community Housing units needed by 2032 to meet local demand across income levels. (And, with recent growth rates, the number is likely higher!) One development alone cannot accommodate all household income needs due to funding constraints when developing below-market-rate housing. Similarly, preservation and conversion of short-term rentals or seasonal homes to long-term use alone won’t meet that need, but a combination of efforts might. 

A study on available city-owned property has been conducted to determine the feasibility of developing additional Community Housing units to fill in the gaps that current developments can’t. Options have been narrowed down and now we need your input to determine what the next steps will be. For a presentation on the issue followed by a Q&A session, please come to City Hall at noon on Tuesday, February 11 or at 5 PM on Wednesday, February 12.