406 Forum

At the October 22 housing meeting, it was confirmed that Big Sky has a major affordable housing crisis. What do you see as a solution?

Mina Turturica, Big Sky, Mont.
Private housekeeper

“They should build more employee housing, not like the condos just built in Town Center – those are too expensive. More like the Mountain Lodge up at the resort but with better facilities, something clean and affordable. I heard Mountain Lodge had bed bugs. If employers offer you housing, it should be clean and safe to live in, but of course there aren’t many employers in Big Sky that offer housing anyway.”
Follow up: Who are “they”?
“The resort. The ones that actually own Big Sky Resort, it’s their job to secure employees with everything.”

Nancy Johnsen, Big Sky, Mont.
Owner, Choppers Grub & Pub

“We as business owners recognize and are affected by the housing situation firsthand. It’s harder to find employees because of it. I think the big players in the community, such as Big Sky Resort, Spanish Peaks and Yellowstone Club; need to step up and build employee-housing units. Developers in the area also need to consider more affordable real estate for working-class, year round residents. The current [housing] options, affordable or not, are so restricted with HOA rules.”

Daniel and Jacqueline Cook, Foresthill, Calif.
Both self-employed

Daniel: “Give some incentives for developers to build affordable housing and infrastructure, whether it be tax breaks or some other form of incentive. For every one dollar of profit a developer makes on a higher-end development, a certain percentage of that dollar should go back into affordable housing projects that yield lower profit margins. That should be a requirement to come and build here.”

Jacqueline: “If a developer wants to make significant profit from this community, is it not an obligation to return a portion of that profit back into the community that is being burdened by their development? This could include affordable housing that is environmentally sustainable – [using techniques] similar to LEED certification [and] solar.”