NPR feature story (with host intro)
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North American (General)Transcript
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Some visitors describe the landscape around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as God's country. If you ask a resident, you might hear them call it Poverty with a view. Either way, Jackson Hole is the most economically unequal place in the country. With summer tourists pouring into the region, Robin Vincent tells us how residents in Paradise are tackling their housing crisis. Great neighborhood. There's awesome people live here. Teton County Sheriff Matt Car is walking through the three bedroom house he bought last year. It's just steps from Jackson Hole Mountain Resorts, renowned ski runs. I started out here 25 years ago when I first moved to Jackson, and so now it's kind of coming full circle. His house has an open floor plan, vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors, all kissed with afternoon sun. It's a big change from his living situation. Just a few years ago, I was in a one bedroom at the time with two kids, and it's not a real easy situation, especially as the kids get older. In 2015 Car was a lieutenant in the sheriff's office. He was working several jobs to make ends meet and living in the last affordable rental complex in the Valley. The housing crisis had reached a tipping point, and then Karl earned. His rent was going up by 40%. So that was why I was fortunate to get in, you know, with the housing authority that changed everything. Homes in his area start at $1 million but with the help of government subsidized housing, he paid just 313,000. Car story is emblematic of Jackson's housing progress. It has made strides to house local workers, especially critical service providers. We've been under tremendous pressure as a town council to do something about it. That's Jackson town Councilman Jim Stanford. He is one of two council members living in a home through Jackson's affordable housing program. The other is the mayor. What we've seen since the recession was this enormous amount of economic activity and even more economic pressure on our community. Housing being priced so far out of reach. Some factors have deepened that crisis. Wyoming has no state income tax, so it draws in wealthy people from all over. Then there's the lack of develop a ble land, 97% of it is federally protected. Demand has driven up the medium price for a home here. 22.3 million. That's unthinkable for civil servants like car. He was making 90 grand as an under sheriff when he qualified for his home in Teton Village. But many are left out in the cold, literally water. The thief fridge in John Slaughters Art studio is stocked. He's done a few things to make his shared art studio feel like a home, Perhaps because the 36 year old photographer doesn't have one. It's definitely hard, especially when I just had to Nice living situations recently. For the last six years, Slaughter has lived in his van. In the summers during Jackson's frigid winters, he has found temporary housing. This past winter, Keep almost found the stability of a riel home, but it was a short lived handshake. Deal was there for about 10 months, so that was kind of the longest stand for residents like slaughter. The jackpot is Jackson's housing lottery. It prioritizes people based on length and type of employment or income. Some have been waiting for years, but slaughter doesn't fit neatly into those categories. He is part of Jackson's shrinking creative class. A lot of those folks have already left. There's no silver bullet to this problem. That's April Norton, director of the Jackson Teton County Affordable Housing Department, she notes. The housing department has more than 100 units in development. Still, the percentage of workers living locally is trending slightly down. Norton points to two reasons. One. We have a lot of people who are retiring and selling their homes for millions. Then there's the local job growth rate. It's three and 1/2 percent, nearly double the national average. It's really hard to keep up with that. For the sheriff, it's also difficult. Thio give his deputies the stability he now has. Housing County employees was central to Carr's campaign when he ran for sheriff last year. Of his 25 patrollers, five live in Teton County. All are in units through the housing Department. For the rest, they live at least one mountain pass away. Councilman Stanford says that distance worries him and others. At a certain point, you're not gonna have anybody to help you. You're not gonna have anybody to serve you. You're not gonna have anybody to respond when you're in an emergency. Elected officials have taken more drastic measures to address the housing issue in the last year. Developers now must provide or pay housing costs for a larger proportion of their full time workers. But share of cars deputies, they haven't gotten the housing allowances he wants. Instead, the county last month voted to raise nearly all its employees salaries. Still, Carr says, it's too little, too late. It's really hard for officers that don't live here. There, there, kids don't go to school here. They don't grocery shop here. In other words, they have no connection to the community they serve keeping car awake at night. Robin Vincent kur news