Hey <<First Name>>,

Thanks for tuning in! It's been an eventful month here at Shelter—in large part thanks to YOU. Here’s an update on what we've been working on:

CALL TO ACTION MONDAY 2/28: Legacy Lodge
Tomorrow evening, the County Planning Commission will consider approving a change of use for Legacy Lodge to be used for apartments with Workforce deed restrictions. 

We think that allowing Legacy Lodge to be changed into apartments could be a huge win-win as long as there are permanent deed restrictions in place: the owners can profit and local workers can unlock new places to live.

• If you are a Rafter J resident, please speak up and let your Commissioners know that you would love to have more local worker neighbors! Since a lot of the resistance is coming from Rafter J, residents weighing in is especially powerful.

• Even if you're not a Rafter J resident, please send a comment in and say that you SUPPORT allowing workers to live in Legacy Lodge.

Email: cneubecker@tetoncountywy.gov

400 W. Snow King Receives Federal Funding!
GREAT NEWS: The upcoming housing development at 400 W. Snow King just received additional funding from the Wyoming Community Development Authority, which means that 48 of these units will be Affordable for local workers!⁠

As a reminder: Affordable deed-restricted homes are income-linked, meaning that you need to make under 120% Median Family Income (MFI) to live in these homes. The current MFI for a single-person household in Teton County is hovering around $80k. Workforce homes, on the other hand, have no asset or income limits for occupants.

The Preservation Program Perseveres!
More great news: all Town Councilors and County Commissioners (except for Councilor Rooks) voted to continue the Preservation Program, which provides down payment/mortgage assistance to locals in exchange for placing a permanent deed restriction on their home.

This tool alone won't solve the problem: we cannot build our way out of the housing crisis, so we need to think of ways to "unlock" housing units that already exist and make them exclusively available to full-time community members in perpetuity. Read the article here.

Hot Topics in Housing
ShelterJH members share relevant articles with one another through our Google Group. Here are what our conversations have been about this month:

• Missed the 2/3 Housing Business Over Breakfast? Check it out here.

• Denver Post: Naturally-occurring affordable housing is going extinct

• NY Times: YIMBY and mountain lions

• Time: “Two Bills” decide to fund failing city Kalamazoo

• Deseret News: Wealth inequality in ski towns as a harbinger for national problems

• Forbes: How the wealthy defeated an affordable housing development in Whitefish

• Guest Shot (JH News and Guide): Say yes to housing solutions

Join Us!
If you’re not already a member, please join our movement. We suggest a donation of $20 per year; however, we want our membership to be as accessible as possible, so please pay what you can. Members receive access to special meetings, vote on the Board of Directors, and help set the vision and trajectory for the organization. Already a member? Forward this email to five friends who care about the housing emergency! 

As always, I am here to answer any questions. Thanks for your steadfast support of ShelterJH!

Best,
Clare Stumpf
she/her/hers
info@shelterjh.org