Housing

It is no secret that living in a tourist destination creates a challenge around affordable housing. Adding to this challenge is the advent of short-term rentals, a growing population in the Treasure Valley of cash-rich individuals from other states looking for a place to invest in real-estate and get-away cabins, and state legislation that sets direction for local control boards.

I believe the County has to be very careful not to add to the, "Demand," side of the market by buying up houses and hiring builders.

Some of the current legal doctrines and solutions that have helped in other areas that I am researching are buying deed restrictions, temporary moratoriums in specifically zoned areas, and incentivizing short-term rental properties to add deed restrictions or to transition to long-term rental options. I don't think all of these are right for Valley County.

I believe communicating and appealing to people will probably be the quickest way to make an impact. More than anything, I love to bring people into difficult conversations and solve challenges like this with outside-the-box thinking.

Ultimately, the action most likely to move us in the right direction is to move to zoning like the rest of the state and country. Having general-use zones for every property does not allow for any planning other than waiting for the next application. Developers and farmers alike should have the assurance that the properties they hold or are purchasing will be allowed for use in the way they want.