I live in a small mountain town. You could swap many towns (usually tourist destinations) in place of Ketchum in this article, it's the same story. These towns tend to be fiercely anti-development, and many people demonize anyone who would like to see growth in housing, and make hyperbolic claims that their quaint little town will look like a Houston suburb at the first sign of a new house being built.
Anyway, places like Ketchum got what they wanted, which was generally to preserve the character of the town. Unfortunately they flunked Econ 101, as they're now discovering that the trade off they made (there's always a trade off) was a cost of living that goes vertical. In my town, the problem has surpassed affordability and it's now availability - there is nowhere to live regardless of money. A recent hiring sign in a shop window advertised they will overpay and you can slack off...but they can't fill it because there's nowhere to live.
The most frustrating part is that the anti-development crowd who architected all this - whether you agree with it or not - simply won't accept the reality that this was their choice. You can't even talk to them, they blame everything and everyone else. Over the years I've noticed that failure to understand/accept incentives has been the root cause of many problems.
Anyway, places like Ketchum got what they wanted, which was generally to preserve the character of the town. Unfortunately they flunked Econ 101, as they're now discovering that the trade off they made (there's always a trade off) was a cost of living that goes vertical. In my town, the problem has surpassed affordability and it's now availability - there is nowhere to live regardless of money. A recent hiring sign in a shop window advertised they will overpay and you can slack off...but they can't fill it because there's nowhere to live.
The most frustrating part is that the anti-development crowd who architected all this - whether you agree with it or not - simply won't accept the reality that this was their choice. You can't even talk to them, they blame everything and everyone else. Over the years I've noticed that failure to understand/accept incentives has been the root cause of many problems.