Man vs. Ram: Inside an Elite Ski Town's War Over Housing
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2023
- Housing has always been an issue in America's elite resort towns, pricing out local workers who keep the mountains running. Now the country's biggest ski resort operator and the town of Vail are locked in a fight over an affordable housing project.
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This has all the makings of an 80's Ski resort flick: Evil developer, Cowboy Conservationist heroes, wealthy aristocrats out for their own interests. All they need is that scrappy young ski instructor up here for his last season before he has to go to law school to save the day, hook up with the hot reporter, and decide to stay in Vail forever.
I need a montage
Typical vice d3mocrat propiganda
@rsmith02 I don’t know how I missed it!
Billy Jack on skis to the rescue!
But make it Christmas ✨
I live by a ski town in Canada and they don’t allow you to buy/live in the town unless you are employed in the town. Stops the rich form buying up property that is only used part time. They still have housing issues but not this bad.
They would get around that here.. crazy rich ppl
Are you talking about Banff?
I wish that was the case in Whistler B.C
People should be allowed to do whatever they want with their money.
@@jamescrud yes
I feel so bad for these people living in a 65k sprinter van while working remotely. It must be so rough for them. I wish they could ski remotely too
Right like I work in a factory what makes you so special
lol yes. i dont think the couple in the beginning was an accurate representation of the Pabst Blue Ribbon bandits living in ski towns.
Yeah I figured they’d focus more on the lifties who are usually extremely crowded in poor conditions in worker housing, but it’s just like, people who want to and choose to be there in a heated converted van lol.
Vice journalist version of roughing it.
65k? More like 120k for a built out one.
Grew up in the Vail valley. Most locals who aren't wealthy live a few towns over and commute to work. Literally it's so hard to live in Vail unless you're rich. It's always been that way basically but I can see how it's getting worse. It's getting more expensive everywhere.
Montanas the same way. It’s sad.
The tech money has out paced mostly all 9to 5ers unless you where in prior it will be an arm and a leg until the consumer base crashes
@@TheTonialadd Montana is facing a boom as well? Lots of companies moving there?
Rich people are obnoxious and entitled. They literally ruin nature and displace local communities. It’s embarrassing. One of the reasons I’m reluctant to visit some of these places. I grew up in Mammoth Lakes, a ski resort. The tourists were always so disrespectful of the locals and nature.
You don’t have to live in Vail to experience the housing crunch ….
No way I’d want to be a cook or a waiter in that town.
No way I’d want to eat in that town either. How long can you work in this Petri dish of a town, full of idle rich parasites who have everything while you’re homeless, before you start mixing boogers and c*m into the yuzu pepper sauce?
@@JohnDoe-my5ip LOL... You just reminded me of Tyler Durden’s speech in Fight Club.
let the sheep bring em their coffee and more water...that oughta solve that problem....
I worked in Park City last season, which is also owned by vail resorts. Housing over there sucked, we lived in a apartment for 4 people and we were a group of 8. Its fucked up. Especially for foreign workers that come over to make some cash. I had a goodish experience working with them, but they are not perfect. You really feel replaceable.
you can make $40/hr+ in tips, but at what personal lifestyle cost?
I guess the rich people won’t have anyone to: serve their food, run the ski lifts, serve their drinks, clean their apartments, maintain their slopes, babysit their kids, fix their buildings, clear their snow. Greed, good old fashioned greed. I hope it eats itself.
Probably will over time because the rich will also leave over time
Hope is not a plan
@@Holuunderbeere 🤓
@@firstlast8258 oh it's not hope, it is knowledge 🍁
@DOGSTAR,
Really?
Did you forget the massive ILLEGAL ALIEN,ZOMBIE HORDES,pouring across our southern border? WHY DO YOU THINK they're being allowed in?
The super elite rich,will just bring them in because they can control them with threats and intimidation that would NEVER WORK on American citizens.
Eat the rich,we out number them!
Lol they interviewed a FORD for her perspective but forgot to mention her family were early landowners in Vail! Classic!
My thoughts exactly!!
Exactly
That first couple complaining they can't find denver rent prices in vail while living in a 100k van is absolutely ridiculous and makes this problem look like a joke
I live in another ski resort town Crested Butte, CO. A couple of years ago our resort got bought out by Vail. Same exact thing here, the only way to get housing is by knowing people(having the right connections) or getting extremely lucky. Little to no effort is made to increase the affordable housing in the valley and most service workers live 30 miles away in Gunnison Colorado. The problem with that is Gunnison also is completely out of space for people to live. I grew up in this valley and have just watched this issue get worse and worse. However it's hard to point fingers at any "one group" as to who is responsible for this as the issue is very multi faceted. On one hand we need the rich and the tourists to come in or else where is our economy going to come from? On the other hand it is true that many houses sit completely unused for 90% of the year. Ski resort towns are a gold mine and it would be nice to see actual effort made by the towns of Crested Butte and Gunnison as well as Vail corporate to supply workers with places to actually live! Workers need tourists and tourists need workers. It should be a more symbiotic relationship. In that way the issue is actually quite simple.
Eric, the issue existed before Vail bought Crested Butte, and it was bad before. It's not like Vail created an issue. Will Vail fix it though? Probably not- or just do the bare minimum.
I mean, this video is literally about Vail Resorts trying to build housing for their workers, but getting stopped by NIMBYs.
I used to hold out for CB or Gunnison as the last possibility for a middle class person to get out to Colorado and maybe buy a house.....not anymore.
The entire high country has turned into California
Great response. Its not just a Mountain problem either. I change resorts with the seasons, and this is the growing problem everywhere in the United States. Here in the Keys, where I am now... had to live on my sailboat over a year to get any kind of opportunity to line up. Air B&B turned every home on the islands into an investment opportunity to just rent to weekly renters, which has sank the small business economy pretty significantly. Many closing shop because lack of staff. Now, they want to pass laws requiring all live-aboard boaters to tear up the ocean floor and move every 90 days because of the "eye sores" sailboats have apparently become for locals. The old retired rich folk aren't washing dishes, cooking and serving... so whats next?! But they dont want anyone to live here either. Its all getting out of hand and rather dystopian IMO.
@@benjamintryon813 I wasnt implying that the issue started with Vail buying CB at all, simply making a connection from the video
NIMBY stands for “Not in My Back Yard.” In the housing world it's used to describe people, typically existing residents (especially homeowners), who oppose new housing development near their homes-particularly denser or more affordable housing.
water is wet
Thank you
They oppose affordable housing. Or a nuclear power plant. Etc.
@@camabron1 or transit, or any other beneficial infrastructure that benefits people
Ram has squatters rights, argument settled.
They'll die if they build......Such utter bullshit!! lol
Rams will be fine. Their still being hunted. Build the housing, ignore the pestilence of the rich agenda to distract us from building.
That guy saying the Rams couldn't survive anywhere else was the most Anti-Ram statement I've ever seen. Such blatant disrespect to the Ram species was disgusting to watch
10:59 props to the camera guy still in ski boots. 😊
Looked like everyone in that interview was in ski boots 😆
this is what the entire country is like now. pockets of wealth, and the rest of us work our tails off to live close enough in proximity to service those with wealth. classism is an issue we need to address. also, bloated military budget. good luck out there
💯
That's been like forever in the UK, in terms of classism
Sucks when one of those pockets of wealth was originally the place your family and you grew up, then you get pushed out by being priced out.
oH boo hoo hoo get an education and a real career then
@@jaykay2058 I have a great education and a great job. Lots of assumptions and anger on your end.. Thanks for trolling?
Let the rich serve themselves. The employers should be responsable to accommodate workers living space in a place like that.
Exactly that way I’m saying
How about…just don’t work there.
You ARE the system you perpetuate.
Employees are kind of causing this whole problem.
Go get another job.
Serve coffee if a city that can accommodate you.
It’s REALLY not that hard.
I would love to see the rich people each serving each other 🤣
Theyd just bring their own from outside
@@sendthis9480 absolutely spot on. People taking jobs that don't pay enough to live there are the problem. There are tons of places around the US that have a better income level to housing cost ratio. Don't take a $25 / hr job and live in your van to complain that you can't afford to live there. Enough workers saying "no" will reduce the appeal of the town to the rich when there's no one to perform the services. That's the only way to normalize the pricing.
Vail picked that spot because they knew it would have push back and they wouldn’t have to build the housing.
Why can’t they find another place? Why ONLY this one spot? That sounds like a problem made to cause more problems.
You should watch the whole video: Resorts were offered different plots, sites, and even opportunities to purchase an already-built property. They refuse any other option, pitching the community against each other, showing they aren't really interested in housing but in a power showdown.
Watch the video more closely. The alternative site has less than half the number of units Vail wants to build. Even the ram site is only about 3% of the 4500 homes this town needs to build to meet existing demand. It’s a drop in the bucket. Whoever wins this battle, wins the next 30 housing projects that need to be built ASAP. Both sides understand this. It’s not about a few sheep. These people don’t care about sheep. All they care about is their precious property values. Vail is scum too, but my god is it obvious who to root for here. Enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that
@@izabelamsztuka7297 they would rather make it convenient for their workers instead of forcing them to drive fifteen mile one way in a snow storm...I'd say that's pretty nice of em....
VR owns the land, and a previous town council approved the build. The current council is new people who ran on fighting the development. But VR and TOV need to develop EVERY available parcel for affordable housing. Just Booth Heights isn't gonna cut it.
You wouldn’t get it unless you know this valley
I dont understand why it is even being discussed , the sheep live there and building there will kill them , building somewhere else wont kill people , literally , people can live , work , thrive etc in another area , the sheep cant . That should end the "discussion" . If the resort's goal was actually about affordable housing for their workers then where it was built wouldnt matter so clearly it isnt about that and my guess is they specifically want to build there so they can bring in more customers for their resort and charge them the highest price possible . Clearly they dont care about their workers or the sheep or the rest of the town residents or businesses or the impacts and effects on the environment etc the ONLY thing they care about is themself and money .
It's being discussed due to the potential large sums of money to be had. Everything g has a price, unfortunately.
💯 👆🏽 this.... I'm so goddamn fucking sick of the corporate, and even individual, greed that's plaguing our society and the fact that EVERYONE can acknowledge the fact that more than half of ALL wealthy entities- corporations, individuals, fundraisers, private companies and businesses, entertainers, etc. built their wealth at the cost of other people, precious land & animals suffering in a multitude of ways and causes, as the powers that be, along with the rest of us, just sit back, let it happen, and ultimately react once the damage has been inflicted rather than try to help prevent or at least minimize the maximum affect. It's a fucking shame what some people will do for power and money. I can never understand how some of these people look at themselves in the mirror & sleep well at night when they contribute to the homelessness of countless other unfortunate souls. I could go on and on and on but all it would do is make me more upset and irate and that's not fair to those who are unable to simply unfriend or block me electronically.
Incorrect. The build of employee housing in that area will cause “poor” people to be in close proximity to filthy rich homeowners. That house in the video is also in the middle of the sheep habitat. The golf course across the street has stolen land from these same sheep. The sheep argument is a crock to keep the middle class out of town.
Rams will be fine. We still hand out hunting licenses for them. Don't believe this hype generated to distract you from the real issues.
Me. The Colorado way......
As a resident of a similar ski town to Vail, the challenge of building worker housing is a proliferating problem in the ski industry. Luckily, my town has the room to expand and is actively engaged in new developments every year.
Having lived in the ski culture for a while, I think that there are many genuinely well-meaning people, like the lady homeowner who talked about being pro affordable housing, who do not understand the actual consequences of what they are saying. By saying, "I support affordable housing in town but if you build on that site, the sheep will not have a place to live," she is essentially saying, "I value the habitat of a few sheep over the ability of the people who serve me to live a reasonably comfortable life."
Vail, for its part, only offering to build employee housing on a well-known sheep habitat, in the face of other options, suggests less than good intent. It suggest, in fact, that they might not actually want to build anything while getting to claim "hey, we tried." As usual, the worker in the middle of this fight gets screwed.
Would it be fair to say that the lady's political position is that sheep lives matter?
Humans need to stop thinking they own the whole damn world. We need to share the world with other living species. We can't keep pushing other living beings out of their habitats, especially for something like boosting skiing business. Unfortunately, if there's no room (which the video states there is) then people need to find somewhere else to live. This whole thing still feels like a red herring for people getting pushed out by rich people who want a ski home.
At what point do you just not work on the mountain? I liked working on Martha’s Vineyard in college but not so much I wanted to work 3 jobs serving rich people so I moved to Florida get to fish and have one job. Stop working there and let them work their own ski lifts.
@@BradimooseI agree. Let them wait their own tables at the resort. If the dinningroom at the resort is not open, the mom & pop places will be.
People are forgetting what made the charm of Vail. The non-commercialized area of a small resort town.
One in point, Estes Park, Colorado was a beautiful small resort town in the 70's. A single street housed most of the towns shops. Friday nights were big at the local pizza shop on the corner. A single ski lift & YMCA of the Rockies grounds outside of town. It was the perfect get away for the not-so-rich. All ruined now by large clft-side mountain homes & multi-million dollar resort hotels. The deer don't come down from the Rockies to feed just an arms length from the kitchen window anymore. The pizza place has long since gone. Main Street is no longer what it use to be. The 2-story 100 year old log cabins are either closed or removed to make way for more modern convenience housing. Sometimes the community is more important than the prosperity of a corporation thousands of miles away.
Well they're just telling you they don't want workers they're going to do it themselves... Some rich punk going to operate the chairlift..😅😅
That poor mayor lol, she was so scared to talk about anything because of Vail Resort's bullying.
11:33 : "I don't care who wins." ...That attitude is so common when it comes to protecting the environment from degradation. Above all, it's a power struggle between corporate entitlement, environmental sustainability & community right to affordable housing. Because if it weren't, given the precarious situation, Bali Resorts would build that housing already on a different plot.
My parents used to work at Northstar, and I used to be a Homewood liftie (both in Tahoe).
Vail is practically a fucking monopoly at this point. They buy up profitable resorts across the country and turn them into yuppie paradises with villas, shopping, and 7 figure housing.
This forces smaller resorts to sell, close, or become corrupted and mimic Vail. For instance, take Homewood itself, which after this season will become an exclusive resort for the lakeside millionaire homeowners, complete with a hotel, shopping center, and gondola replacing the old Madden chair lift.
This corrupting force punishes both casual tourist and ski bums as well as the people who have to run these places, seeing as how they work out there for the environment less than the pay. (Not that the pay is good enough)
You either have to drive all the way from Carson City or Reno to afford a cheap place there, burning gallons of fuel in your beater car every day, or you have to bunk with half a dozen people to afford some shitty $2,000 a month apartment in Truckee or Tahoe City. (Good luck affording Incline, Kings Beach, or South Lake.)
In conclusion, NATIONALIZE THE MOUNTAINS! IT'S TIME TO PUT THE MEANS OF POW PRODUCTION IN THE HANDS OF THE LIFTIES!
Yep, exactly what you said happened to my local resort in PA. Big boulder park doesn't even have a park anymore lmao.
Amen brother!
Vail has always been a Monopoly.
Lake Tahoe is a Gridlock .
Pow Pow to the lifties!
As somebody who was born and raised in Colorado, this entire video is so f****** frustrating.
Translation: “I’m pro affordable housing as long as it’s not by me”
Yep, these are classic NIMBYs.
NIMBYism at it's finest.
@@2011blueman you heard that too.
Who cares if some of the people opposed to the development are nimbys cynically invoking the cause of habitat preservation to justify their positions, if the experts agree that this development would kill the sheep then they’re still right to oppose the development. The town should impose steep taxes on rental properties and vacation homes and use the increased revenue to buy property to build an affordable housing development on that won’t destroy a fragile habitat. If we’re looking for even better solutions and aren’t afraid of an even bigger court battle, I’d say invoke eminent domain on that ridiculous golf course and build huge public housing units on it. Put the issue to bed once and for all
Except the town offered up alternative sites that weren’t protected habitat, and the company turned it down. Believe it or not a lot of Coloradans are frustrated with the natural landscapes being bulldozed by corporations.
This sounds more like Vail knew this would be a contentious spot so they picked it knowing they wouldn’t have to build and they get to skirt the issue and blame it on the city.
We had a similar 'not in my backyard' fight in my town over affordable housing. Luckily they DID build a ton of apartments almost right across the street from the multimillion dollar homes. And other than higher traffic, it's been a great thing for everyone.
It's so rare to hear about wins like this, thank you for the tiniest bit of good news :)
Until the rent control contract ends in 10 years and the apartments get leased at market value.
We should build our cities up so they don't get as many land problems.
That doesn't sound positive. It's a shame all that money went towards shitty temporary apartments, instead of actual homes.
@@fedbia2003thats a good thing, we need to ban rent control
From a Wildlife biologist out of CSU, save the sheep! As much as skiing is an important part of the culture these sheep are so incredibly important to Colorado 🐏
Hello fellow CSU graduate! They need to protect the rams 🐏 . Unleash the rams on anyone who wants to steal their land
🐏💪♥️
It’s not even about skiing though. It’s that every working and middle class person in this town is f***ing homeless.
the rams will find a new area. the whole idea they won't has no factual support in any research, sad to see so much fraudulent 'expertise'.
Yup. Period. Its their home first, next subject.....
"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone?" - Joni Mitchell
As someone who lived in Crested Butte 25 years ago and spent the Pandemic summer of 2020 there, I’m not sure why anyone would want to live in a trendy ski town unless they’re ultra wealthy. I get that prices need to rise with inflation, but why struggle to for scenery? Back then, you could share a nice ski in/ski out condo with 3 others and at least 2 we’ll behaved dogs for $400 a month per person. I always had a truck and chainsaw, so I’d happily keep us warm with firewood. I’ll always cherish those memories and even spending 3 months in the Butte was fun, but I was thankful to head back to West Virginia. There’s too many nowadays concerned with image.
You can apply the spirit of this argument to a lot of over-priced places.
@@DSesignD Not really. Cities offer much more robust and varied job markets and housing options. Vail has 5,000 residents year round while Denver has almost 3 million. Both are expensive but for completely different reasons and circumstances. When you decide to live in an isolated area that is removed from other economic centers and has an international reputation for catering to the ultrawealthy, I mean those idiots in the beginning of the video need to move literally anywhere else.
The guy works retail and the woman works remotely. They aren’t in Vail because they’re born locals or because they’ll have feasible job opportunities there. They are trying to live in Vail because they want to be in a pretty place with a view.
And I wanted to live on oceanfront property in Miami while I sold pencils for a living 😢
Agree 🎉 The mountain towns are turning into little california pockets and I hate it - Telluride is a good example.
I live in a colorado ski town and I think your missing the main issue that the low income housing is about. In order to serve the ultra wealthy you need a large workforce, ski towns have well paying jobs that are relatively easy to get for people who don’t have college degrees. By far the hardest part about keeping a ski town running is getting those people there to work even in crested butte the PIZZA SHOP had to build housing just so they can can have employees the growth of the town HAS to be followed by housing or else the town dies.
I can also take a guess that while you were living in crested butte over the summer you were not actively working in town. You were most likely working from home essentially on a staycation and your 400 dollar a month rent would be laughable today. anything under 1000 a month per person would be the find of a century for most of the people trying to work in town.
Wow, that mayor is big scared of vail resorts... basically pleading the 5th with those answers. Most telling part of the video for sure - the resort holds all the power.
They really do have an absurd amount of influence. They literally own the mountain and many others. Crazy times
It's not that she is necessarily scared, the reporter states immediately after interviewing the Mayor @ 9:48 that the town and Vail Resorts are currently in mediation and the resorts had the Judge order both sides not to publicly discuss the negotiations the week that vice held their interviews. The mayor is clearly worried about saying to much and essentially handing the resorts the upper hand in their current mediation/court case.
Well they don’t literally own the mountain, it’s USFS land. But own the city, yes
The Vail Resorts COO couldn’t comment either. They’re in litigation, everyone has to stfu. The townspeople are richer than god too. Both sides suck, but one side seems to think two workers should be homeless for every one sheep that likes to sunbathe on that hill. The sheep have a whole Rocky Mountain wilderness to find another tanning bed.
@@nickdubya9924 they dont own the town lol, almost everything in town is locally owned. they own the lease rights to the mountain and some hotels, returaunts, and ski shops. They do however drive a large amount of money to the local businesses
This is really an issue in most major tourist destinations these days. You need a lot of low-wage workers, but they generally can't afford to live close enough to the jobs because that's the desirable real estate. I feel like especially with big resort companies like Vail (where they own the whole town) they need to bake in employee housing with all new development. Like if you build a hotel, you must build a certain amount of apartments according to the size.
The thing is people think vail resorts owns the whole town and while vail has hands in lots of the stuff right at the base of the mountain its actually other investment companies that own the majority of the town. Entire neighborhoods are owned by one or two investment companies that short term rent out what would be hundreds of duplexes. The housing is all there to sustain the town but instead of renting it out for reasonable prices to locals they rent it out for thousands a week for a few weeks a year and consider that a better investment.
@vice you could do a whole special on this, this is occurring all throughout the west in various mountain towns. These mega resort corporations like vail and alterra and wrecking havoc on numerous small mountain communities.
I moved to Steamboat Springs because housing was still some what obtainable, then Altera bought the mountain and now crappy run down condos are going for 600k. Houses are 1.5 mill and no one seems to be doing anything about it.
It's the the Same here in Whistler B.C Canada, and also is managed Vail resorts
The sad truth is unless you’re a bajillionaire (or an heir/trust fund baby) you should buy an Indy pass and hit as many of those (currently) small resorts until they sell out in the near future
Raising tax rate for income homes or 2nd homes would help. Over development is just as serious as affordable housing crisis. As the damage from poorly placed dev is ultimately left to the same community that fought it from coming about.
I live in a small “resort town” where it’s getting less affordable to live. I commute 1 1/2 hours and my husband is a Forest Service FF. What the big wigs of these towns don’t understand is they HAVE to have affordable housing for the workers or community servants.
They don't care so quit working let them do it themselves.
I was born and raised in Vail and am extremely close to this issue. This piece was great until the last line. Fact check the dates because the Town of Vail was named AFTER the resort. Vail Mountain came first, then the town was created. Maybe let that speak to the context of the argument.
Thanks for pointing that out. I was in vail in the 70s when some hotels were being built. While in construction, some of the construction workers lived in apartments. Beautifully fresh cool air and sparkles off the snow.
Exactly!
Thanks for pointing that out. And before Vali was the sheep, so maybe we should let them be and let the sheep have their way.
You sound like a corporate bootlicker. The resort is making insane profits and want to take advantage of nature resources.
At the end of the day, despite the ram issue definitely being a bit of a diversion from actual NIMBYism, Vail needs to just suck it up and opt for one of the other suitable locations. They have well beyond the money and resources to do so and frankly this does not seem like the hill they should die on. My only understanding for why they might fight this so strongly is because it would create a precedent for their projects being blocked. Town attempting eminent domain is ballsy but I respect it.
One of? They (VR and TOV) need them ALL developed. I support the sheep, but if you are approving mansions in the same area... Come on.
@@coletrain Fair points!
What does NIMBY mean? Definition please. I really don't know. Not a troll just out of touch..
@@corbindallas3220 NIMBY is an acronym for ‘Not In My BackYard’
@@corbindallas3220 Short for "Not In My BackYard". It refers to people who oppose housing developments, typically because increasing housing supply will reduce their property values.
I lived in Vail in ‘89-‘91. The problem was already happening then. If Town of Vail and Vail Resorts wanted to solve this problem, they would have already.
I worked in Pebble Beach and witnessed the same exact thing. Rich NIMBY'er vs. corporate greed. Yet is the average Joe who gets sacrificed in the battle.
I lived and worked in Vail for 6 years. I made lifelong friends, career contacts, and some excellent memories. Saving money and making rent/bills was always a gamble.
Covid hit and the valley emptied. I couldn't get work. Had to leave. A year went by and I was offered an excellent job that came with 1 year of free housing. The salary offer would be amazing for where I live now. But not back there, not for me and my personal requirements. So I had to turn it down. The cost of living there can be egregious.
I live in a school bus and a lot of skills. Is there a place where "homeless" people can live in Vail and work?
this is a parallel issue and I know not the central focus of this video but I think it's important to note it's not just lack of affordable housing but lack of *workforce* housing. I live over the pass in Summit County and the "zoom boom" of post covid remote work has both priced out the local workforce who don't make nearly as much (most rooms I see for rent in a shared house now go for at least $1200/mo plus utilities in winter season) and taken a lot of the seasonal/year round housing options out in favor of STRs, many of whom who take these units work remote. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I know many folks in the community who make their living working remotely, theyre just chasing powder like everyone else. this is just an objective statement and important to consider when thinking about the workforce housing crisis. I have colleagues who are trying to support families with year round salaried jobs but can only find places closer to the front range like Lakewood.
My sister is the founder of Mountain Pride in the Vail Valley but was forced out of the valley by housing pricing. The employee housing is only good for 2 years too so it won’t help people who are trying to stay long term.
Average house is 3M !?!?!?! That’s insane
I work in the Vail Village and live about 50 minutes away. Its worth it due to the pay, and difference in housing cost. However, a big issue in that valley is overcrowding. The resort is to assessable, gets too crowded, and attracts too much wealth. Aspen is similar, but the people that Vail attracts are something else, lemme tell ya. Most of them are garbage skiers too. It’s NOT a skiers mountain. Just as well that whole town is an island of private land surrounded by national forest you can’t build on. It’s a bit doomed in a sense. This area of Colorado is beautiful to live in, but it gets more crowded every year and housing demand is only intensifying.
Im going to assume you are in Leadville? Even people there are starting to get priced out as insane as that is it used to be the cheap option where only area locals wanted to live but recently its kinda turned into a hipster town
I currently work for a Colorado ski company, and I was not able to get housing through the resort. Big major bummer, and I pay a ton of money for rent forty minutes outside of the town. Wildlife is so crucial we cannot allow them to build in a primary sheep habitat. It is crazy to think if an alternative location is proposed.
i hope you can give us on update on this story in the future
There’s literally a dozen ski towns I’d rather live in than Vail. Why would anyone A) work there for scraps, and B) wait in those ridiculous lines? I’ve been to Vail, it’s cool, but it’s not THAT cool.
There's another big issue in resort towns that she only briefly touched on in this piece. Short term rentals which were once long term lease properties have skyrocketed in the past few years and severerly depleted the available housing for locals. It's not just the rich coming in and buying everything, it's also the Airbnb/Vrbo explosion that is reducing the housing supply. I hear very little discussion about re-zoning away from nightly rental to improve the housing situation in most of these towns. Pitkin and Summit counties have placed moritoriums on new licences for short term rentals and are increasing taxes and regulations surrounding them as well. This needs to happen in more towns with stricter guidlines such that housing is removed from the short term market and put back into the pool of long term rentals for local workers. Seasonal workers have never lived in the multi-million dollar mansions slopeside, they used to live in the condos and small single family homes around town, which are all Airbnb/Vrbo now.
AirBnB and Vrbo are things that I see might just get banned from specific counties, states, or even countries. Those two businesses have made housing worse around the globe. Hell, there even HOAs here in the US that prohibit and actively do searches daily to see who is trying to be slick and rent their property anyways
It’s a big problem in the small tourist town I live in. They’ve regulated it (you need a license now) but I think they must have grandfathered in a lot of properties. It’s discouraging to walk by places that would be nice, modest apartments if they weren’t guest suites.
some good news is that the real estate investing bubble is popping. It really has caused so much harm all over.
@@brendanploeger1202 I'm seeing the real estate start to slow down where I live as well. I also am starting to see the oversaturation of Airbnb/Vrbo affecting the occupancy of these properties. Hopefully, a lot of people end up having to sell because they can't get enough rental income to cover their inflated mortgage.
@@joshzeno8666 We have a town enforcer who assesses fines to people who do nightly rentals in areas that are not zoned for it but that is only 1 person and they can't keep up with everything going on.
The thing here is that they never said where the other options were. I have a hunch that the alternative sites offered to vail were located far away and not suitable
11:34 Born and raised in the Vail Valley and she couldn’t have put it better. Affordable housing has been an issue for a long time it’s just now starting to eat away at the quality and number of restaurants/stores/etc.
Exactly. Everyone bitching about short term rentals is missing the bigger issues. Housing has always been an issue. Now it's being compounded by remote workers and everyone else trying to live in a desirable place. Even with limits on str people still won't rent their places to long term renters.
@@bertrenolds5 At least remote workers contribute to the local economy. Short terms rentals just sit empty 50% of the year.
In case you're like me and about to google it...
Showing results for nimbyism
NIMBY stands for “Not in My Back Yard.” In the housing world it's used to describe people, typically existing residents (especially homeowners), who oppose new housing development near their homes-particularly denser or more affordable housing.
Thanks lol
@@sjb3460 you are a crab in a bucket
@@sjb3460Housing is so expensive because its so hard to build new homes because of regulations. You can barely build a housing block in the us even though they are much more efficent.(because of regulations/nimby)
If things continue like this your children wont be able to afford housing/family if they dont inherit from you even if they become high income.
In other words affordable housing decreases the importance of beeing born into a affluent family and gives people that werent lucky a easier time catching up.
The crime problem is an american and the only fix would be a systemic multigenerational one.
Its much easier to partol a dense housing area than american suburbs
I can't find employees because I refuse to hire houseless people. 🤦
Screw vail resorts.. God speed to the Ram ❤
Do you not see how much snow is up in the mountains and how cold it is. That would kill the homeless.
@@mattwhaley1865 did you watch the video? The couple living in a nice cozy van? Millions of people including me live like that. It's called a Nomadic lifestyle, or "van life" as social media likes to call it. We are not homeless. We choose to be houseless. While that couple did originally want to rent there, they are better off doing the van life saving thousands a year with their income. I've also been to Denver. That city is filled with homeless people. It was a beautiful city, but trash AF and full of homeless people. It was the middle of January. I ended up giving a guy my new shoes because he didn't have any.
Keep up the great work.
I'm glad there is a discussion that now everyone who loves to ski is rich. there are plenty of people who can barley afford gear but will buy it second hand from fb marketplace just to make it work- Skiing and Snowboarding is just so fun that you can make it work without a whole lot. However living in a ski town is really, really difficult. Even in a much larger town- like South Lake Tahoe, CA it's extremely difficult to find anything affordable.
Yes but ski on your financial level not in a rich mountain town 😂
@@squibbelsmcjohnson that's why I drive to south lake, not live in it haha
@@squibbelsmcjohnson haha worrrd first world problems.
Poor people don't ski man
Skiing and snowboarding is extremely expensive and one of the most expensive hobbies you can do
@@taylorg8509 I used to be literally dirt poor, didn't even have a place to stay, sleeping on friends couches and was skiing all the time. All of my gear was given to me, or found in the "free box" in town. Skis were 20 years old and my boots were two sizes too big, but I was having the time of my life. I know there's plenty of people who had the same experience.
I live in a small mountain town in Canada. This is a problem here as well. The wealthy are now purchasing all the available homes in the town for short term rentals. Those with money gain all the equity and everyone, including employers who want to help facilitate the economic growth of the town, are made to take a backseat. I am pro wildlife conservation, but what I’m seeing is the “haves” using the ecological argument to protect their OWN interests. It’s not fair to everyone who wants to come and enjoy this town. There needs to be a happy middle ground in between conservation and affordable housing. It’s really frustrating as a young person to be living amongst all this.
I know exactly what you mean, living in Canada too. There’s a wealthy development in my town that surrounds an abandoned golf course, the golf course owner wanted to sell it to build higher density housing and all the surrounding homeowners started kicking and screaming that we were going to destroy a forest area. It was legitimately just a big patch of grass and sand. I totally understand a conservation argument for housing development but it seems some people are using it as an excuse.
More golf courses should be turned into housing
The conservation issue especially in this case isnt real those sheep are migratory and move all over the valley just like the elk do that for some reason people were pissed about when vail built a new lodge in the 90s like the elk are still fucking here we probably do more damage to their environment driving through the rockies than a new building does
Jindabyne in Australia is near Perisher ski resort and is also run by Vail resorts this town is having the exact same issue. I wouldn't say that it is Vail resorts causing the problem however as there is a resort right next to it that is run by a completely different company. I think it is caused by the short term rental market only being occupied for 4 months of the year and poor response from local council.
I'm honestly surprised to learn there's ski resorts in Australia
This is a problem all over. Working class priced out of living close enough to serve the elitist class who also don’t want the workers to live close to us*
So move somewhere you can afford
I live in a “ resort area “ in western North Carolina and the same problems exist here; didn’t used to be like this up here, unfettered development by local governments swayed by the tax influx from the wealthy who come to summer here, and look at the leaves in autumn, have changed our quiet mountain communities into playgrounds for others not us☹️
damn bro you have the same problems in north carolina?? not saying it isnt the rockies... but the carolinas?
@@Felinefine45 yup, where I’m at is in the Smokies basically; we’re about an hour south of Asheville, I’m sure you’ve heard of that city……………..the Coca Cola heiress has a house up in these parts. A lot of the domestic workers, City workers, etc commute in cuz the towns refuse to build affordable housing units!! The biggest resort in Highlands ( next town further up ) bought land years ago and put in employee housing, which isn’t easy to get
We have the exact same issue in Queenstown New Zealand...no housing for the many required workers.
As for the big horn...thats a clear no build zone!, find another location! (Seems the towns biggest problem is Vail resorts!...if they cant even talk with you about the issue, they are clearly hiding something and acting in poor faith)
Kia Kaha Vail Valley ❤from Aotearoa/New Zealand...look after those Big Horn!
the Big Horn have no problem milling about in million dollar yards... heck, they spend most of their time dangerously close to the edge of I-70
Loving the housing content, thank you
Its nit just Vail its the entirety of Eagle County. I can barely live and work as a Firefighter in Gypsum, 45 minutes down the road.
I’ve been living in Colorado for almost 25yrs now and I can honestly say that I’ve witnessed numerous natural wildlife habitats being destroyed over housing developments. It’s really sad and makes no sense to ruin a natural habitat then to just simply move the project away from the animals habitat. Oh wait, people come first before animals! Come on people we should be better than this😔
Coloradan here. You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question to understand what's really going on here
watching this unable to afford rent be like...
Elites are Sun Valley, Aspen, Deer Valley, Beaver Creek, Telluride, Yellowstone Club. Vail, not in same class.
Man, I remember the glory days in the high country back in the early 90s when housing and jobs were very available, a little hard to line up, but certainly not a huge problem.
As someone who lives and works in a ski town year round that is having the same issues, don't move here for work if you can't find good housing options. The rich people can deal with longer lines and less options. It sucks as a skiier, because you want to spend winter in the snow, but a soft strike for a few years might change how things are done. Remember you are the reason companies like Vail make millions.
As somebody who lives in Colorado, this is a very serious problem and it even extends across the state.
Either public transportation needs to be implemented (funded by taxing the extremely wealthy home owners, which only a 1% increase would pay for), or the wealthy residents need to be put on the sidelines in order for the cities to build affordable housing. Their whining is getting old. Building affordable housing will not ruin the _precious_ aesthetic and prestige of their city. You own a winter home in VAIL. Stfu and sit down!
*IT'S TIME WE EAT THE RICH!!!* 😈🤘
P.S. If anybody knows who we can contact outside of these mountain towns to put pressure on city council to build affordable housing, please let me know. Would state reps or senators be able to do anything? Would the governor? We gotta start contacting our representation.
I wish this report addressed why this location where the sheep/rams are is the only location where this housing can be put. Why not look at alternative locations? Then if the residents are still against it it will be apparent this is a NIMBY issue.
I live in Jackson Hole and the price for a 1 bedroom apartment is about $2500 a month
Save the sheep. Their winter habitat is so tiny already. All of it is critical.
So tired of these bots. The sheep will be fine. We are hunting them in our state. Build the damn housing.
@CieraC1993 if the sheep were fine. More then 1% of hunters could get a tag in a lifetime. #bot
@@danieljarosz5140 yepp. I'm a bot. Let me give you a generic answer. Move the sheep. Beep boop.
You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question
Friends don’t let friends ski Vail.
Worked at Vail/Beaver Creek for 2 years. I always wondered why the Vail Valley had the highest suicide rates in the nation. Now I know why.
when theres no transparency, u know somethings up
10:56 I've never been to Vail, but I can only imagine everyone just walks around in ski boots 24/7. Even the camera man hanging out in his ski boots back there (just in case they have time to hit the slopes later)
Later? He was on the slopes that day. That interview was done late in the afternoon before the ski resort closes the lifts for the day.
@@scottangle574 THANK GOD for your in-depth correction on that issue. Now we know he was on the slopes that day!
The interview with the mayor was so weird. She wouldn't really say much of anything
She was/is in a legal fight against a massiv corporation and speaking about it publically would put them at risk of the corporations 15 lawyers twisting it into something obscene.
Avon still has plenty of room for employee housing complexes... and it would be about the same travel time to Vail as Booth creek would be.
Always a hit pretty gritty. Thank you sir. Satisfaction always guaranteed wit gritty!!!
I am from the vail valley and go to CSU. Protect the sheep!
from what?
The sheep are being hunted. Do you think the state would hand out licenses if they were that endangered? Build the housing. Ignore the attempt from the residents to justify not building.
Coloradan here - You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question
as a Colorado native, this story hits home. Colorado is not just a winter playground for the rich - its for those who need a permanent reprieve. And then hundreds of homes sit empty…its not right. Celebritys are part of the problem. We also dont like to ruin nature and build regardless of nature so - I think that the number of vacation homes ans speculation should be highly regulated. Lastly, if you ruin the nature, Colorado will
not be beautiful
anymore. And ski towns need to cater to everyone not just their rich buddies!
The goats will be fine. It's just an excuse for rich people. Building on an acre of land won't impact them, they will just move to another spot, there are plenty of them. They aren't going to all die
@@bertrenolds5 They're not goats; they're bighorn sheep. And you missed the part about the southern exposure that is unique to this spot, which is necessary for the animals' warmth throughout the winter. There are plenty of other places to build, but actual NIMBYs would never allow it, and Vail Resorts wouldn't pay for it.
At 10:42 I was surprised that the camera man was wearing ski boots LOL. I was not surprised there was a press person interrupting the COO of vail.
Government subsidized housing is not affordable housing. The housing is still unaffordable which is why it has to be subsidized.
Filming while skiing is pretty cool!
living in a 150k sprinter. Nicer than 100% of the apartments i lived in (some of them 20 minutes from Vail)
I used to live in Aspen and it’s worse. Despite that, save the sheep!
at least in Aspen you can take buses to Glenwood Springs
Coloradan here - You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question to understand what's really going on here
They have all that money, can find somewhere else to put that housing. They could build some fancy modern building right in town and brag about how "charitable" of a thing they did. Make the ground floor of it a community center and all that. They could also put the empty apt tax in play for all those vacant properties.
I think Keystone is putting up employee how using right next to the gondola, Vail should do something similar
I worked in Vail way back in 1991. They had housing problems back than even. Many employees that were not working for Vail had no choice but to live in Avon a good 20 mins from Vail. I here now they even live father out in Wolcot and Eagle. Are nick name for the resort back than was Hell associates. The skiing was great but I don't miss the town.
Some cities have placed restrictions on Airbnb’s. Short term rentals must be the owners primary residence for at least a year before listing on short term rental sites. If Vail had some sort of occupancy requirement, lotta homes would be available.
This is random and weird, but can't we figure out a solution to the poor camera man bending his legs and ankles to get the right camera height? He needs a body mount with a gimbal and a screen. Also, it angers me that sometimes my side can just be too blind with rage, but I'm with the rams. PLENTY of land, build it somewhere else, grow up Vail Resorts, just do something good and reap the positive press and lets move past this.
It sounds like Vail Resorts is creating a false dichotomy by suggesting affordable housing in the most ridiculous place possible. So then when the community becomes outraged about it, they can say, "see we tried, but nobody in the town wants it." Why can't affordable housing be built somewhere else, like actually in the town not right by the slopes?? That might be a foolish question since I've never been there but holy cow...🙄 On a related note, I am wondering if the town prohibits overnight parking virtually everywhere like seemingly all other rich communities do, shutting out Vanlifers and those who are forced to live in their vehicles.
*in* the town you'd be lucky to get a 1br/1ba for under $2mil...
They can’t build in the town because the valley is basically 100% developed. Unfortunately the best skiing terrain in the US is found in places with very little land to build on. It’s all steep and narrow valleys. I think the solution would be to use eminent domain on that worthless golf course that occupies a huge tract of land. It’s already a drain on the environment with how much water and energy it takes to maintain turf, might as well scrap it and let someone build a couple big apartments to soak up some of the demand and keep the town afloat
A+ to that reporter asking tough questions to powerful people
Great investigation of this issue. I used to work in Jackson Hole during college and we had a similar issue- multimillion dollar land, no rental inventory, and obstinate locals - combined with very real environmental concerns, and some total crap from land owners looking to protect their investments. Now would you please stop subjecting us to Michael Learmouth at the end of every video??
I definitely RESPECT THIS MAN! We all seem to forget that we have to respect the land and the animals that live on it! People go to places like this bc of all the natural beauty and wild animals and why happens everywhere is they what to develop homes and businesses on top off all the natural beauty and eventually a place loses that very thing that brings the tourism!!! Why not just move it? That is insensitive!
I agree and think the sheep advocate was genuine in his concern.
My counterpoint would be that the other existing mansions, golf courses, highways, and shops were also pristine habitat before they were developed. Two wrongs don't make a right but it's pretty hypocritical for people sitting on mountains of equity to complain about a dinky housing project for workers. How about they offer up their lawns or golf courses for apartment development so that the people that make the town run can actually live there?
Respect this man? He’s got a 6000 square foot house for himself, employees would be packed to 4 people in 800 square feet. Your defending someone who’s using more than they need and then bashing people living in a minimalist way.
I somehow doubt a conservationist has a 6000 square foot house in vail.
Similar housing problems in Aspen (minus the sheep). Still, I support the rams. Put the housing somewhere else.
You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question
@@jacksevert3099 What you need to understand is that People have adapted to live anywhere. As a result, they can be found anywhere. So there specifically they do not need to be.
@@ajnasreddin humans can only survive by building tho which is exactly what the issue is here. anywhere humans go will be built up regardless
@@jacksevert3099 People don't need to build there.
Live close to here and many friends used to go work the season, i believe they canceled employee housing this year so I wonder what happened with that.
Why was the camera standing like 10:57 😭😂😂😂
Let the town go belly up. When it's a ghost town and all the billionaires have left then rebuild it. But no place is so good a person just needs to live there. It's all about housing and quality of life. Seems like the location sucks anyway. Lots of better places out there.
As a Vail local, people come here for the nature in the summer and It's not just about the skiing. The project is widely unpopular. Vail please stop trying to build on this beautiful piece of land.
They are a very scary corporation. They have control of a good majority of the ski areas in the US and they are known to ban people they disagree with from all their resorts.
NIMBY Alert
Screw VR but building housing is a good thing at Vail.
Vail Resorts have bought Park City Utah. They have completely ruined the entire ski 🎿 industry here. They are so arrogant, they were trying to Trademark Park City and everyone including the City, would have to pay them royalties for using “Their “ name
Coloradan here. You need to understand that Big Horns are mountain animals who have adapted to the harsh conditions of mountain living. As a result they can be found all throughout the Rockies from CO to BC. So why here specifically is the only place they can survive for some reason? You have to ask the question
@@Skiller71Studioscan you not appreciate nuance? Not a single person said they don’t want housing they just don’t want it on that spot, You can’t just keep bulldozing protected habitats. Vail could afford any piece of land within an hours drive of the resort but they intentionally chose a piece of land they couldn’t build on so they won’t have to do anything.
@@jacksevert3099packs and herds don’t just make home anywhere. There’s a reason you can go to very specific areas and find a herd there consistently. They make it their home for a number of reasons and if you completely destroy that home you break up the herd and severely lower their survivability.
Interesting.. the real estate value increased, the cost of goods increased... yet the prices didn't increase enough to pay workers enough to afford to continue living there. And some people still can't understand how people get pushed out to the fringes.
To be fair though, when those things go up everything else goes up. Including insurance, business rent, raw material for the business, etc.
My frustrations with colorado are increasingly my only memories, I feel like I wasted a whole decade living there.
I am from Naples, and I have not seen people this snobby
There are ways to improve cities without creating gentrification that pushes people out. Creating community wealth through cooperatives, community land trusts, unions, and Credit Union / public banking. It's a model that has actually helped cities start to rebuild after losing lots of jobs, cities like Cleveland, Ohio, US and Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Hows its gentrification to build an apartment??? This is a multi million dollar community
@@DarPower1 I think you misunderstand... It's already been gentrified and has pushed out the local population to surrounding towns. Being able to build new and nicer homes without pushing out the local residents is an important task. It can be done by anchoring people into their communities through these types of democratic organizations. I hope that helps explain where I'm coming from.
Everyone is acting Sus