The final two speakers at the annual Routt County Economic Summit earlier this month told a sobering, cautionary tale of reductions in the civically engaged middle class in desirable mountain communities and how Steamboat Springs is heading down the same path.
Relating personal experiences and statistical analysis, former Pitkin County Commissioner Mick Ireland and Yale University Professor Justin Farrell talked about how Steamboat Springs can try to balance growth by looking at the policies and past mistakes and successes of towns such as Aspen and Jackson, Wyoming.
In a presentation of comparisons, Ireland pointed out how Steamboat is showing trends similar to Aspen, leading to a reduction in middle-class residents. Data in both cities shows declining voter registration numbers in short-term rental housing zones, increasing non-local ownership of homes leading to skyrocketing housing costs and decreasing birth rates by families pinched by tough economics and costly housing