By Emily Setzer
In some aspects, this is a dreamy little mountain town that is still humble and has still retained character. But with booming house prices, an increasing amount of second homeowners, and more tourists, what will we do when we run out of land to build upon, and what is the future of our little box canyon?
Thinking About Sustainability
Hundreds of people crowded into the Telluride Conference Center last Monday to attempt to answer that very question. The “Thinking Outside the Box Canyon” meeting brought together Telski CEO Dave Riley, real estate agents, environmental activists, long-time Telluride residents and other curious folks interested in the direction Telluride is heading.
Headlining the event was Jonathan Schechter, executive director of Jackson, Wyoming’s Charture Institute, which examines places of ecological and aesthetic significance. Schechter’s research has revealed that nine counties in the United States face what is often called “empty growth” or “hollowing out,” when more and more fulltime residents can no longer afford to live in beautiful resort towns, and more second homeowners drive up home prices while not contributing to the community.
Of these nine counties that grew drastically since 1990, which include the cities of Vail, Aspen and Park City, to name a few, Telluride is the only county in which tourism is still growing and the number of skier days has increased. Schechter says “It’s a miracle by industry standards,” when the other counties are seeing tourism flatten out. While tourism is still important in Telluride, “it’s no longer the engine driving the growth. It’s become the foundation,” according to Schechter. This economy is now driven by investment, and in particular, home sales.
Can We Learn From Jackson?
Jackson, another small resort town experiencing very similar issues as Telluride, has figured out a few ways to deal with the growth in positive ways. It simulated the “1 Percent for the Planet” program and created a “1 Percent for the Tetons” program, which launched in the summer of 2006 with 50 businesses participating in donating 1 percent of profits to the organization. The profits fund projects supporting the long-term sustainability of the Teton region, such as creating a widely used composting program. Since its start, it’s given back more than $150,000 to the community and now includes about 80 members.
“We don’t have a lot of positive ways to channel the passion we have for our communities. That’s what 1 Percent for the Tetons did,” said Schechter. “We think it’s a great local model.”
Telski Influence
Dave Riley, CEO of Telski, also spoke boldly about the “hollowing out” Telluride is experiencing. He believes that more affordable housing and short-term rentals, such as hotels, will help the community because hotel patrons tend to spend more on vacation, therefore contributing to the local businesses and the community, than do second homeowners.
“We need to come up with a real project with a significant number of affordable housing,” said Riley, who believes the three or four affordable units required in new housing projects simply aren’t enough.
To attract more visitors, Riley hopes to continue to expand Telluride ski resort terrain, including installing lifts in Palmyra Basin and in Revelation Bowl.
Other community improvements Telski’s Riley hopes to make include improving our “pathetic recycling program,” setting up more daycare and expanding the medical center.
What do you think our community needs? And how should we go about those improvements? Do you think a “1 Percent for Telluride” program would work? Let us know your thoughts.
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