For far too long, our community has kicked the proverbial can down the road on affordable housing. We’ve been waiting for some future people, or future solutions, to come along and save us from this mounting crisis. This is, at least in part, a symptom of our housing troubles being a huge problem without an easy, magic-bullet solution.

The Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey LOT ballot measures are not that magic bullet. They will not solve our problem overnight. But, they are something. They are a first and incredibly critical step in the right direction. A pivot toward small, meaningful actions that move the needle on providing affordable housing one unit at a time. If the three LOT ballot measures pass and allow affordable housing to join marketing and air service as permitted uses of the money, it will go toward solutions like building new units, incentivizing owners to switch from short-term to long-term rentals, and keeping people in the homes that they have. None of the measures raise the tax rate, and none of them will cost the citizens of this valley extra money.

This election is simply a referendum on our community values. Do we value the fabric of this place and the people who live and work here? Do we believe in meaningful action to make this a more livable place for regular people?