Letter: Keep midvalley housing requirements

Affordable housing is a hot issue for future midvalley developers. All of them claim they cannot make a profit when it comes to building affordable housing within their projects. Michael Lipkin, a developer of the Willits Town Center and Park Meadows Condos, claims he can only produce $876,000 three-bedroom units and that his project can’t afford to build the affordable-housing component.

A report from consultant Economic and Planning Systems Inc. concluded that the town of Basalt needs to provide 200 affordable-housing units over the next five years. This would benefit the town’s low-wage workers. We lost a great deal of affordable housing when the trailers were removed from the Pan and Fork.

To amend the affordable-housing requirements (and offer to forgo certain building fees) at a time when we are so deficient in low-income housing is not a good idea. It is not fair to the workers in the area.

Developers are only concerned about building condos that only second-home owners can afford and the millions in profit they will make.

Basalt government needs to stand up to these developers. Let them know that it is not OK to build only for the rich, and tell them to give back to the community in a way that it can regain the diversity it once had.

Patrice K. Becker

Basalt