They cram into rooms, some with small refrigerators and 6-foot-wide kitchens, or even just microwave kitchenettes. Now residents like Marc McDonald, who keep the town humming by working service-level jobs, live in the converted motels. In the Colorado ski town of Steamboat Springs, motels line the freeway, once filled with tourists eager to pitch down the slopes or bathe in the local hot springs.

The city council passed a rule in June that could prove to be a model for other vacation towns: A ban on new short-term rentals in most of the city and a ballot measure to tax bookings at 9% to fund affordable housing. Houses dot a hillside in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Wednesday, Aug. Bailey, who moved to Steamboat Springs in 2019, has been on a waitlist for three years to get one of Steamboat’s affordable housing apartments. Sean Bailey stands outside the mobile home where he rents a room, Aug. Heather Sloop, a Steamboat Springs City Council member, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Aug. Craigen opposes the city's attempts to curb short-term rentals, saying he worries the moves will blunt any competitive edge Steamboat might have over other Rockies resorts. Robin Craigen, vice president of the Steamboat Springs Community Preservation Alliance and a co-founder of a property management company, works in his office, Thursday, Aug. Thomas PeipertĪ motorist passes through a hillside community, Thursday, Aug.

In 2014, she left the grueling routine behind after getting off the waitlist for an $800-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in a. Every morning, she would drop her youngest child off at a friend’s house before driving 45 minutes to her supermarket job in Steamboat Springs. Rivera tried living in the nearby town of Craig as a cheaper alternative. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert) Thomas PeipertĬORRECTS YEAR AND UPDATES RENT AMOUNT - Susana Rivera prepares food in her apartment, Wednesday, Aug. Houses dot the landscape at Colorado's Steamboat Ski Resort, Wednesday, Aug. He says the 12-foot-by-12-foot space serves as his living room, dining room, den and office. Bailey, who moved to Steamboat Springs in 2019, has been on a waitlist for three years to get one of Steamboat's affordable housing apartments. Sean Bailey sits in his bedroom, Thursday, Aug.

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