Aspen March 4^th Municipal Election Races Coming in to Focus

On Tuesday, March 4^th, Aspen will hold a municipal election where several council seats, the Mayor’s race and a ballot question or two will be decided.

Aspen Mayor Torre is term-limited and cannot run for reelection. So far, two candidates have filed papers to replace him: Former Aspen City Council member Rachel Richards and former Aspen School District Board member Kay Frisch.

Council Seats held by John Doyle and Ward Hauenstein are also up for election. Hauenstein is term limited and cannot run again, but Doyle is eligible to run again.

The Aspen City Council approved ballot language for two citizen-initiated petitions, paving the way for two questions regarding the entrance to Aspen to appear on the city of Aspen’s March municipal ballot.

The two ballot questions will ask Aspen voters about the threshold required to change the use of open space and if the Colorado Department of Transportation can have authority to use certain city open space for new highway alignments.

One ballot question will ask voters to increase the threshold of votes required to change the use of city open space from a simple majority to 60%. The group behind the petition wanted to ensure a vote on use of the Marolt and Thomas open spaces for potential new highway alignments was decided by a greater majority.

The other ballot question asks voters to allow CDOT to use portions of the Marolt and Thomas open spaces that were identified in a 1998 record of decision, or may be identified in future RODs, for new highway alignments. The group behind that petition was motivated by the open space vote question and also by the city council’s decision in September not to place a question regarding the use of Marolt and Thomas open space for bus lanes for a new alignment of Highway 82.

The deadline for candidates to file for election is December 23^rd.

Proposal to tax vacant homes in Colorado will no longer include short-term rentals

A proposal to allow local governments in Colorado to ask voters to approve a tax on vacant homes will not apply to short-term rentals should it be introduced in the upcoming legislative session.

As recently as last week, the Colorado Association of Ski Towns — which is pursuing the vacancy tax idea — suggested the proposal could affect short-term rentals. On Tuesday, Executive Director Margaret Bowes said the group has decided to exempt those properties from any potential legislation.

Lodging industry groups were told about the changes on Tuesday during a virtual meeting hosted by the Summit Alliance of Vacation Rental Managers.

Under the ski town association’s proposal, municipalities would — for the first time — be able to pass taxes on homes that are unoccupied for a certain number of days a year. In some ski resort areas, over 40% of homes sit vacant throughout the year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and as many as 1-in-3 are used as short-term rentals.

The aim of a vacancy tax would be to incentivize homeowners to rent long-term to working residents in areas where the availability of affordable housing is scarce. For properties that incur the fee, local governments could use the revenue to support community initiatives, like workforce housing.

Bipartisan House Artificial Intelligence Report Released in Washington

The bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence released its long-awaited report outlining a comprehensive framework for addressing the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). Co-chaired by Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), the task force developed the report in consultation with House committees of jurisdiction, and the report includes policy recommendations to advance America’s leadership role in AI innovation while being mindful of the risks posed by AI deployment.

NAR adopted AI policy this May at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings after the formation of a working group specifically designed to study AI, and those policy recommendations are reflected in this report including mitigating harmful bias, ensuring the privacy and security of consumer data, keeping humans at the center of the AI discussion, and retaining respect for intellectual property.

The full 273 page report can be found here: https://republicans-science.house.gov/_cache/files/a/a/aa2ee12f-8f0c-46a3-8ff8-8e4215d6a72b/E4AF21104CB138F3127D8FF7EA71A393.ai-task-force-report-final.pdf

Aspen City Council Weighs Housing Stipend for Employees

Aspen City Council members are torn on a proposed employee housing stipend pilot program designed to address issues with recruitment and retention of municipal employees.

The idea for a city employee housing stipend pilot program came out of city organization listening sessions, during which employees requested a housing stipend to be added to the city’s benefit package. City Manager Sara Ott said it would help recruit and retain employees who may not be able to take advantage of other city employee housing options.

With the city’s turnover rate at 14%, Ott said services are diminished. The driving factors of the current turnover rate are a lack of affordable housing and cost of living, said Liz Axberg, the city’s housing policy analyst.

The city owns 74 housing units for its employees, separate from units managed by the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority. A stipend program that would provide between $200 and $500 per month to employees who are not otherwise benefiting from subsidized housing could help retain employees who are struggling to afford living in Aspen, Ott said. The city provided several options to council members for the housing program during a recent work session.

Some council members did not like the idea of using taxpayer dollars to fund a program that would only support city employees — and could make it harder for private-sector employees to access affordable housing.

CAR Has Successful Election Results – Looks to a Productive 2025 Session

Following an election that included the endorsement of 59 candidates across Colorado State Senate and State Representative races (26 Republicans and 33 Democrats) by the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR), association leaders and their 26,000 members have turned their post-election focus to finding bipartisan solutions for the state’s lingering and growing housing shortage, as well as overall pathways to homeownership for residents.

“We extend our congratulations and appreciation to every candidate recently elected to serve Colorado in the upcoming 75th General Assembly in 2025,” said Jason Witt, Cortez REALTOR® and President of the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. “It is more important than ever that we now put the partisan rhetoric aside and collaborate on bipartisan solutions to address our statewide housing crisis and allow more Coloradans to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

The most recent statewide Pulse Poll conducted by the Colorado Health Foundation found that 90% of renters aspire to own a home. However, more than half (52%) believe they are unlikely to own one. The results and perception by such a large number of Coloradans may be due in part to Colorado facing a shortfall of at least 100,000 homes in meeting our state’s housing needs. The lack of supply amid growing demand has led to a statewide median sales price of $580,000 for a single-family home and $419,900 for a townhouse/condominium, according to the Association’s Market Trends data.

“We must do better in providing pathways to homeownership as every Coloradan should have an opportunity to own a home and secure stable housing,” added Witt. “With a significant housing deficit, our association leaders and our boots-on-the-ground members across the state are eager to work with our elected leaders on solutions that can deliver a healthy real estate market that we know is so critical to the vitality of our communities.”

Key issues and solutions highlighted by CAR include:

• Enacting policies that encourage builders and developers to create more for-sale housing units, especially at more attainable price points below the statewide median price.
• Exploring financial incentives to help would-be homebuyers get their foot in the door on homeownership.
• Exploring every option possible to ensure homeowners insurance remains available and attainable.

Of the 59 candidates, split between Republicans and Democrats, endorsed by the Colorado Association of REALTORS®, 56 had won or were winning their respective races as of this morning.

“We carefully reviewed candidates going into this election and endorsed those who share our values in helping and protecting Coloradans across homeownership issues, building strong communities, protecting private property rights, and promoting a vibrant economic future for all Coloradans,” said Grand County REALTOR® and CARPAC Chair Janene Johnson. “We’re looking forward to continuing our work with these state leaders and their stakeholders to define and implement meaningful solutions with tangible housing benefits.”

NAR Research Summary: Evaluating a National Disaster Insurance Program

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) engaged Milliman, Inc. to conduct an actuarial analysis on the feasibility of creating a new federal insurance program that would cover all natural catastrophe perils, including floods, earthquakes, hurricane winds, tornadoes, hail, and wildfires.

Topline Study Results:

• Establishes a new federal disaster fund of $122.5 billion per year to cover floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and windstorms across the United States.
• Increases insurance costs for approximately 98% of homeowners.
• Requires expanding the federal mandatory purchase requirement to include both flood and earthquake insurance in high and low-risk areas nationwide.

The Concept:

For decades, Congress has considered creating a federal insurance program for all natural catastrophe perils. The goal is to build a federal disaster fund large enough to make home insurance affordable across the U.S. by broadening the base of insurance rate payers. However, NAR was not aware of any comprehensive study that examines the costs and benefits of cross-subsidizing natural catastrophe perils in this manner. Therefore, NAR engaged Milliman, Inc. to conduct the first-ever nationwide actuarial analysis of a National Disaster Insurance Program.

Milliman Study Findings:

Pros:

• Ensures the availability of home insurance for floods, earthquakes, windstorms, and wildfires nationwide.
• Reduces insurance costs for 2% of homeowners under an expansion of the National Flood Insurance Program to cover earthquake risk as well.

Cons:

• Requires 98% of homeowners to pay more for insurance.
• Raises the average home insurance cost in the 48 states included in the study.
• Encourages more homeowners to build or stay in high-risk areas, as their decisions are subsidized by others.

NAR Policy:

NAR supports the development of federal disaster policies that meet the following principles:

• Emphasize pre-disaster prevention, preparedness, and proactive risk reduction, while also including post-disaster emergency assistance.
• Promote private insurance markets to assume more risk.
• Align premiums with property-specific risks without major surcharges, assessments, or cross-subsidies.
• Encourage higher building codes and ordinances to avoid costly property damage.
• Provide pre-disaster mitigation assistance to current homeowners.
• Ensure full transparency, disclosure, and mapping for informed real estate decisions.

Methodology:

NAR commissioned Milliman, Inc. to conduct the first nationwide actuarial study of "all cat perils" insurance for single-family owner-occupied homes in the 48 contiguous states. Catastrophe modeling included floods, earthquakes, hurricane winds, severe convective storms (tornadoes, hail, and straight-line winds), and wildfires. Milliman estimated the cost of an all cat perils program under multiple funding scenarios, including cross-subsidizing by adopting a national average rating methodology and spreading the cost across the entire U.S. population.