Lake City/Hinsdale County Comprehensive Housing Plan

Hinsdale County has fewer than 800 year-round residents, no traffic light, and one school. The housing challenges here don’t respond to the standard playbook. A land trust needs a pipeline of properties. Inclusionary zoning needs development activity. Tax credit projects need scale. Almost nothing designed for larger communities translates to a place this small.

But the community is ready. In a local survey, 77% of respondents called housing a serious or critical problem. Fifty-one percent said they would be interested in deed-restricted housing if it were available. Employers are already improvising — 43% provide some form of housing assistance, and 24 jobs sit unfilled because of housing. This is a place that can design a program from scratch, informed by decades of lessons from Colorado housing work, with leaders ready to commit.

Western Spaces is leading the comprehensive housing plan for Lake City and Hinsdale County, with Triple Point Consulting, DP+S, and Proximity Green, combining housing analysis with community engagement adapted to a small-town setting. The plan addresses both year-round workforce needs and the seasonal dynamics of tourism, mining heritage, and outdoor recreation — with a focus on strategies the community has the capacity to carry out.