![]() In a move to alleviate an ongoing workforce housing shortage, city officials in Glenwood Springs, in far western Colorado, are seeing great potential in reconverted motel and hotel rooms. Members of the Glenwood Springs City Council have given their unanimous approval to an ordinance making it possible to transform such rooms into extended-stay residential units. An amendment to the ordinance would additionally require that motel and hotel owners renting out rooms for such purposes must have kitchenettes with each unit, along with on-site laundry facilities, and adequate exterior lighting. The ordinance is said to be particularly geared for older motels and hotels, and properties otherwise classified as motor lodges. As earlier discussed by city officials, the use of such spaces could require some reconversion, as well as the retrofitting of fire suppression and fire sprinkler systems. The project has long been discussed by those same city officials, as well as developers and residents, in a city where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now at roughly the $1,700 mark, above the state median of $1,200. A Glenwood Springs ad hoc committee formed to explore the city’s housing needs recently noted that given the current rate of rents, such professionals as police officers, teachers, and nurses would be hard pressed to find adequate housing in the city. “These are people and jobs we need for a healthy community and economy,” a Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission report noted. By Garry Boulard
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