The Challenge

The Town of North Elba and Village of Lake Placid, as a popular vacation and second-homeowner destination, face a workforce housing crisis. Housing affordability has been a long-term issue in the community, with second-home ownership levels trending upwards. The local workforce increasingly commutes from outside the community, which is impacting local businesses’ ability to recruit and retain employees. A growing number of short-term rentals in the community has exacerbated existing housing affordability and availability issues for the workforce.

The Solution

The Community Housing Needs Assessment was prepared to identify the critical housing issues facing the North Elba and Lake Placid community with a focus on preserving a year-round working population. The assessment includes a comprehensive analysis of the existing housing supply, community input via a public open house and survey, analysis of an employer housing survey, a quantitative workforce housing unit needs analysis, and strategies to address critical housing issues.

The Impact

The Housing Needs Assessment identifies current unmet housing needs, with a particular focus on moderate income or workforce-level households. Since the completion of the report, Camoin 310 has completed an assessment of short-term rental ordinances as the Town and Village work to create equitable regulation of these units. In addition, the report brought attention to rental and condominium housing needs and Camoin recently completed a housing market demand and relocation analysis. As a result of the needs assessment, the Town is working in partnership with a private developer on a 200+ unit workforce housing development with income-targeted units.

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