Week of February 2, 2023
$1.00
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
GoldenTranscript.net
VOLUME 157 | ISSUE 7
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Golden could move summertime downtown events in future years City Council labels 2023 dates ‘sacrosanct’ BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
middle-income people live where they work. But as cities and towns contend with historically high home costs and a lack of supply, residents like Laney have struggled to live in their communities. “I’ve always felt like I was just passing through instead of living somewhere, putting down roots,” said Laney. He has worked
Downtown Golden is being “loved to death” in the summertime, and city officials are wondering whether some events would be better off changing their locations or dates in 2024. Nothing is set in stone; this is only the first step of a long discussion process, they emphasized. After hundreds of public comments at its Jan. 24 meeting, City Council concluded that the 2023 dates for downtown events in July and August are “sacrosanct.” Discussion mainly focused on Buffalo Bill Days, the Golden Farmers Market, ARTSWEEK GOLDEN, the Fourth of July celebration and the Golden Fine Arts Festival. Event organizers said they’ve been planning their 2023 events since the day their 2022 events ended, and January would be too late to change expectations for their vendors, artists, volunteers and attendees. City staff confirmed Jan. 25 that Golden’s moving forward on event permit applications for the summer, working with organizers to keep the usual dates and locations for 2023. However, as downtown Golden sees more summertime tourist traffic, the councilors believed moving these events to other locations or dates in 2024 could benefit every-
SEE PRICES, P16
SEE EVENTS, P2
High home prices, lack of supply sever metro residents from communities Low- and middle-income people struggle to live where they work BY ROBERT TANN COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
When Chris Laney moved into his new three-bedroom home last
summer, he felt like he’d won the lottery. After more than a decade of chasing the cheapest rent across the metro area, the Littleton bartender finally has a house to call his own. “I almost feel guilty that I have it,” said Laney, 49. Laney is one of a handful of residents who have secured housing through a subsidized program aimed at helping lower- and
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 13 | SPORTS: PAGE 30
MINES MEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS TO FORT LEWIS P30