Los Alamos County Affordable Housing Plan

Alamos County that focused the community on the most serious issue affecting affordable housing – the inaccessibility of housing due primarily to the lack of available supply. Through this process we evaluated existing conditions and developed specific types of data analysis and data collection due to the uniqueness of the community. We then assessed various housing needs, costs, and affordability measures and identified important market conditions and serious supply constraints. The result of this process was conversations with key policy makers about housing priorities and a large menu of potential strategies for the community to evaluate. The biggest housing factor affecting Los Alamos is a lack of housing supply which results in inaccessibility for low- and moderate-income households. This can be partially addressed through new development, but Los Alamos has limited land availability and the community values low-density housing and a smaller community size. In addition to more housing development, key strategies we recommended were to increase the number of income-restricted housing units so that low- and moderate-income households could find accessible housing and to engage in regional strategies that can address the broader issue of housing and economic development.