More Density Means More Affordability

Housing Matters By Alexandra Goldman, column originally appearing in the Taos News.

The Questa community knows that housing is increasingly out of reach.  When we surveyed Questeños in 2024, 80% of respondents said it was “difficult” or “very difficult” to find safe and affordable housing in Questa.

If we want to reverse this trend, Questa needs to build more housing at lower price points, and to build more housing, period  Because whether or not Questa builds this housing, people will continue to move to Questa, young people born and raised in Questa will want to return home after school or after working elsewhere, and elders will need to downsize.  

If Questa does not build more housing, the existing housing will become more and more expensive, forcing locals, and the workforce the local community needs, to move away. 

Luckily there are tools that Questa can utilize to increase the supply of housing!  For now, we’re going to focus on one: density.

Density is not a super complex concept: If you allow more homes to be built per acre — also called “upzoning” — more homes will get built and those homes will be less expensive, since they are sharing the cost of land and infrastructure. For example, right now in Taos County as a whole, the average sale price of a condominium is almost $100,000 less than the average sale price for all homes. 

Density is determined by local land use policy. Fortunately, Taos County and the Village of Questa are both currently updating their land use codes, which means that over the coming year they can both implement upzoning. And they’re more likely to make these changes if we show up and ask for it! 

You might be thinking, “Density sounds really helpful — what’s the hold up?” If you pay attention to public hearings across Taos County, you’ll hear people say that higher density housing is not the right “character” for our communities; or you might hear concerns about blocked views or developed open space. Luckily, we can increase density and create more homes for our community without deeply altering the character or viewshed of a neighborhood! 

We’re not talking about high-rise apartments here, but smaller homes that would blend easily and effortlessly into the existing environment in Questa. 

Altering the zoning code to allow higher density duplexes, triplexes, and quads can address what is called “missing middle housing.”  

What is “missing middle housing?” The market can build expensive single family homes because the zoning code makes it easy and because wealthier households can pay whatever the market demands. With the support of government grants, affordable housing can sometimes pencil out. 

However, there is no solution for people in the middle, working people, who can’t necessarily afford market-rate single family homes but whose incomes are too high for subsidized affordable housing. Currently, these households are just out of luck all across Taos County. “Missing middle,” moderate density housing enabled by zoning changes can help fill this gap. 

Casitas, or Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are another good place to start. Casitas are a really unobtrusive way to add homes to a community.  They allow existing homeowners to create more space for extended family, or to earn some extra income by renting them out.  Unfortunately, according to the 50 year old land use code in the Village of Questa, casitas are not allowed.  This can be changed as the Village’s land use code is updated! 

Right now, the housing affordability gap in Questa is huge. There's not one simple switch we can flip to fix the problem. But by layering interventions from all different angles, and by taking the steps available to us locally, we can start to bridge the gap and make a huge difference.  If Questa wants to remain affordable to the people who make it special, then we need to build more housing! 

Alexandra Goldman is the Community Engagement Manager with Taos Housing Partnership and may be contacted at info@taoshousingpartnership.org. Taos Housing Partnership is collaborating with Questa Economic Development Fund and other Questa community members on a multi-year project to increase housing affordability in Questa.