This article is a reprint from The Springdale Sun, July 21, 2026, edition
Click here to read the article in The Springdale Sun, page 9.
Because “time and again studies find affordable housing is a critical first step in changing the course of one’s life” writes Freda Savan with the Bucks County Herald, Angel Housing Solutions was created in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Carol Baumhauer is the angel in Angel Housing Solutions who, during her lifetime, was a force for good in her community, said the nonprofit’s director Joe Baumhauer. Carol and Joe picked Springdale as a place where they could enjoy the rest of their lives together, but fate intervened. They did get far enough to acquire a house here, which Joe still owns.
Joe decided to do something of worth and formed the philanthropic Angel Housing Solutions with two other partners with the specific goal of helping others to work their way up and out of the housing trap. They find properties like apartments or duplexes, rent some of the units at market value, then save some units to be rented for free or reduced cost to single, often unhoused, mothers to break the cycle of poverty. “Access to affordable rental housing is the most effective strategy for reducing childhood poverty and increasing economic mobility in the United States,” explains Kathy Beveridge and Sophia Wisniewska, who serve as members of the Angel Housing Board along with Joe and Chuck Weiss.
This is what Joe and his partners are doing. But there are a lot of ideas being invented by people who want to progress to a better solution to help Americans.
In Jasper National Park, overnight short-term rentals are highly restricted. You can only operate a “Private Home Accommodation” (PHA) in your primary residence. The operator must be an eligible resident of Jasper National Park.
KEY RULES FOR A PHA INCLUDE:
Size: The rental space cannot exceed 45% of the home’s total floor area.
Bedrooms: Maximum of two guest bedrooms.
Parking: You must provide one extra off-street parking spot for each licensed bedroom.
Permits: You need a PHA Development Permit from Parks Canada and a Business License from the Municipality of Jasper.
Garage suites, garden suites, and secondary suites are not made burdensome to build by town ordinances and cannot be used for short-term rentals. This encourages long term rentals which helps alleviate workforce housing problems.
In the Town of Jackson, Wyoming, long-term rentals in an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), called an Accessory Residential Unit (ARU) in the code, are generally allowed. In fact, the Town’s regulations are designed to encourage these units as long-term housing, particularly for the local workforce.
A few key points:
—Long-term rentals ARE permitted
—The Town’s planning FAQ specifically states that month-to-month rentals are permitted and recommends advertising them as available only for 31 days or longer to avoid confusion with short-term rental rules.
A fascinating comparison of Minneapolis-St. Paul highlighted the effectiveness of decreasing restrictions on housing in order to decrease the cost of housing. Minneapolis allowed greater freedom to build duplexes and similar and their housing costs went down while St. Paul did not and their housing prices continued to spiral upward. This is interesting because it’s such an apples to apples comparison.
The common thread among these municipalities is clear: increasing the supply of rental housing is one of the most effective ways to address workforce housing shortages. If Springdale is genuinely committed to expanding workforce and affordable housing opportunities, it should give serious consideration to owning and operating workforce rental housing rather than relying almost exclusively on private developers.
Utah law provides municipalities with the flexibility to own and rent housing for the workforce without establishing a housing authority or navigating burdensome regulatory requirements. After the initial capital investment, these properties could generate a reliable, long-term revenue stream for the Town. Day-to-day management could be handled by professional property managers, requiring minimal staff involvement. In the long run, this approach may prove simpler, more cost-effective, and more sustainable than continually searching for private partners willing to build workforce housing.
The Town’s current approach often comes at a significant public cost. To induce private development, Springdale has transferred valuable public land to private entities in exchange for workforce housing commitments that are temporary by design. Those units remain restricted only for the duration of the development agreement—typically 20 years or longer—but when that period ends, the affordability requirement can disappear while the public land is gone forever.
The recent Trapper Circle agreement illustrates this concern. Although the workforce housing requirement extends for 50 years, the Town permanently conveyed a valuable public asset in exchange for a guarantee that ultimately expires. By contrast, if the Town retained ownership of the land and developed municipal rental housing, it would preserve the public asset, maintain permanent control over its use, ensure that the housing remains available for the workforce for as long as the community needs it, and create an ongoing source of revenue for future housing initiatives. That is an investment that benefits not only today’s workforce but future generations of Springdale residents as well.
