Dear Editor,

Common sentiment seems to place the blame for a shortage of affordable housing in Ridgway (and Ouray

County generally) on short-term rentals. There’s truth in this. Certainly the current 30 or so STRs in Ridgway do absorb some homes that might otherwise provide such housing.

But it’s only a partial truth. Some of those homes would probably not offer affordable housing even if they were not STRs. Either they are too large and expensive, or they are a single bedroom in someone’s ho...