JOINT PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:                                                  For more information:

February 21, 2025                                             Elaine Kabala, [email protected]

 

Regional Entities to Host Housing Needs Workshop

Inaugural Community Event is Part of Eastern Sierra Study

 

Eastern Sierra, CA – In a concerted effort to address regional housing challenges, the Collective Housing Committee (CHC) – comprised of Inyo County, Mono County, the City of Bishop, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, and the Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) – will hold a kick-off workshop next week to introduce plans for an Eastern Sierra housing study.

 

On behalf of the CHC, Mono County will be hosting the inaugural workshop via Zoom from 9-10 a.m. on Thursday, February 27.

 

The workshop is the first of six planned by BAE, a private real estate economics consulting firm that has been retained by the CHC to prepare a Housing Needs Study for the Eastern Sierra region and develop a “Collective Regional Action Plan.” Next Thursday’s session will introduce current research efforts, outline the project’s scope and schedule, and familiarize the community with upcoming survey efforts and community outreach schedule for later this spring. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide initial feedback. The meeting can be accessed using the following link: https://monocounty.zoom.us/j/89047228490

 

Materials from the workshop, including the presentation, will be posted to the project website, which will be hosted by the ESCOG at https://escog.ca.gov/housing-needs, in both English and Spanish.

 

According to the CHC, a pivotal component of this initiative is active community involvement. In addition to the six community workshops, where organizers will gather input and share progress with stakeholders, the CHC and consultant will also team up to perform in-the-field information-gathering. This will include conducting extensive interviews with stakeholders and administering surveys of local residents, employees, and employers to gather information about resident and workforce housing needs, as well as how lack of labor availability is impacting business.

 

For more information about the project or upcoming workshops, please contact: Elaine Kabala, Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG), at [email protected]