The South Routt Housing Advisory Board is working toward potentially forming a co-op for residents of Willow Bend and Willow Hill mobile home parks in Oak Creek, aiming to give them collective control over the land where their homes sit and protect them from steep rent increases. The South Routt Housing Advisory Board was created earlier this summer as a regional collaboration among Oak Creek, Yampa and Routt County to oversee initiatives to tackle the area’s housing crisis. “Rent for the lots in those two parks has gone up over and over again … and they’re already ridiculous,” said Blanchard. In each case, residents faced the imminent sale of their parks and the uncertainty of likely rent hikes, organizing cooperatives to negotiate ownership collectively. Blanchard plans to deepen community engagement with regular office hours and listening sessions in Oak Creek and Yampa to gather input and build a more robust housing database that will further help shape local solutions.