ASHLAND — This city has once again topped a "best-of" list, this time heading up CNN/Money Magazine’s list of the best places to retire.

Fortune called the area one of the safest in the country and America Online also featured the livability of the Shakespeare city.

While all these accolades from the media are great for those who sell or invest in real estate — local real estate agents say they often notice a direct connection between positive press and the volume of inquiries they receive — others worry the attention is having an adverse effect on local livability.

"What more PR success does Ashland really need?" asked Bryan Holley, a member of the city tree commission who is concerned about the city’s rapid growth. "If you’ve already hit a home run, what’s next?"

Though resident Alice Hardesty and her husband, Councilman Jack Hardesty, were inspired to move here sight-unseen after reading about Ashland in a book 17 years ago, Alice said it’s time to start marketing the city differently.

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"Even though that’s how I came here," she said. "I think the time is over for that kind of advertisement. I wish the city and Chamber of Commerce would market us as family friendly."

Alice Hardesty is seeing the problem worsen as a member of the city’s Affordable Housing Commission.

"We’re in a crisis here," she said. "People with families and jobs can no longer afford to live here. Anything that encourages people to speculate on housing prices is very bad for our livability. It drives up housing prices and encourages people to live here who have no investment in the community."

Sandra Slattery, the executive director of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has just produced a marketing brochure to attract new businesses and young families to Ashland.

"It’s geared toward people who want to live and work here," she said of the promotional material. "... We need a healthy and vibrant economy that gives local people jobs and still maintains the small-town quality of life that we all love."

Slattery said the chamber is also redesigning its Web site to redirect its efforts similarly.

Graham Lewis, newly elected president of the chamber, said the chamber is developing relationships with technology writers in the same way it has worked with travel writers. In this way they might reach higher-income young people who want to relocate here.

"We want to show the advantages of living in a small town over the Bay Area," he said. "We want people to realize that Ashland is more than just a tourist town."

Robert Plain is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. He can be reached at 482-3456 or bplain@dailytidings.com.