LITTLE GEMS
Pam Carper with the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance spoke at last week’s Lake Geneva Committee of the Whole meeting.
The presentation was very informative and brought much-needed awareness to the housing issue in Walworth County. Walworth County needs affordable housing. Walworth County is currently short, over seven hundred housing units. With the current need and the projected growth of the area, that number will increase every year unless something is done now. The growth is expected to be a thousand a year so by 2030 the county will be short of over five thousand homes. The options for housing whether it be apartments, condos, duplexes, or single-family homes depend on the area of the county and money.
Right now, many households are spending more than thirty percent of their income on housing. This is a heavy burden on families and is unattainable for most. With the housing issues and financial burdens, the average family is under and the increase in short-term rentals the layout of the city is changing. Short-term rentals have played a role in the housing issue, leaving fewer homes for permanent residents.
Teachers, nurses, industry workers, hospitality workers, first responders, firefighters, police, recent college graduates, and young families are finding it difficult to find permanent housing that is affordable to live, work, and grow in Lake Geneva. The nation is feeling the issue, and some cities have found creative ways to lessen the burden. Some of the trends have required rules to change. Examples of such trends and ideas the city may want to explore are allowing higher density, reducing land cost, smaller lot sizes, or some variations of these.
The Walworth County Economic Development Alliance encourages municipalities to look at their housing needs, identify zoning, and to promote land for housing including help with identifying funding. Pam Carper is very knowledgeable and passionate about the housing issue and would like to work with all municipalities in the county as a team to come up with solutions and put families in homes they can thrive, grow, and live in. Housing is important to communities as a whole and impacts all aspects of the municipality. Businesses need employees, the vitality of cities and towns depends on growth and that includes schools, service departments, and residents that can work where they live. Strong communities are made up of strong happy families and a stable affordable home is essential.
Person of the Week
Paul, the terrific manager of Oakfire on Wrigley Drive
