Over the past three months, KVOE News has told you about the city of Emporia’s official efforts to alleviate the city’s ongoing housing crisis through certain policy changes.
The situation is definitely in a crisis mode locally, according to Coldwell Banker Emporia Real Estate co-owner and Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas board member Jamie Sauder. As part of KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment Thursday, Sauder said home values have gone up around 25 percent over the last four years — primarily due to a lack of availability — after the average home price of $98,000 remained largely stable for over 20 years with little movement in total population. As of Tuesday, Emporia had less than 25 homes on the market.
Sauder says city officials actually noted concerns about housing stock and buildable lot availability seven years ago.
Jim Witt, the city’s Special Projects Coordinator, has been working on an addition to the city’s Rural Housing Incentive District policy that could help the situation going forward. The goal, he says, is to make life easier for developers so the current “scary” situation can return to normal.
Emporia has been working to modify the RHID program, which currently relies on developers securing private funds, the city approving a district area and the developers working with contractors to build homes. It has been using Dodge City’s RHID program as a model because of its success with single-family and multi-family projects.
Emporia Mayor and Ignite Emporia Director Rob Gilligan says the city hasn’t missed out on any major business moves due to the lack of housing, but it’s one of his major concerns at this time. He says recent updates should fit the city well and help the city grow.
Ignite Emporia started the year by proposing a roughly 50-home subdivision to help ease the crisis, and Gilligan says it’s moving forward. Gilligan says the current plan is for nearly 50 single-home lots and another eight to 10 duplex lots, although the location hasn’t been announced and the preliminary plat is currently in development. This could go to the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission by May and to city commissioners for discussion afterward.
This is not just a local problem. Kansas City was used as an example during the program because it has around 1,900 homes available — but it should have around 25,000 homes available because of the metro area’s population. However, Sauder says Emporia is an attractive place for developers to consider because of its quality of life.
Gilligan says the city needs to be diligent with any upcoming policy changes.
Witt expects developers to be receptive to the changes. He also says the city needs an infusion of new homes, but they have to be high-quality dwellings.
Click here to find the full interview in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
