The results of a new housing study in Oneida County confirm what Tony Pharo and many others already know: the county needs more workforce housing.
“We need houses from, you know, $150,000 to $350,000 or $200,000 to $400,000 those are the houses we need. We need apartments that are available from $800 to $1400 a month,” said Pharo, the executive director of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation.
While the study confirms what many already knew, it is a key piece in convincing developers it’s worthwhile to build up here.
To further spur development, the report also outlines ten recommendations.
These include renovating existing housing, creating Tax Increment Districts to entice developers, and updating and revising local ordinances and comprehensive plans.
The latter can range from allowing for smaller lot sizes and a greater variety of housing styles to making it so developers can apply for financing through WHEDA.
“We want to be good stewards to the land, our lakes and our forest and all that stuff is important. It's kind of a delicate balancing act on making sure that we're good stewards to our natural resources, and also find a way that we can build these housing so that we can support our economy,” said Pharo.
Pharo is also keeping a close eye on two bills making their way through the state legislature right now that would open up funding for infrastructure projects related to housing development.
“One of the problems that we're having with development is that when developers come, there's no water, sewer, streets, that type of situation,” said Pharo. “According to the information I have, those two bills will have a pot of money that's available that you can request to help with infrastructure. And so that's my biggest hurdle right now with development is the infrastructure aspect.”
Over 40 percent of the survey respondents said they or someone they knew turned down a job offer in Oneida County because of housing issues.
Overall, a total of up to 217 rental units and 1,141 owner occupied units are needed by 2030 based on the State’s official household projections.
