When people consider moving to a community, they look at many things – public safety is at the top of the list, followed by employment opportunities, education, the local economy, access to healthcare, amenities and retail. Over the last several years, we have worked to address public safety, support business expansion, grow the economy and encourage local investment. However, housing remains a significant challenge for those living and working in our community.
In 2014, we conducted a housing needs assessment and commuter survey, to help identify solutions to address our housing challenges. Since then, we have continued to analyze Pittsburg’s housing situation.
The results:
Our housing study called for higher-end housing near Pittsburg State University, moderate-income housing throughout the city, the establishment of a land bank, improved downtown housing and planned subdivisions.
Plan of action
With the help of a local marketing firm, we created a housing campaign to attract developers and builders to our community. We initiated a Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) program, which allows the City to encourage development without splitting the high cost of infrastructure on the front end. With the RHID program, the developer is paid once the houses are sold.
Fast-forward
Today, we have several new housing developments underway to address a variety of housing needs, and more are on the way:
Already in 2018, we have issued 28 residential permits through July, more than half of the total for the past four years combined (see table below). The homes are located in the north part of town, the south part of town and downtown. They will meet a variety of needs from low-income to moderate income homes and a planned subdivision.
New residential permits issued | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | Thru 7/1/18 | Totals |
Single family | 14 | 16 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 79 |
The changes we are starting to see in our community are just the beginning stages of significant growth in our city. We’ve come a long way to address housing needs in Pittsburg and there’s more work to do. Together, we will continue to move Pittsburg forward as a great place to live, work and play.