A study from UW-Oshkosh found local zoning changes seem to be “a necessary but insufficient condition” for expanding workforce housing. 

The report was issued earlier this summer by the university’s Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research. It makes the case that “zoning reform” as well as engaging with public-private partnerships and state government programs are key to expanding workforce housing options. 

While zoning changes to allow developers more flexibility have helped create an “enabling environment” for housing expansion, authors say the success of such policies depend on other factors such as developer interest, financing and intergovernmental collaboration. 

READ THE REPORT HERE!

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Leo's notes: The report’s proposed state-local partnership may be the more consequential takeaway. Pairing zoning reform with technical assistance, municipal incentives and coordinated financing could give smaller communities the capacity to actually use the housing tools Wisconsin...

Ken Notes: Leo and I have been advocating for a full team approach to taking on this problem for a while, from State and Local governments, to local builders and developers, to the dozens of organizations administering private, State, Local, and Federal funding - EVERYONE needs to sit down and focus on housing solution that bring our employees back to the ownership fold for workforce housing. OWNERSHIP is the key moving forward, we know how to build apartments, we know how to build 500K homes, we know how to make money, BUT we do not know how to bring our service, retail, and entry level workers into the home ownership market that will allow our economy to continue to thrive. We need entry level affordable housing for our workforce.