Johnson County report is a ‘road map’ to guide efforts to address housing needs in the county’s small towns

IOWA CITY — A study of housing needs outside Johnson County’s metro area recommends expansion of water infrastructure and removing barriers to development, and identifies the need for nearly 1,000 more housing units, according to a report presented to the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday.

The study, for which the county paid $150,000, began in April and included a series of public meetings and focus groups. The Board of Supervisors and county staff have not made any final decisions about how the report will be used.

Recommended Reading

Johnson County looks to expand non-metro area, while balancing growth

The recommendations are meant to guide county staff and elected officials in their support of equitable housing access, removal of barriers to development, and action on land use plans, and other local policy decisions.

Among the report’s recommendations are investment in small-town downtowns; expansion of water infrastructure; increasing incentives for infill development; partnering with area nonprofits; investing in senior housing; and reducing home ownership costs.

The report also provides more detail on the county’s existing efforts, which include direct investment in expanding housing stock and advocacy in partnership with mobile home park owners.

“We’re already beginning to take action on some of these recommendations and this provides us a pretty good road map to continue,” board Chair Jon Green said of the report.

Letting local municipalities lead

Outside of the main metro area, Johnson County’s non-metro area includes the six small cities of Hills, Lone Tree, Oxford, Shueyville, Solon and Swisher.

The board has reiterated that the county would like to work in partnership with the local municipalities to let them make the best decisions for their communities, while providing the resources the county has to offer.

“One topic was thinking about services that cities have to contract individually, are there ways to share those resources so it comes off the city’s balance sheet … There might be certain services that lend themselves well to that type of relationship,” CommunityScale consultant Jeff Sauser said at a Johnson County supervisors work session.

Sauser said certain county departments, such as Planning, Development and Sustainability, have professional expertise that could help with things like zoning code amendments.

The report details a need for 950 more housing units in the non-metro area as building has stalled. It also identifies a need for more diversity in types of housing.

In the last five years there have been just 299 building permits issued outside Johnson County’s metro area, which equates to about 2 percent of the total housing stock. Housing development peaked in the 1990s when nearly 2,400 building permits were issued over a 10-year period, making up around 20 percent of the housing stock outside the metro area.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

Get a weekly roundup of Johnson County news by signing up for my Johnson County Update newsletter.