Kentucky Housing Task Force hears concerns over workforce development

FRANKFORT, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — Kentucky’s leaders say more and more companies are looking to expand to the Bluegrass state, but they could face a challenge in communities without enough housing. Kentucky’s housing shortage is one of many areas still dealing with a slow crawl back to normal post-pandemic, which even in 2020 was already suffering from a previous blow.

“We were seeing around 19,000 permits being issued per year, with a high of around 22,000 permits being issued. And then we saw the Great Recession and, you know, the effects that that period had on the housing market,” Kentucky Chamber’s SVP of Public Affairs Kate Shanks said. “Now we’re averaging, because going to come back to this number, about 10,000 permits per year.”

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Shanks said that the number is climbing but only slightly. In a report released this past July by the Chamber, it says the state is short 206 thousand housing units. It’s a number big enough they worry it could also hold back workforce development.

“Housing does create jobs. People are working. When people purchase a new home, they’re going into furniture stores. They’re helping support the economy. But oftentimes there can be a downside, which is if companies don’t have housing or can’t hire employees to come and work, that can put a damper on our local economies,” Home Builders Association of KY CEO Anetha Sanford said.

In a meeting with Kentucky’s Housing Task Force on Monday, lawmakers heard more on the challenges the Chamber and other housing associations see to growth, like zoning barriers and climbing fees associated with regulations. They estimate those fees alone are contributing to a quarter of the cost of a new home. Lawmakers are also interested in what they can do to make it easier to turn around unused office buildings.

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“Maybe there could be some changes that we can make here at the state level as it relates to conversions to kind of push this in place,” Sen. David Yates said.   The housing groups also want to see more to incentivize builders to construct affordable homes and promote the “missing middle” of duplexes and townhouses.

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