Kentucky Housing Task Force working to identify strategies to address ‘urgent’ state shortage

A new state legislative committee met for the first time Monday to learn more about Kentucky’s housing shortage – and potential ways to address the issue.

The Kentucky Housing Task Force was established earlier this year during the legislative session to study, review and provide recommendations on how to address the housing shortage in the Commonwealth.

According to data from Kentucky Housing Corporation released earlier this year, the Bluegrass State has an overall housing gap of over 200,000 units. That disparity is split roughly in half between rental units and for-sale homes.

KHC deputy executive director of housing programs Wendy Smith told lawmakers that, in her view, the housing supply shortage is the Commonwealth’s “most urgent issue.”

“The overall marketplace needs more housing, and we need, kind of, a systematic approach that helps Kentucky be able to build and get brought to market more housing to meet our economic and population growth,” Smith said.

Smith said an insufficient housing supply is “a structural cause” for housing affordability, instability and homelessness. She also said that economic development can exacerbate existing housing issues as more people move to the Commonwealth and look for available homes in the same small pool that existing Kentucky residents are already competing for.

“We have had probably some of the top last three years of economic growth in Kentucky, which is great. However, we need new housing supply alongside that economic growth,” Smith said. “Without more housing, the Kentuckians that have fewer resources are going to risk housing instability and homelessness.”

Smith also said some local zoning and land use regulations across different Kentucky communities make it more difficult to build multi-family residences or rentals like apartments and duplexes – especially in urban areas.

Louisville Republican Senator Julie Raque Adams’ district includes Norton Commons, a mixed-use community in Jefferson County that includes single-family homes, townhouses, condos and apartments. She said those types of housing plans can offer living accommodations for people with a range of incomes and help younger people find affordable housing.

“I think those kinds of development plans are really exciting, because you can get people into that system,” she said.

The Kentucky Housing Task Force will continue to meet once a month over the next few months. The group is required to submit its findings and recommendations on how to address the state’s housing shortage to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 1.

This story is republished with permission from WKMS. Read the original.