How Lehigh Valley leaders want to fix housing crisis

A 9,000-unit housing shortage — it’s one of the biggest problems the Lehigh Valley faces .

The problem isn’t likely to go away on its own, either: The region’s population is expected to increase by 100,000 people by 2050 , according to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

That’s why the LVPC and Lehigh County government are launching a new effort to solve the problem. They’re inviting school districts, nonprofits, developers, employers and legislators to help create a regional strategy for long-term solutions.

“I think all of us know somebody that’s having a problem with either paying rent or a mortgage payment or finding a house on all levels,” Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong said during a Friday news conference. “Just in my own development, homes that were $180,000 when I bought as a school teacher are now $500,000, and I don’t think the school teacher salaries have gone up that much. So it’s a problem that we have to deal with.”

The Lehigh Valley Housing and Attainability Strategy would outline how to increase the availability of housing across all income levels, said Lehigh County General Services Director Rick Molchany, who added they intend for it to help residents in Northampton County as well, even though the two county governments’ discussions about the project “didn’t materialize into a joint effort.”

“When we talk about housing, I think most automatically think we’re talking low-income or subsidized or housing in a particular segment,” Molchany said. “What makes this study, I think, more complete [is] it’s attainable housing, so all the different sectors because all the different sectors matter. Many of you had your first house, moved into a second house, maybe even a third house along the way. Well, you’re no different than most other people.”

Part of what exacerbates the housing costs, LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said, is a shortage of high-income housing, which leads high-income homeowners into taking up housing inventory originally priced for people with lower incomes.

The strategy will cost $300,000, Molchany said, which will come from federal coronavirus relief money. He said it would involve the Justice40 national initiative.

Justice40 , implemented by President Joe Biden last year, requires allocating 40% of benefits from investments such as housing to disadvantaged communities, according to the White House website.

In the fall, the LVPC will host public forums where stakeholders will collaborate to identify barriers to and opportunities for creating housing.

Bradley said they will finalize the strategy by summer 2025, adding that they will create a website to document progress and findings.

“It’s a complicated issue that we really need to drill down into,” she said.

Geoff Brace, chair of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, said the strategy will lay a foundation for progress in the next two to three decades.

“That can be trying on the patience, if you will,” Brace said. “We live in a world that requires instant gratification, and when we say we’re planning for 20 [or] 30 years down the line, that’s not reassuring to a lot of folks. But it’s how regions get developed. It’s how quality of life is sustained. It’s how we build communities that we can proud of.”

Brace also shared data for how the housing shortage and housing costs affect Lehigh Valley residents. It shows multigenerational households have increased by 19% in the last decade, that 70% of residents aged 65 and older are cost-burdened by their housing, and that 60% of young adults are cost-burdened by their housing.

A housing cost burden refers to when a resident spends a greater portion of their income on housing than financial experts recommend.

Brace expressed his personal concerns about the housing crisis, worrying that his family, including his 11-year-old son, won’t be able to afford living in Lehigh County.

“All of these factors underscore the need to be broadly strategic, intentional, targeted and focused on specific areas of our region, and also look at market-driven solutions,” he said. “[The LVPC] is up to this task, in my opinion, and is going to be wonderful in leading the effort.”

In a news release, Rep. Josh Siegel emphasized the risk the housing crisis poses to the local quality of life and residents’ financial health, and praised the new housing strategy initiative.

“The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s business plan for housing is a first step to make sure that every community does its part to build housing where we need it most and in a manner that is responsible and sustainable,” he said. “We must in our development maintain our commitment to open space, quality of life and preserving the character of the Lehigh Valley.”