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While preferences and household sizes have evolved in recent decades, the types of homes constructed in the suburbs have been slow to reflect those changing tastes.
For instance, of the more than 2,200 homes built over the last 10 years in the greater Pottstown region, about 53 percent of them were single-family detached units.
Most of that growth (approximately 60 percent) occurred in two townships – New Hanover and Lower Pottsgrove, according to a draft report from regional planners. Last week, during a public meeting of the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee, members heard the results of a community survey about the housing market.
A few highlights:
Forty-six percent of respondents feel there is not enough “generally affordable” housing in the region.
Twenty-four percent selected “improve the availability of affordable housing” as one of their top three priorities for the next 20 years.
Thirty-seven percent said there is not enough housing in the region that seniors can afford.
“What can we as municipalities do…to put a dent in the issue?” asked Chris Patriarca, senior community planner with the Chester County Planning Commission.
He emphasized the importance of customizing solutions to each municipality because one size does not fit all in the world of planning. Additionally, developers need to get back to building smaller footprint housing – what some people refer to as the “missing middle,” Patriarca said.
Chris Patriarca (right), senior community planner with the Chester County Planning Commission spoke at the Pottstown planning meeting. To his right is Marley Bice of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.
Patriarca summarized one Chesco initiative called A+ Homes. A joint effort of the Planning Commission, Department of Community Development, and Housing Choices Committee, A+ Homes focuses on creating homes that are attractive, affordably-priced, adaptable, aging-friendly, and accessible to local amenities.
The website states, “Every person needs and deserves a place to come home to — a place that provides them shelter and comfort, a place where they feel part of the community.”
For housing to be considered affordable for an individual or family, it should generally not exceed 30 percent of household income. However, in every municipality in the Pottstown region except Douglass and New Hanover, housing costs exceed 40 percent of household income for renters. This leaves residents “cost-burdened” and less able to save for the future or spend on other essentials.
In 2022, the Chester County Commissioners pledged a commitment to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s House America initiative, with a goal of adding 1,000 affordable units in the county over 10 years.
With homeownership rates declining since 2010, an additional 200,000 renter households are seeking a place to call home in our state. They have added pressure to a tight PA real estate market, which now has 1.64 million renter households, according to Shapiro. As a result, the state needs another 100,000 units just to keep up.
In late April, Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder told a large audience gathered at a housing summit that the county would work to add at least 400 affordable homes by the year 2030.
“Number one is there’s will, and that’s important here,” she said, according to the Reporter. “Because this exercise is about municipalities, having the will, the right attitude about our friends and neighbors that are living on the streets or those that are struggling to find an affordable home.”
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