OREGON, WISC. (excerpts from The Oregon Observer) – The Dane County area, while a popular place to live, has continuously seen housing and rent prices rise while income wages have remained stagnant since 2009.
So in a long-standing affordable housing crisis that’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, county municipalities like the Village of Oregon are trying to think of ways to extinguish that fire — or at least reduce it to embers — for its most vulnerable demographics. Director of planning and zoning administrator Elise Cruz told the Observer those mainly include senior citizens and single parents, some paying 30% of their income on either rent and a mortgage.
Remedying the crisis starts with the first annual state-mandated Housing Affordability Report by Vandewalle & Associates, LLC, the village published late last year, she said.
Findings in the report are being used to inform new development decisions and any changes to the village’s comprehensive plan, which lays out Oregon’s long-term growth goals. While the report outlines who is most affected by the village’s affordable housing crisis, it also includes ways to mitigate the problem and where the village can develop next.
Potential solutions include accessory dwelling units, changing the definition of “family” in zoning ordinances, setting goals to define future housing unit numbers based on population growth and working more closely with the Oregon Housing Coalition, which was established in 2018.
