Common (affordable) ground - Editorial
Wednesday, Aug. 23 2006 (Origninally Published on STLToday.com)
After two decades of rapid growth, St. Charles is now the most affluent county in the St. Louis region. Its median family income (half the families earned more, half earned less) of $70,500 last year was the highest in Missouri. The median sale price of a new house was $275,000.
It's so affluent, in fact, that beginning school teachers, police officers, bank tellers, store clerks, waitresses, custodians and other low-wage workers can't afford to live there. That's a big problem. If St. Charles is to continue to attract employers, it will have to make room for affordable housing.
In a report prepared for county business and government leaders this year, the Development Dynamics consulting firm put it bluntly: "Households earning less than $34,000 cannot afford the least-costly one-bedroom, one-bath units available in St. Charles County." And that refers to rental apartments. Buying a house is virtually impossible. That forces many people to live outside the county and commute. But since St. Charles has no local bus service, and with gas spiking at more than $3 a gallon, commuting isn't a great option, either.
The county's shortage of affordable housing is getting worse. Median home prices last year were 42 percent higher than in 2000, roughly four times the rise in family income. The recent housing slump probably won't change the affordability issue, because tamer prices will be matched by higher monthly payments due to higher interest rates.
As St. Charles' population has grown, jobs have boomed. Since 1990, the county's population is up 55 percent and jobs are up 82 percent. But if prospective business can't hire the workers they need, they may have to look elsewhere. Already local businesses complain that it's hard to hire clerks, custodians and other relatively low-wage workers. At Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, which employs about 900 people, staffing is one of the top administrative concerns, says hospital president David Ross. Workers making the hospital average wage of $21 per hour have trouble affording houses in the county. Those who can't afford to live nearby are commuting from Warren and Lincoln counties. Businesses are less likely to move high-wage jobs to St. Charles if they can't hire the technicians, secretaries and clerks to keep the business running. As the region sprawls westward, it is leaving a critical part of the workforce behind.
Greg Prestemon is president of the St. Charles County Economic Development Center, a partnership of local government and businesses. The problem isn't developers, says Mr. Prestemon. They'll build cheaper housing to meet demand. The problem is finding places willing to include affordable housing in their zoning master plans -- if they even have them. As it stands, much of the county is zoned for big lots and big houses, which generate more real estate tax revenue and use fewer local services than apartments, townhouses or trailer parks.
If political leaders, developers, businesses, school teachers, clerks, hospital workers and the like came together, they might discover their mutual interests and find common ground to build on. Literally.
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