07-12-2018 Planning Commission Packet

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45 Housing Needs and Areas of Focus Based on the existing inventory of housing stock in Little Canada we can g et a good context for the City’s housing needs and priorities moving forward. Little Canada moving forward will need to develop new residential properties to meet anticipated growth, they will need to continue to provide quality affordable housing, and the y will need to maintain and improve existing housing that will primarily be over 6 decades old in 2040. Meeting Growth Little Canada is estimated to have 4,900 households in 2040, up 386 from the Metropolitan Council’s 2016 estimate. Table 14: Household Growth in Little Canada 2016 Households 2020 Households 2030 Households 2040 Households 4,514 4,600 4,870 4,900 Source: Metropolitan Council The first step to meeting this demand for housing will be to fill existing vacant properties in the city. There are 215 units of unoccupied housing currently, and while it can be expected that many of these may need some amount of renovation, that cost will be significantly lower than full infill redevelopment. After accounting for vacant properties, the City will still have 171 new housing units that will be needed to match demand. Mixed-use development around the downtown will account for a good portion of this, and infill development of open land and deteriorating properties will meet the rest of the demand. In both cases, affordable housing will be pursued where possible. Affordable Housing Little Canada has done a fantastic job providing housing that is affordable to households of all income levels and going forward this should continue to be emphasized. This is because affordable housing promotes housing diversity. Housing diversity includes different tenures (rental and ownership), types (single family, townhome and apartment), price points, sizes and styles. Cities with diverse housing stock can accommodate the needs of a wide variety of households at different life stages, incomes and family types. Furthermore, it provides more options as resident housing needs vary over time due to changes in age, income, housing preference, family structure, or physical abilities. As a result, people who move into a community can remain in it and stay close to their established social support networks. For example, a long-term resident who no longer wishes to care for a large yard will choose to move to another housing type within their community with less maintenance needs, if that option is available, before looking at other communities. A diverse supply also provides options for young adults, who grew up in a community, to move out of their parent’s home into an apartment or townhome nearby.