WHAT IS WORKFORCE HOUSING?

by Development Committee Chairwoman Kyle Gilgis

The topic of workforce housing has been getting a lot of attention of late in DuPage County and I wanted to take this time to set the record straight regarding some misconceptions and fabrications leveled by those quick to oppose this important issue. 

Workforce housing is housing that is affordable to gainfully employed individuals and families so that they may live closer to their workplace, thereby reducing employee turnover, reducing traffic congestion and increasing quality of life.

Over the last decade, housing costs have been outpacing household incomes by a wide margin in DuPage County and all throughout the Northeastern region of Illinois.  Consequently, many working households in DuPage have to spend an increasingly large part of their income on housing and must reduce their budgets for other necessities like health care, food, and education.

There are men and women putting their lives on the line to serve in our local police and fire departments, making sure that our communities are safe.  Yet these hard working individuals cannot afford to live in the neighborhoods they protect.  This is not a reality we should accept in DuPage County.

The impetus behind workforce housing was a report issued by the DuPage County Regional Planning Commission (RPC), which was completed in 2007.  In the report, the RPC noted that it was "imperative that the county provide workforce housing so that those who work in the county can live in it."

The number of jobs in DuPage County has been growing at a significant rate over the last fifteen years, and that number is expected to grow even more in the future.  In 2007, there were 740,000 jobs in the County and it is forecast that there will be 830,000 by the year 2030.  In order to sustain this growth, it is important that there is a wide variety of workforce housing in the County so that workers of different income levels can afford to live near their place of employment.

Other benefits of workforce housing include less congestion on area roads, less emissions that are harmful to the environment, greater job productivity and more time for people to spend time with families, rather than commuting. 

In order to allow for the development of workforce housing in DuPage County, the county will need to amend its zoning ordinance.  Revising our zoning regulations will improve overall development in DuPage, and after some time, the price of home construction of will be low enough to accommodate the workforce here in our community.

I recognize that the steps which will transition us to a more affordable place to live will not happen overnight.  But with the right changes now, I believe we can make sure that housing in DuPage County will be accessible to the men and women employed here for years to come.