Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates in contested races address leading up to the Nov. 5. election.
Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to residents across Johnson County.
Each day this week, we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to one question. Read the candidates’ responses to the previous question about homelessness and property taxes.
Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
Many readers worry about the cost of buying a home in Johnson County, for first-time home buyers as well as empty nesters potentially looking to downsize. Also, the price to rent is concerning many readers. Are there any policy solutions the county can offer that you would support to increase the supply of affordable places to live in Johnson County?
Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on the issue:
District 3
Julie Brewer
Housing is an issue I spent years working on while leading United Community Services of Johnson County (UCS). UCS worked with the County and cities on the Johnson County Municipalities Community Housing Study and Housing Toolkit. Both efforts involved extensive community engagement. Building the awareness, partnerships, and a will to act on this issue is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of during my time with UCS.
Housing is a top issue when I talk to voters. Folks have appreciated the knowledge I bring to the conversation. Will I be able to retire here? And will my kids be able to stay here? Were top concerns during the community study input process
and still are today.
Since most of the area in Johnson County zoned for housing falls within our cities, I support the County and cities working together to create policy solutions, such as: 1. Preserving and rehabilitating existing housing stock (i.e. minor home repair grant programs funded by cities and the County is a way to support this effort); 2. Increasing the variety of housing product types, especially middle density (i.e. creating more lower density owner-occupied multi-family housing such as duplexes and triplexes, allows younger residents to own and build equity, and older residents to downsize and stay in their communities) 3. Incentivizing production of attainable housing by sharing risk, reducing gaps in the private market, and funding housing (i.e. Habitat KC’s partnership with Pathways Church to bring attainable housing to Olathe using a land trust model).
Charlotte O’Hara
To address housing affordability, the county needs to cut through delays caused the red tape of the approval process. Obviously this increases the cost of housing projects. Streamlining the permit and approval process can help developers build more homes more quickly lowering costs. Additionally, Johnson County must not follow Kansas City, Missouri in adopting stringent energy efficiency.
The adoption of these codes has proven to be a disaster with building permits plummeting to near zero because of the extreme increase in costs involved in compliance with the new codes. Johnson County must carefully review the proposed codes and adopt what works for our community. Increasing construction costs unnecessarily is counterproductive to affordable housing.
District 6
Shirley Allenbrand
Since I was first elected, Johnson County has been taking an aggressive approach to this issue. We did a county-wide research project and brought on a full-time housing coordinator to assist in implementing the recommended policies.
A significant contributor to housing prices is the supply of homes vs. the demand for them. Increasing the supply of home to purchase or rent will help slow the market. There are more than 1,000 units currently going up in the 6th District and Gardner is the 2nd fastest growing city in the state.
Mike Storm
The ability to afford a home in Johnson County is a significant issue for many voters. Many of the problems associated with the high cost of purchasing a home predominantly come from the federal regulations that limit the supply of new homes and the interest rates that make accessing the market a challenge.
What we can control at the county level is the amount of tax that applies to the construction materials for new homes and the property tax levies that taxpayers face once they purchase or rent a home. We can also utilize property tax credits to allow senior citizens to stay in their current homes without facing a substantial financial burden.
The county can also look at ways to streamline the permitting process to cut the red tape that homebuilders face as they seek city and county approval for moving forward with the construction of new housing developments.
Another program I would like the county to introduce is an educational program that offers courses on homeownership, budgeting, and financial literacy to prepare potential buyers for participation in the market.
The best way to bring the cost of rent down is to bring competition to the housing market. This is accomplished by increasing the stock of single and multi-family homes that are available for residents to purchase.
District 2
Mark Hamill
As a local real estate agent, I know that rising home prices are burdening first time home buyers and those looking to downsize. The American Dream of home ownership is becoming harder and harder to achieve for our residents.
A major component of skyrocketing home prices is inflation and housing regulations that create more overhead costs for builders. These costs are directly passed on to the consumer. As a general principle, we should make it easier to do business in Johnson County, not harder. If you look at surrounding counties that have added more building regulations, the number of new permits is way down and costs are increasing for homebuyers due to a lack of housing inventory.
It is not fair to use a “one size fits all” approach to building regulations and codes that makes the permitting process overly burdensome and costly for builders. Each project should be evaluated on a case by case basis. I believe that a less convulted process will allow for a wider selection of inventory and create more incentive for builders to build starter homes in Johnson County, benefiting the consumer.
Diversity of housing is important for lower costs across the board. The lack of starter homes has increased the demand for medium sized homes, which has priced first time home buyers out of the market. We need smaller homes in different areas of the county, particuarly in the north western part where we have more vacant land available.
When it comes to rent increases, the same principles apply. Our county is making it harder for buyers to invest in Johnson County. Landlords are paying significantly more money each month in the form of property taxes due to sky high valuations that are often not supported by surrounding comparable sales. At the end of the day, these increased costs are passed on to renters. As a county commissioner, I will work to reduce property taxes for all residents, creating more stability for landlords and reduced costs for renters!
Jeff Meyers
We have utilized money for Home Investment Partnerships Program grant funds. This has been on a case-by-case basis, and I think it should be continued in that manner. But I believe there could be a way to provide seed money to incentivize developers to investigate providing affordable housing options. Successful developments using this program include Prairiebrooke Townhomes in Gardner, Habitat for Humanity of KC Pathway at Heritage Park in Olathe and the Hedge Lane development in Shawnee. These are developments I have supported during my tenure as County Commissioner.
Our Landlord Incentive Pilot Program has shown great promise and I would like to see it become long term. This is another program that can use State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) available to the County. Through this program more than 80 families gained access to affordable housing and 72 landlords are participating. This program only works if we have a good supply of affordable units and landlords that will accept rental subsidies. These numbers are continuing to increase.
Coming up:
Tomorrow we will publish the candidates’ responses to the following question:
The county’s budget for 2025, recently approved by the county commission, tops $1.8 billion. The county manager has said current budget trends over the next five years are “unsustainable,” suggesting services and programs may have to be cut. If you are elected to the county commission, what will be the areas of the budget that will be a priority for you to maintain and fully fund? In turn, where would you look for efficiencies? What services or programs do you think could be cut in coming years?
