Columbia City Council members and Boone County Commissioners have begun to look into a study of the community's housing stock and rising prices.
During a Thursday summit, David Boston, an urban planner and owner of Amarach Planning Services, spent significant time discussing the shortage of small homes in Boone County, which he said has led to an outward migration of empty-nesters looking to downsize into surrounding counties.
Additionally, Boston said young adults seeking starter homes are going to other markets. But, in that case, some have come back.
“Once those younger households get to a place where they’re older, they’re looking for a bigger home, and maybe they’ve worked in Boone County the whole time. They’re finding homes in Boone County that work for them, they’re moving back in,” Boston said.
Boston says having to move away and commute back into Boone County may discourage recent college graduates from staying in the community, when otherwise they might have.
Another frequent point of conversation was how to avoid gentrification in housing development projects.
“I think that Boone County will benefit by putting equal weight on both housing preservation and housing development,” Boston said.
At the end of his study, Boston recommends practices to help preserve existing housing and promote tenant and owner empowerment.
This includes creating a housing preservation inventory that is used to inform cooperative investigations into older housing. Additionally, the County could establish rent-to-own housing and maximize the efficiency of preexisting services.
