Oneida County needs more housing. That is the takeaway from the Oneida County Housing Market Inventory Assessment and Strategy Report, commissioned by the county and conducted by the Oneida County Department of planning in partnership with UP Development Planning LLC.
“The findings of this report confirm what we’ve long recognized; Oneida County is growing, and we must take strategic action to meet the housing needs of our residents now and in the future,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said in a release announcing the report findings. “This comprehensive assessment provides a roadmap for ensuring that we have the right mix of housing to support our workforce, our seniors, and our families. By working together with developers, municipalities, and community stakeholders, we can implement innovative solutions that will enhance affordability, stability, and opportunity across our county.”
Picente, along with the Oneida County planning department and urban planners presented the report findings at a public meeting on March 13.
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Oneida County is home to about 230,000 people spread across the cities of Utica, Rome, and Sherrill; 26 towns; and 16 villages. Spanning more than 1,200 miles, much of the county remains rural.
The report showed that in order to meet market demand, about 6,070 new housing units need to be constructed by 2040, with most of this needed by 2030. This includes 4,500 homes for ownership and 1,575 rental units — and senior housing needs to account for nearly half of the new construction.
Included in that 6,070 total is 2,240 new homes needed for employment-driven housing demand for younger homeowners.
The report also assessed demographic information for the region, including an examination of affordability and cost burden. About 16 percent of all homeowners and 30 percent of all renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Among renters earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, 78 percent are cost burdened, and 63 percent are extremely cost burdened, meaning more than half of their income goes toward housing, per the report.
The goal of the resulting housing plan is to innovatively bring together market influencers and workforce drivers to accurately assess current needs and provide a strategy for the future of housing in the county using meta-analysis of existing data, housing plans, identified housing needs, and projected housing needs.
The report has five goals that come with 13 implementation strategies and 34 potential action steps to take, including partners for each action, potential funding and resources, and a proposed timeframe range.
The goals are to establish a countywide framework for collaboration that focuses on housing, facilitate new housing development in suitable county areas to stimulate and prepare for growth, diversify the county’s housing choices to accommodate all household needs and income levels, expand housing options for the county’s growing senior population, and stabilize and rehabilitate the county’s aging housing stock to remain a functional component of the housing supply.
Action steps include infrastructure coordination and technical support for pro-housing municipalities, exploring innovative examples of financing such as density bonuses, assisting seniors through handyman and aging gracefully programs, stabilizing current housing stock through vacant property and lot inventories, and incentivizing developers and home builders to construct more market-rate for-sale housing including smaller homes targeted to the workforce sector.
The full report and story map are available online at https://oneidacountyny.gov/emergency/oneida-county-housing-market-inventory-assessment-and-strategy-report/.
