Aug 12 2014 Housing Survey Now Online
The Fairfield Economic Development Association and the City of Fairfield’s Housing Task Force ask people living or working in Fairfield to participate in a short online survey about housing needs in Fairfield, available at www.growfairfield.com/housingsurvey.
Completing the anonymous survey is a way for Fairfield residents to participate in setting a direction for the future of housing in Fairfield. It will help members of the task force better understand what residents think are the housing needs and priorities. The results will be reviewed along with model policies and housing incentive strategies in order to develop policy recommendations for City Council.
The Fairfield Economic Development Association (FEDA) is working with the City’s Housing Task Force to identify ways to address the wide-range of housing challenges identified in the Housing Needs Assessment. The Housing Needs Assessment revealed that many local employers are finding it difficult to recruit and retain top-level talent due to inadequate quality housing options. Additionally, the assessment suggested that Fairfield residents are, on average, more cost-burdened by housing than the rest of the state. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), households spending more than 30% of their income on housing are considered “cost burdened.”
The Housing Task Force is identifying ways to ensure that the City of Fairfield offers affordable, resource intelligent, well-designed and well-built homes that blend into the small town, rural character of Fairfield. Task force members include Jessica Ledger-Kalen (City Council), Adam Plagge (FEDA), Tammy Dunbar (ERA Real Estate), Aaron Kness (Iowa State Bank), John Meyer (French-Reneker and Associates), John Oleson (TrafFix Devices, Inc.), Dan Sullivan (Cambridge Investment, Inc.), and Deb Cardin (Jefferson County Health Center).