Consultants and county staff presented findings Sept. 10 to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors on barriers and preliminary recommendations to increase housing in the county's nonmetro area and six small cities. Jeff Souser, a consultant with Community Scale, told the board the study recommends pursuing a target of about 950 new housing units over the next 10 years for the study area.

Why it matters: Supervisors said availability of housing in the nonmetro area affects municipal partnerships, school enrollments and the county's capacity to retain residents; staff emphasized that most options require municipal water or sewer and that allowing housing without infrastructure risks long‑term public‑health and maintenance problems.

The consultant summarized known constraints: lack of public water and sewer limits density in unincorporated areas; construction and lot costs are rising; there is limited site inventory and land release often depends on farm retirements; and home insurance and high interest rates have tightened the market for first‑time buyers. "You can't have density without public water and sewer," Souser said, adding that without municipal systems septic rules limit development to roughly one unit per acre in many cases.

Souser and staff also described local opportunities: several small cities and villages sit close enough to jobs to be viable housing locations; county zoning already allows accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and some missing‑middle types in jurisdictional areas; and the county has bond capacity and interest in public–private partnerships. The report notes manufactured‑home parks present a separate set of challenges: out‑of‑state ownership, rising lot fees and reported permitting and safety violations that can leave residents "anxious and vulnerable," Souser said.

Board reaction split on scope. One supervisor urged caution and criticized any broad loosening of rural zoning, saying the county has spent decades limiting sprawl and that wholesale changes risk undoing that work. Other supervisors and staff urged a measured, incremental approach: focus on small city partnerships, downtown revitalization, targeted infrastructure investments and helping towns access LIHTC and other funding. "There may be 25 to 50 homes in unincorporated areas over the next decade that are appropriate," one supervisor said, while supervisors generally agreed most of the 950 units should be targeted to villages, growth areas and small cities rather than open rural land.

Staff and consultants described next steps: refine the recommendation list, perform a zoning audit to identify granular regulatory tweaks (for example, farmstead split eligibility and other targeted changes), and map which small cities may be ready for partnerships on infrastructure extensions, downtown infill or public–private projects. Jeff Souser said the team will return with a revised set of recommendations in the next month or two and continue community engagement.

The board discussed financing tools: the county could use bond capacity, housing trust fund dollars and targeted county investments, and supervisors discussed coordinating with the City of Iowa City or the Iowa City Housing Authority on management and development expertise. Supervisors also raised federal and state funding sources such as the Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Community Development Block Grants and HUD programs, but warned these sources are competitive and change over time.

No formal policy changes or votes were taken at the work session. Staff were directed to continue work on the zoning audit and to refine the recommendation list for the board's review at a future meeting.

A continued public engagement schedule was announced: focus groups and public meetings were planned in Solon and Lone Tree later that week to gather additional input.

The study and subsequent actions will affect residents of manufactured‑home parks, aging homeowners, small‑town households and potential new buyers; staff noted implementation of many recommendations will depend on municipal cooperation, infrastructure funding and state or federal program rules.