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Warren County launches housing task force, new dashboards to track pipeline and scattered residential growth
Summary
County staff announced a housing strategy, a new housing task force beginning April 3, and two dashboards that map scattered residential development and a multifamily pipeline. Staff said the tools will be updated annually and used to align county resources with municipal projects and funding sources.
Warren County officials outlined expanded housing efforts on Tuesday, announcing a housing task force, new data dashboards and continued technical assistance to municipalities as part of a 2025–26 housing strategy posted on the county website.
County staff said the first housing task force meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, and will bring together entities already working on housing, including housing authorities, municipalities and local economic and development organizations. The task force will meet quarterly, staff said, to coordinate resources and remove barriers to housing production.
Sarah, a planning staffer, walked committee members through two dashboards available on the county housing website. The “scattered residential” dashboard uses property-tax-roll data to show where single-family, two-family and seasonal residences were developed from 2020 through 2023 and will be updated annually after tax-roll releases. It shows parcel counts, median square footage and median full-market value by municipality.
The second dashboard is a multifamily residential pipeline compiled largely from municipal planning and zoning minutes. Junior planner Matthew Smith was credited for compiling the pipeline data. The dashboard lists projects back to 2020, is filterable by municipality and project status (proposed, approved, permitted, completed or tabled), and includes links to meeting minutes or site plans when available.
Committee members asked how the pipeline compares with county housing need. Sarah said the county’s 2023 housing study produced a range of potential targets—roughly 1,200 to more than 3,000 units—depending on methodology, and that waiting-list data for existing rental properties is difficult to keep current because many property managers are unresponsive. Staff said demand and need differ by market segment: luxury and second-home markets appear robust, while workforce, lower-maintenance and aging-population housing are identified needs.
Staff described the dashboards as tools to “ground truth” the 2023 needs assessment, show what projects are moving through municipal processes, and help elected officials and residents understand where investments may be most useful. County staff said they will continue updating the dashboards, communicate with municipal planning and zoning staff, and use the tool in coordination with other grants and programs to steer technical assistance and limited county resources.
Notes: No formal action was required; staff encouraged municipalities and developers to use the dashboards when planning projects and seeking funding assistance.
