The Neenah Common Council on Wednesday received and placed on file the Neenah Housing Study and Needs Assessment, a report by Stantec Consulting, after a presentation by city staff and the consultant and extended public comment urging the council to move from study to action.

The study lays out a mix of immediate regulatory changes and longer-term strategies the city can use to address limited housing supply, rising rents and demand for diverse housing types including entry-level ownership, affordable rentals and senior housing. Interim community development director Brad Schmidt presented the study and turned the technical presentation over to Spencer, a Stantec consultant, who outlined market drivers and projected needs.

Stantec projected the community will need roughly 960 housing units over the next 10 years—about 100 units per year—when accounting for household growth, replacement needs and depressed vacancy rates, Spencer said. The presentation said vacancy rates have been low (stabilized multifamily vacancy near 3 percent), 37 percent of Neenah households are cost-burdened (paying more than 30 percent of income for housing), and rising construction and financing costs make new single-family houses difficult to build below roughly $350,000.

Why it matters: the study identifies a shortfall of units across income levels and recommends regulatory changes—chiefly simplifying residential zoning and making it easier to build “missing middle” housing such as duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and small multifamily buildings—so developers can deliver a broader mix of price points without repeated rezoning or delays.

Consultant recommendations and public feedback
Spencer told the council that a combination of job growth, demographic change (smaller household sizes and more single-person households) and limited new supply are driving the affordability gap. "That's about a hundred units per year," he said, summarizing Stantec's annual target.

Jennifer Sun, director of public relations and government affairs for the Realtors Association of Northeast Wisconsin, praised the study as “very, very well done” and urged the council to simplify residential zoning codes so developers can include multiple housing types in a single project. "The most effective way is we've got to simplify our residential zoning codes," she said.

Residents and regional partners who spoke during the public forum and again during the presentation emphasized both the human and practical implications of the findings. Scott Becker, a Neenah resident, urged the city to focus on reducing poverty and to use city-owned land for new homes. Susan Garcia Franz, a community health strategist with Winnebago County Public Health and vice president of the Fox Cities Housing Coalition, said 115 children in the Neenah Joint School District were designated homeless under HUD's McKinney-Vento Act last school year and urged an action plan to implement the study's recommendations. Deb Lanaker asked the council to increase funds in Community Development Block Grant proposals for housing and economic development.

Regional cooperation and development barriers
Several speakers urged Neenah to work with neighboring communities and county programs. Christine Jernalista of the Fox Cities Housing Alliance encouraged collaboration across municipal boundaries. Speakers and the consultant also noted past controversy around a proposed Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project at the Shattuck site that was blocked; several developers interviewed for the study cited that episode as a risk signal that can deter affordable-housing investment.

Council response and next steps
The council debated procedural wording before approving a motion to "receive and place on file" the study. The motion, made by Alderman Mark Steiner and seconded by Alderman Ellis, passed 9-0. Several council members and the planning commission signaled intent to treat the report as a living document: interim Director Brad Schmidt said zoning changes are among the "low-hanging fruit" and that the city plans to begin regulatory conversations at the Planning Commission.

What the study recommends (high level)
- Increase supply across a range of price points, including entry-level single-family homes, middle-density ownership (townhomes, plexes) and affordable rental housing (LIHTC-type projects).
- Simplify zoning and reduce regulatory uncertainty that adds cost and delay to projects.
- Signal a clear, developer-friendly stance so affordable and mixed-income projects are not deterred by perceived community opposition.
- Explore targeted programs and partnerships (CDBG funds, county programs, regional housing alliances) to support production and preservation.

Ending note: The council's formal action does not adopt the study's policies; it places the Stantec report in the city record and authorizes continued work by staff and the planning commission on the report's recommended strategies. Multiple speakers urged the council to follow the study with concrete zoning and funding actions, and county and regional partners offered to collaborate on implementation.