Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Affordability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chesterfield housing costs rising; county hears federal funding uncertainty, local zoning options
Summary
Presenters from Partnership for Housing and Affordability told the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors that population growth and rising home prices are increasing housing cost burdens; presenters flagged potential delays in federal grant administration and outlined local options including smaller lot sizes and corporate engagement.
At a Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors work session, Partnership for Housing and Affordability presenters summarized county housing trends and local policy options, saying demand and prices have risen sharply and that uncertainty at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could slow some federal grant activity.
"I'm Woody Rogers, the policy director at Partnership Housing and Affordability," said Woody Rogers, noting Chesterfield's rapid growth and rising prices. Rogers said the county added "nearly 26,000 residents, to nearly 400,000 in total population," and that the median home sale price reached "nearly $413,000" in 2024 and rose to about "$424,000" in January as discussed in the presentation. Rogers said, "in order to afford that median sales price of $410,000 you would need to earn almost $124,000" as a household, and that roughly 60% of current Chesterfield households cannot meet that income threshold.
The presenters emphasized rental pressures as well: Partnership reported an average rent around $1,500 that would require about $60,000 in household income to keep housing costs at 30% or less of income. Rogers said 47% of renter households and about 20% of owner households are paying more than 30% of income on housing, which the presenters characterized as rising housing cost burden. They estimated "over 20,000 owner households and 15,000 renter households" in Chesterfield are currently cost-burdened; extreme burden—defined as paying 50% or more of income—affects about one in four renter households and one in 10 owner households, the presentation said.
Jovan, a Partnership presenter, described a pipeline of projects and development-sector issues: the group said there are more than 3,100 affordable rental units in the pipeline across the region, but that senior housing development has fallen off. Jovan said the organization is trying to bring the corporate sector into housing solutions through a "corporate playbook" aimed at filling gaps the public sector and philanthropy do not.
Presenters also flagged possible federal funding impacts. Partnership described Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships, and Emergency Solutions Grants as longstanding local resources for housing rehabilitation and nonprofit programs and said Chesterfield's average entitlement in recent fiscal years is about $2,200,000. The presenters said they have heard about staffing reductions at HUD's Richmond Field Office and warned that fewer local HUD staffers could delay grant administration and closings for projects that rely on HUD financing.
Local policy options discussed included zoning changes to allow smaller lot sizes and higher densities. The presenters pointed to a recent Henrico County decision to permit lots as small as 3,000 square feet and higher density (10 units per acre) as an example of a local change intended to encourage smaller, lower-cost housing forms; presenters cautioned such measures are not a "silver bullet" because materials and development costs remain a constraint.
Board members raised several points during the discussion. One board member questioned the timeframe for the 26,000-resident figure presented by Partnership; that member said the number described in the presentation reflected growth from 2020 to 2024 rather than "in the past year," noting the county's annual growth rate is about 2%. Another board member reiterated that supply constraints and development costs (land, utilities, roads) limit the effect local governments can have on market price, while also pointing to Ettrick Landing, a county-donated-land project of 10 houses the presenters highlighted as an example of an approach the county has used.
No formal actions or votes were taken; the item was an informational update and supervisors asked presenters to continue coordination with county staff and nonprofit partners.
The presentation and discussion will be available in the work session record; Partnership for Housing and Affordability said it will follow up on federal funding developments and ongoing local coordination.
