Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Regional planning commission outlines modular housing pilots, small-business lending and mapping tool
Summary
The Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission presented annual activities to the Richland County Board, highlighting a modular infill housing pilot (SWISH), a revolving loan fund and an interactive housing data map.
Troy Megan, executive director of the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, gave the board an annual update and described several initiatives the commission is advancing in Richland County and the region.
Megan outlined SWISH (Southwest Wisconsin Infill Solutions to Housing), a pilot to place modular or factory-built homes on infill lots to preserve existing infrastructure and provide housing affordable to households with median incomes in the roughly $65,000–$75,000 range. He said the commission is partnering with nonprofit Southwest Community Action Program and private manufacturers (Skyline/Genesis were mentioned as models) to pilot sites, including a proposed site near Lancaster High School. Megan said the homes are intended to fit into neighborhood zoning and that some existing ordinances may need updating to allow modular homes that resemble conventional houses.
The commission also described its revolving loan fund, capitalized with federal funds and local contributions, and reported a local capital base near $1.9 million. Megan said Richland County currently had two active loans totaling about $362,000 that leveraged roughly $1.1 million in private bank or equity financing and supported an estimated 28 jobs. He noted the commission functions as an administrative partner to reduce overhead for local business lenders.
Megan described an interactive online housing map created by staff (Alyssa Schafer/Shaffer), which offers community-level data — median income, housing costs and other demographic metrics — intended to help local leaders and grant writers assess sites and compute return-on-investment metrics.
Board members asked follow-up questions about construction methods, foundations and cost efficiencies for modular construction, and about pilot timelines; one board member said a groundbreaking for pocket homes will be held in two weeks. Megan said the Lancaster pilot is expected to move toward site layout this year and construction possibly next year.
