County planning staff unveils Chautauqua County housing market assessment, outlines 80+ action items

Rebecca Wurster, planning coordinator for the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development and for the Partnership for Economic Growth, presented the county's Chautauqua County Housing Market Assessment and Development Strategy at a recent planning meeting.

Wurster said the study, prepared with consultant MRB Group, combines demographic data, a needs assessment and stakeholder interviews to recommend more than 80 action items and four goal areas: housing diversity and quality; housing for special populations; reducing household cost burden; and land-management tools and resources.

The presentation summarized local trends Wurster said are driving the strategy. She cited Jamestown's population and household projections (a small projected decline in both), a median household income figure for Jamestown of $33,626 and a stated projection of about a 10% increase by 2027 (slide figure cited by Wurster). Wurster also highlighted poverty and special-population measures: she said Jamestown's poverty rate is about 24 percent compared with roughly 13 percent for New York State and 17 percent for Chautauqua County, that households with disabilities account for nearly one-third of Jamestown households, and that 31.1 percent of Jamestown residents are age 55 or older.

Wurster described housing-stock and market conditions the report identified: Jamestown has about 14,430 housing units with roughly 87 percent occupied; owner-occupied units make up about 44 percent and renter-occupied about 43 percent. Vacancy in Jamestown was cited at about 13.1 percent, with roughly 65.8 percent of vacant units classed as "other vacant" by Census Bureau categories (owners holding units for storage, estate settlement, renovation, nursing-home residency, foreclosure, or other reasons). She said multifamily-market indicators show high vacancy and limited new deliveries, while single-family-home supply has dropped and median sale prices increased sharply between 2018 and 2022.

On affordability, Wurster said 35.6 percent of Jamestown's occupied households are cost-burdened (spending more than 30 percent of income on housing). She noted owner cost-burden rates of about 16.7 percent and said nearly 54 percent of renter households were cost-burdened. The study also projects growing senior housing need: Wurster cited a projected increase of 332 residents age 65+ by 2027 in Jamestown and said the market could support a forecasted 121 single-family senior units and 78 senior rental units.

Wurster said the countywide count of people experiencing literal homelessness exceeds 800 based on the data she presented, and she linked that rise to increases in mental health and chronic health conditions and to a need for supportive services alongside housing development.

The report's recommendations include over 80 specific actions ranked as short-, mid- or long-term. Wurster listed five countywide implementation priorities currently underway: creating condensed housing marketing materials for developers; assembling a housing-site inventory (vacant and infill sites, and parcels in 1'5-acre and 10+ acre ranges); coordinating a developer outreach forum; preparing an affordable housing fact sheet for municipalities; and assisting municipalities in pursuing New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) pro-housing certification to unlock grant eligibility.

Wurster said the county is developing an internal inventory now and will circulate it to municipalities, code-enforcement officers, the Chautauqua County Land Bank (Gina Paradis was named as a partner) and the housing work group within the Partnership for Economic Growth. She described efforts to market a short, developer-facing packet with potential sites and key data points and said county staff plan targeted outreach to developers who build in nearby markets.

Wurster named several projects in various stages of development that she said illustrate ongoing activity: a 54-unit project in Silver Creek (listed as STELL/Silver Creek Schools), Gateway Lofts (110 units in Jamestown), a 45-unit Welch's building project in Westfield, mixed-use projects in Dunkirk at the Macaroni and Bank buildings, a Regan Development two-site, 78-unit multifamily project in Dunkirk, and potential multifamily senior or mixed-income projects at School 10 and the Marsh Valve site in Dunkirk.

During questions, commissioners asked whether the site inventory will be centrally shareable; Wurster said an internal inventory exists and that publishing it on the Partnership for Economic Growth website is under consideration. She also discussed incentives consultants and developers use, including brownfield cleanup credits and historic tax credits, and said county staff will pursue grants and developer-facing incentives to help projects in cities with limited greenfield buildable land. Wurster quoted her supervisor, Mark Geist, saying the county is ''Goldilocks County'' for developers because it can spend time on projects while still having access to grant-writing and other resources.

On public understanding of affordability, Wurster said "affordable housing is not Section 8" and urged education about the range of affordable housing types from emergency shelters and transitional or supportive housing to workforce rental and market-rate homeownership.

The presentation closed with Wurster's offer to share the full study and contact information; she opened the floor for questions and discussion about next steps including municipal coordination, code enforcement engagement, possible pro-housing certification work and developer outreach.