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Kenosha housing task force outlines tools, website and a planned comprehensive study
Summary
Jason Peters told the committee the task force has formed three work groups (financial tools, planning/zoning/design, promotions), launched a housing website and GIS development-opportunity tool, and plans a comprehensive housing study to identify local unit needs amid rising median prices.
Jason Peters, vice president of economic development for CABA, briefed the Finance and Administration Committee on the Kenosha County Housing Task Force's organization and recent work.
Peters said the task force — which has three work groups (financial tools, planning/zoning/design standards, and promotions) — drafted action plans in mid‑2025 and convened to share results in June 2025. "In 2024, the median average cost of a house in Kenosha County was 285,000. Last year, the median price of a house was $307,000," Peters said, noting that a roughly $22,000 jump over one year illustrates the affordability challenge.
He described the financial tools group as exploring developer risk reduction through revolving loan funds, TIF use and other public‑private approaches; the planning and zoning group is reviewing local permitting and zoning to identify opportunities to streamline development; and the promotions group (led by Savannah Myers of UW Extension) is creating outreach materials and a housing‑definition document to standardize terminology used by the task force.
Peters highlighted two public tools: a task‑force web page hosted under the county planning section and a "Development Opportunity Investigator" GIS tool showing zoning, utilities and comp‑plan information to help developers screen parcels. He said the task force will commission a comprehensive housing study to document what unit types exist and which are needed — a foundation for targeted policy or incentive work.
Supervisors asked about local versus regional focus and whether zoning changes might enable smaller, lower‑cost housing prototypes. Peters said much of the work will be local, with the planning group coordinating to avoid duplicating city efforts. He encouraged supervisors to share questions and said staff will return with further detail as the comprehensive study is procured.
Next steps: the task force will continue work‑group meetings, publish documents on the county page and move toward selecting a firm for the comprehensive housing study.
