04-10-2003 Long Range Planning Commission Minutes

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i' Table 1: Monthly Costs as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999 OWNED RENTED Percent of Income for % Housing #Households % Households #Households Households < 15% 146 36.78 39 16.74 15-19% 79 19.90 48 20.60 20-24% 50 12.59 31 13.30 25-29% 46 11.59 22 9.44 30-34% 21 5.29 35 15.02 >35% 55 13.85 58 24.89 TOTAL UNITS 397 100% 233 100% United States Bureau of the Census,2000 Census. As reported in the 2000 Census, 19 percent of Pequot Lakes home owners and 40 percent of renters lived in housing calculated to be unaffordable. The rental numbers are inflated slightly by the fact that many of the rental units are occupied by seniors. Although seniors generally have lower incomes, they also generally have lower monthly expenses than families. This allows, and in some instances forces, seniors to spend a higher proportion of their income on housing, which is reflected in the rental statistics. Pequot Lakes has ten multi-family rental buildings with a total of 275 rental units. Four of the rental buildings are subsidized by the Pequot Lakes HRA, and three of those buildings are geared directly toward seniors. Of the market rate units, over 50 percent have 2+ bedrooms,compared to only 21 percent of subsidized units. Out of 275 total rental units, only four 3-bedroom units are available. This limited supply of multi-bedroom units limits the ability of families to rent and has led to the city's small average household size of 1.96. One-third of Pequot Lakes households have an individual who is 65 years or older. Although Pequot Lakes does a great job of serving today's seniors, as a demographic they are much different than tomorrow's seniors. Today's seniors are predominantly widowed women with little discretionary income. Tomorrow's seniors will be part of the aging and wealthy Baby Boom population. They will live longer and be able to spend more on housing. They will likely be demanding more as well. Tomorrow's seniors will want a variety of amenities to accompany a larger,more comfort-driven living space. Pools, saunas,workout facilities, office space, and other amenities that current rental buildings do not provide will be expected by retiring boomers. It is mainly young, starter families that are not being accommodated in the current housing stock. Life-cycle housing does not exist in Pequot Lakes,which means that housing is not available for people in all stages of their lives. Starter PEQUOT LAKES DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2