Douglas County Commissioners to vote on Master Plan update, including housing element

Douglas County Commissioners will be voting on the 20-year update to the Douglas County Master Plan during a special meeting on Tuesday, December 4 at 9:00 a.m. in the Courthouse at 1616 8th Street in Minden.

Tuesday's discussion will focus on the housing element of the plan along with other portions including safety.

Those unable to attend but would like to comment can submit written comment to the commissioners via their website here: https://www.douglascountynv.gov/46/Board-of-County-Commissioners.

“Housing has been a topic of discussion at many County Commission meetings, the Critical Issues Conference, as well as Chamber meetings in the Valley and at the Lake,” said Mimi Moss, Community Development Director for Douglas County. “We just want to make sure we give all the citizens of Douglas County a chance to weigh in on the importance of future housing in Douglas County.”

According to persons who participated in the 2016 Master Plan Survey, the Housing Element was rated as one of the top three Master Plan Elements needing improvement, after Growth Management and Land Use. Several survey respondents expressed concern with the lack of diverse housing stock and the expensive housing market in Douglas County. According to the draft Housing Element, cost burden remains the most significant housing problem for low-income renter and owner households in Douglas County.

Included in the Housing Element is a section on affordable housing. This is defined for purposes of the document as market rate housing as well as subsidized housing, anything that does not require a significant percentage of household income. The standard rule of thumb is that housing costs, including utilities, should not exceed 30 percent of household income. Cost burden is defined as housing costs that exceed 30 percent of income while severe cost burden is defined as housing costs that exceed 50 percent of household income.

In July 2017, the County entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nevada Rural Housing Authority, which included the creation of Douglas County’s Affordable Housing Task Force. The Task Force held its first meeting on November 6, 2017 and will continue to meet to discuss housing concerns in Douglas County.

There are 133 affordable housing units at Stateline, 309 in the rest of Douglas County. As shown in the photo in this story, a person working a minimum wage job would have to work 55 hours a week in Douglas County to pay for an efficiency apartment, 66 hours to afford a one-bedroom home.

The Housing Element of the plan has seven goals to act as the County's priorities for the next five-ten years. They include supporting local efforts to increase affordable and supportive housing for families, elderly, and disabled populations, convene a housing task force in 2018, and support developments that include affordable housing with reduced development and building permits fees as well as
reduced water and sewer fees.

The draft Housing Element can be viewed at :
https://www.douglascountynv.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6986