ECHA Comments on the Housing Study So Far

To: The I5 Group, SLU Community Planning Lab, CED-Solutions

City of Edwardsville: Mayor, City Planner, Economic Development Director, City Administrator, City Council

RE: Feedback on the Edwardsville Housing Study

Date: December 10, 2022

We appreciate this opportunity to provide feedback to the I5 Group and their partners regarding the Edwardsville Housing Study. These comments reflect the observations and recommendations of the individual persons listed at the end of this email, and not the official position of any organizations they may be affiliated with. We appreciate the timeliness and comprehensive scope of the work undertaken to date. There is much useful information in the study as presented so far. This information regarding trends in demographics, employment sectors, commuting, etc. should prove useful as the City updates its Comprehensive Plan.

The impetus for the housing study came in part from the December 2020 Race Relations and Equality Report issued by the City. This report, based on a series of listening sessions that included one on affordable housing, included recommendations for follow-up from then Mayor Hal Patton, John Cunningham, Brittany Johnson, and Jean McGurk O’Brien. It is not clear to what extent these recommendations have informed the current Housing Study, or whether the Race Relations and Equality Report was shared with the I5 Group as a resource.

Given the enduring legacy of residential racial segregation in Edwardsville housing, we believe the observations and recommendations of this Report are quite relevant to the effort to accumulate, analyze, and present data. We are unclear how many older black residents of Edwardsville provided input for the Study. Surely, any such residents will recognize, using the Neighborhood Diversity maps provided in the Study, which areas have been historically segregated. Yet these areas and this history are nowhere mentioned or addressed in explanations of current housing patterns. The persons signing this letter recognize the persistent settlement patterns in Edwardsville that reflect historic racial segregation, and the inequities faced by persons of color in this town.

Former Mayor Hal Patton, as quoted in the Race Relations and Equality Report: “Unless you have your head in the sand, it is clear that we still struggle as a country and a community with the throes of racism. The Race Relations and Equality in Edwardsville Survey put a number on this problem that was enlightening… Fifty-five percent of the respondents reported witnessing racism and/or inequality in Edwardsville, fifty percent of the respondents believe that minority groups are being held back by discrimination in our community… We must strike a balance between welcoming people to our community and the fear that comes with change… An AFFORDABLE HOUSING STUDY AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY needs to be completed for our community. The aldermen need to think outside the box and support policies and new standards that decrease the raw costs of these projects. Young professionals, young families, single parent households, those with disabilities and widowed seniors deserve opportunities for affordable and safe housing in Edwardsville.” [Emphasis in original]

An additional recommendation from the 2020 Report: “The city council should ask the City Planner and the City Plan Commission to review rules and fees associated housing development that impact the total cost of construction. Access to affordable housing has been cited as major deterrent to diversity within the ”

As these recommendations make clear, Edwardsville can benefit from actionable information to assist in addressing persistent inequity of opportunity. In particular, the populations cited by Mayor Patton above most likely fall in the 50% to 80% of AMI income brackets. The table below from the 2021 presentation by the City Planner illlustrates these income brackets with then current data:

Income Level	% AMI	$/Hour	$/Year
Extremely Low	Below 30%	Less than $11.17	Less than $23,223
Very Low	30%	$11.17	$23,223
ㅤ	40%	$14.89	$30,964
Low	50%	$18.61	$38,706
ㅤ	60%	$22.33	$46,447
ㅤ	70%	$26.05	$54,188
Moderate Income	80%	$29.77	$61,929
ㅤ	90%	$33.50	$69,670
ㅤ	100%	$37.22	$77,411
ㅤ	120%	$44.66	$92,893

The Edwardsville Comprehensive Plan states:

We are an inclusive community that provides opportunities for citizens of diverse cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds to participate in our high quality of life.
A variety of housing types and price ranges should be available within Edwardsville while maintaining a high quality and the housing stock to meet the needs of all income levels and age groups.

To meet the expectations of the Comprehensive Plan, and to address the recommendations and concerns regarding inequity from the 2020 Race Relations and Equality Report, the Housing Study would need to provide information about the number of “Young professionals, young families, single parent households, those with disabilities and widowed seniors” that fall in each of the 50% through 80% AMI income categories, with particular attention to race. How many people in these demographic groups bear such cost burden as to make it difficult for them to stay in Edwardsville, or to enter the housing market?

We acknowledge that the City Council, based on cost negotiations with the I5 Group, chose not to fund the recommendations portion of the original Professional Services Agreement. That portion of the proposed study included the following expectations regarding recommendations based on data findings:

The recommendations will set the stage for realistic, achievable goals for ensuring a diverse mix of housing options, with special consideration for affordable and workforce housing, that meet the needs of the range of community constituents (such as current residents and the next generation, businesses, workers in the community, seniors, and first-time home buyers). The recommendations will also position the City to better update its future land use plan as part of the City’s next update of the Comprehensive Plan. [Emphasis added].

We believe that the 11/15/22 draft Housing Study—which contains a wealth of useful information for understanding Edwardsville’s current workforce, commuting patterns, overall housing stock, and development over time—falls short of presenting sufficient data to “set the stage for realistic, achievable goals for ensuring a diverse mix of housing options, with special consideration for affordable and workforce housing.”

Over 30% of the Housing Study is comprised of proprietary descriptions of market segments as developed by the ESRI data location firm. Their Tapestry product, described as “behavioral market segmentation for US neighborhoods,” defines 10 market segments cited as relevant to understanding Edwardsville. To be clear, behavioral market segmentation is a marketing tool used to identify and target specific groups based in part on their history of consumption. It is NOT a tool designed to interpret housing affordability or need. Housing affordability addresses the relationship between income and housing costs. While the profile of the Edwardsville population segments as defined by Tapestry may be of interest to planners, speculative developers, and City boosters, it falls short of providing the most pertinent local specifics.

The terms used for various groups do not have a clear or widely-shared definition or meaning outside of the detailed and proprietary graphics tables provided. These terms include: In Style, Old & Newcomers, Boomburbs, Midlife Constants, Emerald City, Savvy Suburbanites, Dorms to Diplomas, and Set to Impress, among others. It is not clear, aside from the definitions that come with this data, whether these are categories that have proved useful in public discussions of affordable housing need.

Can the consultants provide examples of how these proprietary terms have helped to clarify affordable and workforce housing need?

Can the ESRI Tapestry segmentation be applied to the 6 neighborhoods detailed in the study? As it stands, the Tapestry data includes multiple group characteristics beyond housing information--much of it correlated with age, education, and income. Again, the categories are not centered on housing costs relative to income, which is the major indicator of housing affordability.

Can the I5 Group tell us, for example, how many Boomburgs or In Style households are represented in Timberlake or Leclaire Park? If this is not possible, it appears that the Tapestry market segmentation information, while useful for commercial and planning purposes, and as a means of representing Edwardsville to itself, does not directly lend itself to understanding housing affordability need.

Is there evidence available to explain the relatively low percentage [4%] of black Leclaire residents, compared to other neighborhoods? How much does this reflect the Village’s deliberate historical exclusion of black citizens?

These are some points we would like addressed in the final Study:

What proportion of single-family homes are owned by realty companies? Even though it appears from the draft Study that relatively few properties have been bought as hedge fund or other investments, as has been the case in other locations, how many current rental properties are owned by LLCs, property management companies, or other companies? Preliminary research by a member of the Edwardsville Community Housing Alliance indicates that over 1,500 Edwardsville parcels are owned by LLCs. This number include parcels in subdivisions under development, as well as those owned by realty companies.

What proportion of houses in the draft Study are owned by LLCs? How many houses valued at $200,000 or less are owned by LLCs and not available in the housing market? This clearly impacts availability of affordable housing to persons and families, even if the overall data indicate that Edwardsville has a reasonable stock of affordable housing.

• What proportion of houses identified as affordable in the draft Study are owned by LLCs? How many houses valued at $200,000 or less are owned by LLCs and not available in the housing market? This clearly impacts availability of affordable housing to persons and families, even if the overall data indicate that Edwardsville has a reasonable stock of affordable housing.

What factors—in addition to the gentrification of Edwardsville in recent years—contribute to the fact that Edwardsville does not have a broad offering of rental properties for families with limited earning potential?

What do we know about how many persons and families in smaller older homes have deferred property maintenance because of limited income? We know that the volunteer, faith-based, and non-profit sectors provide substantial and varied support for housing maintenance, family emergencies, household costs, etc.

What are the difficulties and cost barriers experienced by families with limited income who would like to move from smaller older homes to larger or newer homes?

In particular, is this an issue for families and persons of color who own homes in the traditionally largely segregated black neighborhoods of Edwardsville?

With housing costs being typically the major household expense, what are the characteristics of persons and families spending 50% or more of income on housing?

Can the I5 Group break out this group into seniors, students, new graduates, families with children, etc.? This information puts a human face on people in Edwardsville who may struggle economically in order to live here.

Efforts to develop support for affordable housing--particularly subsidized developments for people who are being priced out of Edwardsville--will depend on people's capacity to understand which groups are most hard-pressed to maintain adequate and desirable housing in the current market.

Can the costs of home ownership or rental be matched with the percentage of Area Median Income that characterizes these groups? Can the data provided in the tables on Gross Rent and Owner Costs as a Percent of Income be broken out by other variables, such as job type, race, and neighborhood?
This information in clear terms is needed to fully understand affordability in this market.

An example that would illustrate affordability: The draft study shows that fewer teachers live near schools and in Edwardsville than in the past. Where do typical teacher salaries fall in terms of Area Median Income? Are teachers being priced out of adequate and desirable housing in Edwardsville?

What subgroups of the population can most benefit from subsidized workforce housing?

The draft Study provides data on local job growth, as well as data on changes in workers’ commutes over time. Can the I5 Group make more explicit links to illustrate the relationship among the type/wages of local jobs created, housing affordability by AMI, and the availability of housing? Is it possible to estimate what proportion of the roughly 3,400 workers in the lower paying sectors of retail and restaurants live in Edwardsville?

The draft Study indicates that SIUE students living in Edwardsville may have housing costs subsidized by parents. Can the I5 Group verify this using the readily available SIUE data book? The original mission of SIUE was to serve first generation working-class college students in the MetroEast, the majority of whom have commuted to campus and worked in local communities while enrolled.

Thank you for this opportunity to respond to the housing study so far.

Sincerely,

John Harvey

Chair, Edwardsville Community Housing Alliance

Human Relations Committee

Advisory Committee, Housing Study

Mike Boline

Advisory Committee, Housing Study

Chair, Edwardsville Plan Commission