If real estate in LoDa and WeMo is perking right along, then over in the ESho it’s in full boil. A realtor buddy of mine commented that right now on the Eastern Shore anything in move-in condition under $200K sells in a heartbeat. And he’s not talking waterfront or golf course or acreage or with a pool – just a regular, average, “pre-owned” ranch style house.
If you want “Fruit and Nut” in Fairhope (that’s referring the street names, not the folks who live there), think closer to a half million for that regular, average ranch style house and if it’s got a plaque, then the sky’s the limit – and even that elevated price doesn’t promise delivering something you can actually live in. Cute little place (maybe 1,700 square feet) on North Mobile Street – good shape considering its age (a condition I fully understand) – sold awhile back for just over $1 million, and that was in a rising market – though in retrospect, it was pretty near the top.
Now if you’re a transplant from somewhere like Los Angeles or Atlanta, this is no big deal. You just sold your place in Santa Monica or Buckhead for big bucks and are looking further up-market, say Augusta Court in Eastern Rock Creek or Lakewood in Point Clear, or maybe go way up with something actually on the water.
At this point, if you’re a regular reader, you’re probably thinking, “Hey, this isn’t the real estate guy, he’s further back in the paper.” And you’re right, I’m not nattering on about real estate in general, but am talking about how unaffordable it has become. Actually I’m focusing on the mirror-image: Affordable housing. There isn’t enough on the Eastern Shore, and it’s getting scarcer. And this scarcity is driving moderate and low income individuals and families east and north or maybe much further away – away from their home communities and out of the local labor pool.
Forcing people to move away from house and home causes social harm, while losing productive people from the labor pool when local unemployment is at about 3 percent, does economic harm. Both should be cause for action by civic leaders and elected officials in Baldwin County and its cities in the “The Eastern Shore Arc of Unaffordability” – Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope.
I’m leaving out the long-unaffordable-for-average-folks communities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach because that problem has sort of worked itself out – albeit often poorly for the workers. It’s a living example of what should not be allowed to happen elsewhere in Baldwin County. There has been continual incorporation of rural areas into the cities, bringing higher home and land prices, higher taxes and more costly services. Simultaneously, many people hunting for affordable housing can only find it in a substandard structure, located far from work, schools, hospitals and stores.
Up to now on the Eastern Shore, much of this dislocation and distress is avoided because large areas of unincorporated land exist immediately adjacent to the cities. Most of these areas have no zoning, although many are within a city’s planning jurisdiction. This has provided local affordable housing by default, but growth and fallout from the Wal-Mart flap in Fairhope is endangering this situation. First, land is being bought up and developed – a simple response to demand and a fundamental benefit of our society. But what is being built in these areas is usually substantially more expensive than what was there already. The impact of this loss of affordability is greatest on new arrivals and on newly formed, next-generation households – many of these are the people needed to fill jobs in this robust economic environment.
The other affordable housing threat comes from the surge in land-use planning initiatives. These were given a big boost recently when Fairhope discovered the ease with which a Wal-Mart could spring up, virtually on their doorstep, with little the city could do about it. What these land use planning areas will allow is city-like zoning, but without the city – no incorporation necessary. This has greatest impact on existing residents, given the potential for increases in taxes, restrictions on continuing the current use of land and perhaps elimination of whole categories of residential and family business property – like mobile homes, multifamily residences, mixed commercial and residential structures or even some types of farms (as in, “Don’t want barnyard odor; lose the pigs and cows”).
Without care in planning and in the development of land use standards, it could be a situation of “Here today, gone tomorrow” – or maybe never here at all – for a lot of folks. With these planning districts springing up like weeds and people working right now on establishing rules for these new entities, we need to ensure that “Affordability” is baked-in at the start. To that end I suggest:
Reserving areas for higher density residences (zero lot line homes, townhouses, multi-family buildings and apartments) – maybe use incentives to developers and builders to attain this mix.
Grandfathering in existing buildings – also be generous in permitting rebuilding a similar structure if substantially damaged. Focus on helping people rebuild what they can afford – don’t impose unaffordable requirements and force them to leave.
Controlling the natural impulse to “improve” the new planning areas by imposing lots of “gotta-haves.” Remember much of the opposition to Wal-Mart was because people want things to stay as they are.
Establishing the position of Advocate for Affordable Housing – staff it with a highly effective individual and listen to what that person says.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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