Around Edmond: Good Vibes Paint off in Downtown Edmond September 7. Icon Cinemas Edmond offers $4 movie tickets every Sunday in September! Problems with Edmond Housing not aligning with community needs just being discussed by the City.

Edmond’s Housing Assessment not aligning with real estate markets or rental markets

Edmond finds itself with less moderately priced housing than is needed and this provides for a real problem that could affect all of the growth with Edmond Public Schools, and the current growth of the City in their city complex plan. Apparently, and according to the Housing Assessment the City of Edmond paid for, currently there are 32% of our population that are 1 to 2 person households. And according to this assessment, 68% of households have 3 to 5 people within the household. 19% of households can afford housing costs of $450,000 to $500,000 or more, yet this is the only demographic currently being built for, all over the city. 

As well, 60% of households cannot even afford to purchase any home at the price of $282,000. With 75% of Edmond employees employed around our city being unable to afford to buy or rent in Edmond, something is awry with development happening in the center of town claiming 60% of households in Edmond have only 1-2 people living in a household.

I couldn’t believe my ears when listening to a video of a community outreach meeting with local business owners in attendance who actually believe 60% of Edmond are singles and 2 person households, sent to me by an anonymous source this last weekend.

This caused me to pour through the City of Edmond Housing Assessment in full, to come to find this downsizing or starter demographic of 1 to 2 person households is such a small minority as is the luxury demographic at only 15% of our community, yet developers are making development decisions for these small groups that remove naturally occurring affordable housing without any plan to replace it, is a terrible way to conduct ourselves as stewards of our community.

Excluding young people but the working class that rely on now destroyed naturally occurring affordable housing to house themselves with, necessary for this group while taking low paying jobs around an area they could/can afford but also where they can commute easily to work or school – is simply having currently, and in the future, a negative impact on our city, morally and specifically, economically. As an ex Councilman quipped in sarcasm, “Who will adequately service Edmond residents?”

The math doesn’t math and the loss of naturally occurring affordable housing as defined as a home that is older and resaleable/rented at an affordable price is causing quite a stir amongst young professionals who are just getting their families started and want to buy or even rent a home and plant roots in our town.

The loss of moderately priced naturally occurring affordable housing simply prevents these fantastic younger folks from pursuing leadership positions in Edmond, and they can only partially participate in Edmond leadership by only having a job in Edmond and accepting that they must live in another community. This problem is new, starting in 2021, caused by investors and developers causing an artificial price surge with all sorts of housing for sale and for rent.

Many believe that should prices normalize to what they were in 2019 or so, that our tax base will decline, however property taxes go to the County. Sales tax goes to our City coffers, such as lodging tax and retail sales. And no, the over inflated valuations of properties in 2023 will not decrease to a point where you will lose money. Most in Edmond cannot afford to relocate within town to a like property even with the inflated values, so property values would actually line up the way they should and with the rest of the metro who got the memo that the selling spree to investors is ending.

See Savannah Whiteheads op ed at Non Doc here.  

The folks who spoke out against building moderately priced housing in Edmond at an earlier August City Council meeting are hypocrites and approve of racial or financial redlining and as Councilwoman Mugg stated in no uncertain terms this is simply gross and unconscionable.

Two of the commenters each purchased their homes at about $100,000 when they moved to Edmond.  Not wanting this to be available in Edmond now with naturally occurring affordable housing is ridiculous. The city allowing commercial short term rentals in regular Edmond neighborhoods, because local or national investors want to flip homes or make them into Airbnb’s is ludicrous, but for the 4.5% lodging tax the City is enjoying currently.

It is unbelievable that the City through Visit Edmond promotes renovated short term rentals in the middle of Edmond neighborhoods, simply to promote the 4.5% lodging tax the City receives from these purchases, which again, is ludicrous for the City to promote during and knowing of the current housing crisis, knowing that Airbnb’s cause the removal by proxy of naturally occurring affordable housing that is older, and more cost effective for younger homeowners. 

According to Jennifer Seaton of Visit Edmond, Air Bnb’s have increased from 26 in 2020 to over 200 earlier this year. At a time where people cannot find a place to live. Recently the City of Dallas banned Air BnB’s in residential only neighborhoods, only allowing them in properly zoned commercial areas.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bans-most-short-term-rental-properties-leaving-airbnb-hosts-pondering-next-move-16852616

Now, the apartment issue is laced in racism and possibly for some, classism. It was nice to see full final approval for the apartments and 12 townhomes to go up north of 33rd at Kelley Pointe. And too, nice to see new offices being approved at Kelly and 2nd Street. Those opposing the apartments though, our city’s apartments are at capacity at 96% full. And, it’s been this way since not later than 2012, the last time a new complex was built. According to the assessment, lack of housing is now a full-fledged problem with local employers from OU Medical down to local independently owned restaurants, which is causing difficulty for employers in finding locally based employees, because there is no housing for their employees in Edmond. 

When young couples and families start to locate themselves elsewhere, where does this leave Edmond Public Schools when the families all move out of Edmond in search of affordable moderately priced housing? Who will populate the schools being built enmass currently? Who will be left to serve the community of almost entirely affluent residents at their favorite businesses, restaurants, bars and coffee/dessert spots? 

These moral questions as to developers forgetting they are stewards of our community will eventually be answered and the result will be a referendum on our values within the community. Hoping those with the power and money understand that your legacy will be one of exclusion not inclusion, and solidify negative views of our town that we all love dearly, even if some have to live on the outskirts of town or in other communities only to afford basics, so that they can grow during work hours in Edmond. This really isn’t the Edmond way. And all of us know it.

Stop by later this week to seek what is happening around Edmond!

Sherri