Beware of "work force housing."

The Economic Development Council (EDC) recently hosted a HOME St. Charles housing summit. (An article appeared in the Mid Rivers News Magazine but the link is no longer available.) The message of the meeting was that St. Charles needed work force housing. This is not a new message and builders, developers and those politicians they support have been stressing the need for "work force housing" for years in St. Charles County.

Here is the problem. One would think that "work force housing" would equate to more affordable housing. What makes a house more affordable? Cheaper land, smaller houses and smaller lots. Municipalities cannot do anything about the price of land which leaves their control to lot sizes and maybe the size of the house. However, when the builders want to construct "work force housing" they focus on smaller lots sizes.

Mayor Pam Fogarty of Dardenne Prairie stated just that at the summit. Fogarty said that for years the developers cry has been for "Density, Density, Density." According to Fogarty, Dardenne Prairie's "new urbanism" gives the developers just what they wanted; density, but now that the density has been provided the developers don't have a product to fit the plan.

Of course they don't because what the developers really want is to build the same big houses on smaller lots. Smaller lots means more big houses which means more profit to the builders. Profit is what they're in business for so what do you expect them to do when you give them smaller lots without restricting the size of the houses.

This isn't by accident. How could anyone question the politician and builder who are only looking out for the best interest of the community by providing "work force housing?" To do so would make you an elitist. An uncaring snob. A NIMBY.

Work force housing is an admirable goal but we cannot ignore the fact that the market controls where you can find such housing for the most part. For that reason beware of the bait and switch tactics of those trying to sell a product, which as Mayor Fogarty said, they don't have.