By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Why do people work in Whitewater but not live in the community? What can the city do to broaden its base of single-family household properties?
These are some of the lingering, ongoing questions that remain at the forefront of city leaders’ minds in the immediate aftermath of a recently completed housing survey, which was administered through the Community Development Authority.
The CDA enlisted several professionals for the study, including Russell Kashian, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor who helms a fiscal and economic research center.
Kashian has conducted city-related housing studies in the past, including one in 2012. Several results form this 2017 survey were discussed at a CDA meeting June 29.
One statistic that was hashed over briefly was the revelation 70 percent of residents taking the survey rated quality-of-life accommodations in the city as “moderately well” or “very well.”
“People who live here, live here for a reason,” Kashian said later in an hour-long discussion with the panel.
One goal of the survey and some of the recent research instruments was to gain an understanding of what the city can do to attract more residents to the community — particularly for persons who work in the city, but choose to live elsewhere.
Accomplishing that specific goal, Kashian said, is very difficult.
“It’s a heck of a question,” Kashian said. “It’s one we struggle with and what method can be done.”
The only ways of truly getting a pulse of the city’s workforce is either requesting employee rosters from companies and reaching out to persons individually or having employers distribute surveys to employees.
“That didn’t succeed,” Kashian said of the efforts.
CDA Chair Larry Kachel said he was not surprised by the challenges.
“Obviously, if you’re in the private sector, you don’t get as high of a (response) percentage rate,” Kachel said.
One way of more effectively getting responses from residents and non-residents alike entails compensation. Would the CDA be willing to pay respondents $50, for instance, to take a survey?
The overwhelming answer, during the June 29 discussion, was, “no.”
A portion of the recent discussion also touched on the city’s various zoning designations, which include a mix of accommodations for university students and year-round, permanent residents.
CDA member Donna Henry briefly discussed the city’s disparate housing stock and, in some cases, noted it serves a wide swath of people.
Speaking to some of the city’s larger, older homes, Henry pointed out they typically have wound up in the hands of established residents.
“The young people aren’t interested in having bigger, older homes because of the maintenance involved,” Henry said.
Some portions of the city, over time, have grown denser. One example is areas near the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus.
Kashian in his discussion attempted to dispel some of the negative connotations that are sometimes attached to properties with smaller lot sizes.
“Increasing density doesn’t always lower property values,” Kashian said. “There has to be the right type of density. In Whitewater, there has been a demand for that type of development.”
