Research firm begins comprehensive Page housing study

They'll return the results to Council by July.

Posted

The number one obstacle restricting Page businesses and organizations from hiring the necessary employees to staff their operations is a severe shortage of adequate, affordable housing.


Oftentimes, employees who have expressed interest in accepting the job and moving to Page end up turning it down because they can’t find an affordable place to live for them and their family. Page’s tight housing market is affecting hiring at the Page Hospital, the school district, the City of Page, and businesses small and large throughout the city.


In an effort to take control of the situation before it worsens the City of Page hired the development solutions firm Michael Baker International, which provides development, engineering and smart growth solutions, to assess Page’s housing situation and ultimately return with analysis and recommendations.


The housing study was paid for by Salt River Project (SRP).


“Recognizing that Navajo Generating Station (NGS) is a significant part of the local economy, Salt River Project (SRP) and the other NGS owners have pledged to work with the City to assist us in economic development efforts to ease the impacts expected from the closing of NGS, this includes funding a housing study and plan for Page” said City Manager, Crystal Dyches. “Residents have voiced frustration over lack of available housing and employers have repeatedly expressed that housing is one of the most significant factors in their ability to attract and retain employees.  The housing study will provide a detailed understanding of the existing housing market and identify current and projected unmet housing needs.  The study and subsequent plan will assist the City in facilitating housing in a way that contributes to local economic development and sustainable growth.”


The Michael Baker International firm sent to Page six survey and analysis professionals from their Rancho Cordova, Calif., office and they spent more than a week in Page talking with seven focus groups and hundreds of individuals. They met with property managers, tourism employers, non-tourism employers, NGS employees, real-estate agents and senior citizens and community service providers – such as hospitals and schools.


A big part of the community outreach began Tuesday night when the City hosted a community meeting where Page residents were able to respond to questions about how tourism and housing affect them directly. Participants went to four stations where they answered a variety of questions, such as, How do you think tourism affects housing in Page? What kind of house do you live in? What kind do you want to live in?


At some of the stations those in attendance could write more in-depth questions regarding the future of Page housing.


“We’re at the entry level of the discovery process,” Jessica Hayes, project lead for Michael Baker International, told those in attendance.


Hayes and her team also met with City Council members Wednesday night during the City Council’s development meeting and laid out her firm’s scope and plan for the comprehensive housing study and answered questions and concerns they might have.


After their week in Page, Hayes explained, her team will return to their office in California where they’ll analyze the data and research and prepare a study that identifies Page’s housing needs, and its housing gaps, as well as a detailed plan with multiple solutions options to fix them.


For instance, if Page implements Option A the study will point out some short-term positive and negative impacts, as well as long-term positive and negative impacts.


“It all comes down to what kind of city does Page want to be in 20 years?” Hayes asked the City Council.


Hayes said the firm will return the study to the City of Page by June or July 2018, after which The City will analyze the study and create a housing plan for Page as it moves into the future.


At Wednesday’s work session Councilman Dennis Warner encouraged the Mayor and his fellow Councilmen that once the study has been returned to them that they act on it quickly.


“We don’t want this [study] to be another binder on a shelf,” said Warner. “We don’t want the data to get old and the information to get stale. If we don’t have an end goal and a plan in place to reach it, then there’s no point. We’ve seen a lot of plans end up on a shelf.”


Perhaps the one thing Page needs more than more family housing – and it has a clear need for that – is much more single unit housing. Page’s seasonal tourism workers arrive in March and April to begin work at restaurants, hotels and tour companies. Many of them leave again at the end of the season.
A large proportion of Page’s seasonal workers are single who are only looking to rent an extra room or share a house with roommates.


Year after year many of these seasonal employees return to find formerly available houses no longer available.


Some Councilmen suggested that if a hotel or other large business wants to build in Page that perhaps the City should require them to also provide housing for their employees.