The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is seeking collaboration from six small towns in the county to build 950 new housing units in the non-metro area while recognizing the limits that come with building in rural areas.

The units would meet projected county growth in the next ten years, according to a county-led housing study presented to the public on Nov. 12. 

In rural Iowa, land prices alone range from $40,000 to $80,000. The average cost to build a 1,500 to 2,000 square feet house in Iowa ranges from $262,000 to $440,000. 

The study is an assessed need and not an official formal plan. One of the six non-metro cities analyzed in the study, Hills, a city eight miles south of Iowa City,  grew by 30 percent in the last ten years. Hills Mayor Tim Kemp said the city is happy with where it currently stands with its population size.

“Within the current city limits, we don’t really have any place to put anything new,” he said. “We’re kind of landlocked. Any future growth would have to be annexations, which always brings its own issues into play, too.”

Kemp said the assessed need for 950 housing units, and any subsequent plan the Johnson County supervisors might devise, brings up more questions than it does answers. 

“Where are those going to go?” he asked. “Can they fit into existing communities? Where can they fit into Hills? Are they going to be something close to a small community that gets annexed in? I’m not sure where that’s going to come from, and how that’s going to happen.”

The study found that Johnson County’s rural population is rapidly aging and recommended the county promote the production of more senior homes and resources. Residents in the 65 and older age range are expected to grow by 2,086, while residents in the 0-19 range are expected to decrease by 741 residents in the next ten years.

Kemp said in spite of this, Hills has experienced an increase in younger demographics moving into the city, a trend he said could help solve any possibility of a county-wide housing shortage. According to the study, Hills saw the most growth in adults between 35 and 49.

“We are seeing young families move into Hills,” Kemp said. “If a young family moved in, had some kids, and then moved on to a house in another town after living in an apartment or a zero lot, then that leaves open the new zero lots, it becomes affordable for another young family that they get replaced by.”

Johnson County Supervisor Chair Jon Green said the findings of the study did not come as a shock.

“None of it was a surprise,” he said. “But it’s always good to have data to back up. Having a number, 950, is also very important information. Now we have the confirmation of the need.”

Green said he is unsure if the county will be able to build all 950 necessary units by itself, but hopes the smaller communities in the study will be willing to collaborate with the county and help build the units.

“I think that there is a real appetite on the board to utilize some of our capacity to work in concert with smaller municipalities that don’t have the debt capacity that the county does,” he said. “I hope that we can advance a couple of those initiatives in the next year or two.”

The study found that Johnson County’s urban areas have an 11 percent projected growth rate over the next ten years, while the rural areas have a 6 to 7 percent projected growth rate. Green said the discrepancy between the two can be misleading. 

“In the metro area, there’s certainly more building happening, but it doesn’t necessarily always slot in at the right price point,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of high-end student housing going up in the metro area. I do think that there is a very much missing middle, affordable construction across the county.”

Green said a potential step to not only draw more people into the county, but also help them stay in the county, would be to invest in more diverse housing options when looking at a hypothetical construction project.

“It just means, let’s look at the footprint,” he said. “Does this have to be a 2,800 square foot on a big lot, or could we look at maybe a town home, duplexes, fourplexes, that sort of thing — zero lot lines, a little bit denser infill at a lower price point.”

The study also recommended the county invest in expanded water and sewage infrastructure for the six small cities, an act Green said should be taken with caution, given its costly nature.

“When I was mayor of Lone Tree, we opened up a new wastewater treatment facility,” he said. “They’re going to be paying that debt for the next 23 years. That’s a pretty significant debt burden on a small town like that.”

Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said rural developments can become complicated.

“I’m not a huge fan of a lot of rural development,” he said. “I think we’re going to have some, and we should, but because of our duty of protecting farmland and protecting environmental areas, that’s a little bit limited.”

Sullivan said that the Johnson County Board of Supervisors can’t force the 950 units out of the small towns — it will take a desire from the small towns to gain traction. 

“The smaller towns are in charge of the smaller towns,” he said. “We don’t have any power to put anything in place there. It’s going to be up to them to decide to do what they want to do. What I think we want to try to do is be there to assist in however they feel they need assistance.”

Green said from transportation barriers, and added costs that rural residents often face, like septic systems and snow removal, rural living can become more expensive than what was indicated in the study. 

The Johnson County Comprehensive plan that runs through 2028 finds that for unincorporated or rural housing stock, 36.3 percent is valued at over $300,000, while only 16.5 percent of incorporated or urban housing stock is valued at over $300,000. 

“It isn’t just how expensive the house is,” he said. “There is also a participation cost to living outside of the urban area. I think that a lot of people viscerally understand that, but it doesn’t necessarily get factored into the cost calculation.”