Columbus City Council Proposes Actions to Stem Housing Crisis

Central Ohio will need 14,000 new homes per year for the next decade to keep up with its growing population, reports Kate Siefert for ABC 6. The region’s population is expected to reach above 3 million by 2050.

Like other regions around the country, the Columbus area has seen a spike in population growth as remote work shifts the equation for many workers and opens up new housing markets, in many cases raising prices and threatening to displace long-time residents. A majority of respondents to an ABC 6 poll in Central Ohio said they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, considered ‘housing insecure’ by federal measures.

A housing initiative proposed by the Columbus City Council calls for investment in affordable housing incentives and other ways to preserve current housing stock and ensure equity in housing. “Council has also proposed a vacant and foreclosure registry and said it would give the ability to have up-to-date contact information for the owners of foreclosed or vacant properties and legally hold property owners responsible for leaving abandoned properties in disrepair.”