Lawrence study says city needs more housing to improve affordability
Lawrence officials said 76% of survey respondents struggled to find an affordable home, as a new study heads toward 50 strategies and a June 26 final report.
A Lawrence family of four earning $82,800 a year, or 80% of the city’s current $103,500 area median income, is the standard city leaders are using to measure affordability, and consultants told the Lawrence City Commission that hitting it will require more housing of every kind. In a June 3 briefing, Development Strategies said 76% of survey respondents reported difficulty finding a home they could afford in Lawrence.
The consultants were previewing the city’s 2025 Affordable Housing Study, which is updating a 2018 housing market analysis that city officials say no longer fits the market after COVID-era changes. The work is being paid for with just under $100,000 from a COVID-specific U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant, and the city launched an online housing survey in January to help shape the next decade of housing strategy.
Justin Carney told commissioners that the study is moving toward a final report due Friday, June 26, with about 50 strategies for improving affordability. The emerging framework centers on five goals: unstick the market, make housing more accessible, improve housing conditions, increase community dialogue around facts, and leverage city programs and policies. The study also is expected to address how the city can support repairs to older homes, where new development should go, and which kinds of units should receive incentives.
Amber Sellers said city staff and community members have been pressing for a stronger affordable-housing incentive policy, and the commission is already weighing one. A draft policy would require at least 80% of units in qualifying projects to serve households at or below 80% of area median income, with all units capped at 120% of AMI. Lawrence voters approved doubling the affordable-housing sales tax in November 2024 to one penny for every $20 spent in town, giving the city a larger trust fund to work with.
The study’s policy debate is playing out alongside a concrete project in west Lawrence. Floret Hill, a planned 121-unit permanently affordable development by Wheatland Investments Group and Tenants to Homeowners, has already received $1.8 million from the Lawrence Affordable Housing Trust Fund and a city donation of 12 acres of land. City affordable-housing administrator Lea Roselyn has said affordable housing often needs community support to work financially, and city leaders have tied that support to the local workforce, including teachers, social workers, police officers, firefighters and nurses.
The study framework also says 11% of Lawrence residents, about 10,500 people, report some form of disability, and 69% of survey respondents said they had seen or experienced homes or apartments with significant repair needs. Consultants said Lawrence’s shortage is affecting long-term residents and that deeply affordable and supportive housing remain undersupplied, a sign that more units alone will not be enough unless the city also changes how it incentivizes, preserves and repairs them.
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