Housing Standard Review

On Oct 20, 10 residents of Buhler and the surrounding area met at the Buhler Fire Station to discuss affordable housing and blight in the community.

What concerns you most when you think about neighborhood conditions (blight) and the lack of available housing?

• Buhler has a high number of vacant homes.
• Lack of affordable retirement housing.
• Lack of land ready to be developed for construction.
• Inconsistent property standards and perceived lack of pride.
• Balancing code enforcement and compassion.
• Lack of awareness of programs, such as Brush Up Reno.
• Inability to fund improvements due to low tax revenue.
• Keeping downtown alive.

In 5 years, how would you want to describe Buhler?

• Our downtown has something in every building that can be visited by the public.
• Our abundance of childcare allowed us to attract new businesses.
• Our businesses are strong and self-sustaining.
• We are building new houses both on existing lot and in a new development. 
• Our aging population could downsize into high quality senior housing and new families moved into the larger, family homes.
• Our codes are enforced fairly and kindly without the need for citizens to complain.
• Members of our community step up and take care of each other.
• We have increased the level in which our organizations and community communicate [a few people mentioned getting a digital sign].

What would successful support look like?

• Offset the high cost of  specials caused by rising development costs with incentives.
• Build community pride with strategic communication.
• Seek outside sponsorships and funding.
• Work with employers to advertise living in Buhler to their out of town employees.
• Advertise Downtown Buhler shopping and dining to day trip tourists.
• Support small businesses recruiting and retention efforts.
• Attract a restaurant with a place to sit down and eat in the evening.
• Use incentives to attract builders, focusing first on lots next to existing infrastructure and secondly on developers.
• Use tools to identify vacant home and lot owners and incentivize returning these properties to active use.
• Create a land bank.
• Consider creative financing to attract builders of family homes and retirement housing.
• Update Infrastructure [streets, water lines, and sewer lines]

Ongoing conversations gather input from stakeholders such as such as rental property owners, local business owners, and employers. The results of these conversations are below.

Rental Property Owners:

Owners of rental properties in Buhler shared many of the concerns that were documented in the Community Forums. They emphasized the barriers to new construction; high construction cost, lack of land ready to be developed (let alone ready for construction), and lack of housing across all income levels. Conversations also highlighted concerns of the lack of entry level housing due to the limited opportunities for new families to move into town. Many agreed that they are seeing a rising demand for rental properties which follows the national trend of rising desire to rent vs. own.

The conversation followed similar themes as Community Forums when asked what successful support may look like. The group agreed that it would be advantageous to advocate for the resurgence of the Buhler High School homebuilding program. Also suggesting the City explore options such as purchasing land for development, offering incentives to attract developers, continuing to advertise Buhler's participation in the Reno County Neighborhood Revitalization Plan (NRP), and paying for dilapidated properties to be demolished.

The group also supported a partnership between residents and the City to advocate to owners of 'double lots' to split them for new construction. Also expressed was strong support that the City continue updating sewer and water infrastructure and finish expanding water rights. Another tool that was discussed with interest was using a land bank and negotiating with County and Sheriffs offices to acquire abandoned properties.

Addressing blight, the group discussed expanding City Wide cleanup day, traditionally in May, to include multiple days or more dumpsters. They also suggested strong code enforcement and using codes to steer development, one example given was updating codes to require trailer houses to not be placed in prominent locations.  At the same time, they expressed the desire to institute common sense codes that do not place unnecessary burdens on rental owners or homeowners.

One theme that overarched the full conversation was the desire to see Buhler thrive leading to the conclusion of our community's need for a vision, suggesting that the City of Buhler create a vision for development and showcase it to the community to drive excitement and collaboration. Also mentioned was the desire that tenants be high quality neighbors, it was discussed that services such as background checks and website listings at a low cost could be a help in achieving this desire.

Resident Conversations

2 residents came forward outside of the Community Forums and shared feedback that echoed the feedback given during the community meetings. Specifically mentioning concerns over the effect that the shortage of housing has on Buhler Grade School enrollment, lack of opportunity for young families to buy in town, the deteriorating state of a some of the homes throughout Buhler. One specifically mentioned the negative perception caused by brown water issues due to aging water infrastructure, saying it is difficult to talk favorably about the community to friends looking to live or work in Buhler.

One resident shared the experience of friends who wished to move to Buhler but after 6 months of searching, there were no houses available in their budget. They ended up purchasing a home in another nearby city. This resident cited concerns that they will seek employment closer to their new home, adding to strain on recruiting efforts of Buhler employers.

In response, one suggested adding City Wide Cleanup day in the fall and bringing back services once offered through Interfaith Housing's program, Brush Up Reno.