(Editor's note: This is just one part of a series of stories about local candidates in the upcoming June 2 primary, municipal and school board election. Find more coverage here.)
Simplified: As Sioux Falls grows, the need for housing grows with it. That, combined with rising home prices are making it increasingly challenging for folks in the city to attain homeownership. Here's what the five At-Large City Council candidates had to say about their approach to addressing affordable housing needs in the community.
Here's what we asked:
What role do you think the city should play in helping provide affordable housing options for our fast-growing community?
Here's what the candidates had to say (in alphabetical order):
At-Large A
Vince Danh said he wants to see city zoning laws opened up to make it easier for people to add accessory dwelling units or mother-in-law suites to existing properties.
- He said this could help as the city sees more inter-generational living, which he said nothing new to him as someone coming from an immigrant household.
- He also noted a "renaissance" in core neighborhoods.
"You see it in Whittier, and you see it in Pettigrew Heights … They’re getting new energy, new residents, people who just wanna make a difference and build it up," Danh said. "And the city can definitely, on a neighborhood level, can support that."
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James Oppenheimer said he sees affordable housing fall into two distinct categories. There are the folks who need affordable housing like the YMCA offers, with subsidized, income-based rent. There's also, he notes, a gap of people who move here looking for starter homes but can't find them.
- In that instance, he wants to see more zoning for density.
"Those sorts of starter homes need to continue to be built in Sioux Falls," Oppenheimer said. "So that when someone moves here, whether they move here to work at Smithfield or at Amazon, or if they move here after college ... there is a place for them to buy a house that they can afford as well."
Juliann Perrigo Talkington was unable to meet in-person or respond to questions sent virtually in time for publication. This will be updated if/when those responses are received or a meeting is set.
At-Large B
Rich Merkouris said he sees land development as the number one role of the city in paving the way for affordable housing and helping lower infrastructure costs.
"The other thing we need to talk about is, in the core area of our community, how can we revitalize some of those core neighborhoods that might need unique things like twin-homes or townhomes," Merkouris said. "I think we can do a better job of continuing to strengthen the local housing fund dollars we have towards things like that."
Samantha Scarlata said there needs to be more affordable housing "plain and simple." She added that she'd like to see affordable housing included in the long-term plan for Falls Park and the future redevelopment of the current Smithfield plant.
"Instead of building all these expensive lofts everywhere, why can't there be some affordable housing downtown so it brings in a mixture of people?" she said.
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