Q&A
Council Member Joseph inquires about senior housing needs
6:14:33
·
85 sec
Council Member Rita C. Joseph inquires about the amount of senior housing stock needed, noting that by 2030, there will be more older adults than school children. A panel member responds, highlighting the tremendous need for senior housing based on personal experience and emphasizing the importance of physical structures that cater to the needs of older adults.
- The respondent mentions a friend who had to move out of state due to lack of suitable housing options.
- The issue is framed as not just about regulatory needs or subsidies, but about the physical structures available.
- The response emphasizes the need to avoid limiting housing options in ways that don't focus on population needs.
Rita C. Joseph
6:14:33
Thank you, chair.
6:14:33
I have a quick question on the senior housing.
6:14:37
How much stock do we need to build because as as I know it by 2030, we'll have more older adults than we'll have school children.
6:14:45
How much are we looking to build in a senior in the older adult space?
Ben Wetzler
6:14:56
I'm not sure if this question was directed towards me or anybody else
Rita C. Joseph
6:14:59
in the panel.
Ben Wetzler
6:15:00
I I don't think that the city planning commission does that demographic analysis that far out, you should ask them.
6:15:08
But I I can speak from personal experience knowing older adults who live in my community that the need is is tremendous, and it's not really in conflict with other types of housing.
6:15:18
There was a very close friend of mine who's an older adult who was living in a rent stabilized walk up apartment.
6:15:24
His rent was low enough that he could afford it on his pension and and other income that he had, but he couldn't get up the stairs after a while.
6:15:34
And so he had to move into assisted living a different state, and that really was tragic to me because it really shows that this is not just a question of regulatory needs.
6:15:44
It is or or even necessarily of subsidy.
6:15:48
It really is about the physical structures that exist in our state, and we shouldn't be limiting them in ways that aren't focused on the needs of the population.
Rita C. Joseph
6:15:56
Thank you.
6:15:57
Thank you, chair.
