Cape May County has a housing problem. We know it. Yet we are doing very little to address it. Failing to address it will place limits on our economic development and workforce availability. It will also almost guarantee failure as we seek to resolve social problems like homelessness, crime, and adverse childhood experiences among our youth.
The housing crisis takes many forms.
In a county with steadily rising land values coupled with zoning and other regulatory requirements for the construction of new housing, the stock of housing units available to young, working–class families is inadequate.
To be clear, we are not just talking about affordable housing in the sense of the obligations under the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) agreements most county towns have sanctioned. Rather we use the words in the commonsense manner to mean housing that families can afford by dedicating so large a share of their income to it that all else is severely constrained.
One set of numbers may illustrate the problem. In the 20 years between 2000 and 2019, Cape May County lost about 10% of its population. Thankfully, the overall losses of population have slowed, as was shown in the most recent census data. But the issue of population goes far beyond the number of bodies.
In that same period in which we lost 10% of people, the county saw a 30% drop in those under the age of 18 and a 12% decline in those from 18 to 64. How did we stay at only a 10% drop overall? We did that by growing the over 65 population by 20%.
We have become the state’s oldest county if we use median age as a barometer. Using 2021 data, the Census Bureau puts the median age of the county at 51.6 years. To provide some perspective, the median age in the nation is 38.8. In New Jersey, that figure is 40.3. This is a county for grandparents, not children.
The lack of housing people can afford has exacerbated a homeless problem that also has roots in mental health and drug use. It has robbed the county of many of its young families who leave completely or who have been forced into neighboring counties for housing.
We don’t need statistics. We all know examples of working couples in the county, with two paychecks, who still cannot buy here but rather look to Cumberland County for a home.
Even now we see evidence of public policy on housing that is too one-sided to have beneficial results in the long run. At the end of June, the state announced a Comprehensive Eviction Defense and Diversion Program (CEDD) to help those facing eviction with a “wrap-around defense against housing displacement.” The goal is understandable but helping those “working families” and “low income” individuals who cannot afford to pay for the roof over their heads is at best delaying a frontal attack on the real problem. It is, in fact, a contribution to increasing the shortage of housing as landlords see nothing but uncertainty when they contemplate new investing that would grow the housing stock.
To confront the problem, we must increase the stock of housing people can afford. To do that in Cape May County, we must accept certain realities.
We are going to need zoning and regulatory relief for affordable housing. We need areas where small lot sizes are allowed and regulations permit the construction of more modest structures. This strategy worked in earlier times when housing for workers was a goal of public policy, such as the area in Stone Harbor a century ago called the Courts. We are not talking here of federally sponsored housing developments, which have failed in so many instances.
We are not here talking about housing for the poor, or what we more often today call very low or low-income individuals. We are talking about a different kind of set aside. One that carries with it a relaxation of some of the regulations that make new construction so expensive. We are also talking about lot size parameters that will help bring land values within reach.
A big part of the solution will also depend upon accessible rental properties, which means public policy decisions that make investment in such properties more rather than less attractive. Subsidies may be needed. There is much to be worked out. But we will work these issues out only if we try to do so. Standing by as observers of the worsening housing problem guarantees failure.
In Cape May County, another reality must be accepted. We can only solve the housing problem in a meaningful way by doing it on the backs of the mainland municipalities. The moment when we could have looked to land on the islands to contribute to a solution is long past.
That does not mean that the solution must rest solely on the mainland municipal budgets. Money, funds, investment, call it what you choose, will be involved. In any strategy for confronting the housing problem, the island communities stand to benefit and should expect to contribute.
We all benefit if working–class families stay in the county and raise their kids here, and if the median age of the county does not continue its relentless rise.
It is time to get busy developing public policy in the county that positively addresses the housing problem. Since this must cross municipal lines, the county needs to take the lead in getting meaningful discussions underway. We need action, not political diatribes about the lack of state or federal attention or funds. As we pointed out last week, throwing money at the issue alone is not the solution – California has spent enormous sums to address these issues, only to see the problem grow.
This is our problem, and we must solve it ourselves if need be.
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From the Bible: Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? From James, Chapter 2
