La Crosse’s city planner being asked: Why can’t people afford to buy homes, any more?

Why can’t people afford to buy homes, any more?

That’s a question the La Crosse city planner Jason Gilman is hearing, as the communities tries to attract new residents, or prevent others from moving to towns where costs are lower.

Gilman said opinions are mixed in La Crosse about letting more old homes be turned into campus rentals, even though housing for college students may be getting scarce.

“I think we’re back to looking at what are some of the other options, which are incentivizing housing rehab for single-family owner occupancy — things like residential parking permit systems,” Gilman said.

Gilman told a city revitalization commission that there is disagreement among neighborhood groups about rules deciding how many unrelated people can live in one house, determining whether a building can be used for student rentals.