Payson Mayor Tom Morrissey and former Mayor and current MHA Foundation President Kenny Evans are working together in trying to find more and better workforce housing solution in Rim Country.
The target monthly housing payment for workforce affordability in the area would be around $1,250. That equates to a $193K mortgage after a down payment of $20K. The average 2021 sales price for a Rim Country home, however, was $287.5K.
Evans’ and Morrissey’s ideas include lowering construction costs and finding more available land for housing construction.
Evans and the MHA Foundation have built affordable houses that sell for approximately $100K to demonstrate that it is possible. The Foundation repurposed shipping containers to provide homes for medical students.
Payson’s current zoning focuses primarily on single-family homes on large lots, which both men say is problematic, noting that greater density and volume in smaller space make more cost-effective use of infrastructure investment. However, building one large home for $1M, for example, is a more preferable option for developers than building 100 homes at $100K apiece.
Evans wants community members to carefully consider upcoming revisions to Payson’s General Plan and look at changing the zoning maps to include more dense communities and shared common areas.
Morrissey has been working with the Arizona Department of Housing to examine workforce housing solutions, including units intended for healthcare workers that would take advantage of a modular program the Department has in place.
Modules are available if there is land to place them on, he says.
That, however, circles back to zoning, density and land availability, which both men plan to continue to address. (Source)