We Are All Connected to the Housing Crisis

BY LAUREN WEAVER

COASTAL BUSINESSES come in all different shapes, sizes, and needs. However, one common thread binds them: affordable, seasonal housing.

And although many may think of the seasonal housing issue and its impact on their favorite ice cream shoppe, lifeguard, restaurant, or summer sundries store, the scope is much more comprehensive. It includes medical staff, first responders, grocery stores, maintenance, cleaners, landscapers, the list goes on.

A coastal town whose year-round population of 1,000 balloons to over 40,000 on any given summer weekend places a serious strain on the small business community. How can business keep up with the basic supply and demand, especially when it comes to personnel? Many of the staff in January need to double or even quadruple for July. Whether it is businesses that go from a staff of four in January to 25 in July, or 300 to 750, the question remains: where can they live?

With Labor Day barely in the rear-view mirror, many business owners who are piecing together remnants of summer staff are already forced to think about staffing preparations for next summer.

Some fortunate small businesses have tried to acquire their own housing to avoid the annual headache, making the investment to subsidize housing so that it’s affordable for their employees.

Hoteliers and rental companies give up rooms and homes to staff. Some larger businesses have been able to create positions dedicated to assisting with finding housing. Others have partnered with residents or churches to find affordable rooms in homes to offer the incoming workforce. There have also been programs created at state and county levels for assistance.

Even with resourcefulness, the affordable, seasonal housing conversation feels insurmountable. Personnel costs are at an all-time high. Hours of operations are cut to protect existing staff. Affordable housing solutions aren’t on the market. Platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO have changed the once affordable and available landscape. The college and high school workforce begin leaving before the end of their time needed. Exchange visitors through Bridge USA Program (J-1 Visa) are experiencing a longer paper work process as housing needs to be secured months in advance. Little to no public transportation is available to commute workers from potential affordable housing solutions to where they are needed.

Enter: municipal ordinances limiting who can rent and the number of renters, banning external dwellings, and homeowner associations restricting short-term rental; and dissenting voters on affordable multi-unit solutions as they are presented without an alternative solution to the needs of the local business community.

The communities who demand and need services are collaboratively coming together to attempt to find creative solutions. It can no longer fall on the shoulders of the business owner alone. The problem has become too nuanced. The workforce housing conversation doesn’t end in any coastal community anymore. And every consumer beach days, groceries, medical services, and recreational activities to come willing to see how everything is connected.

Lauren Weaver is the executive director the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce.