Understanding the Challenge

Monroe is facing a real housing shortage. During the 2010s, only 25 new homes were built while the average household size fell to 2.28. Housing is both an investment and a basic need. When the cost of shelter rises faster than wages, families experience stress and instability.

According to Zillow, the average value of a home in Monroe has climbed to about $280,000 and, at the current growth rate, could reach $355,000 within five years. This growth shows that Monroe is a desirable place to live, but it also signals the urgent need to add plentiful, affordable housing. Addressing this shortage presents a major opportunity to move Monroe beyond the 10,000-resident mark for the first time in nearly fifty years.

Learning from Our Region

Monroe is not alone in this challenge. Communities across the Madison metro area are experiencing similar shortages as housing demand across southern Wisconsin increases. To stand out, Monroe must make it easier for people to build here. That means focusing on policies that make safe, efficient development as simple and accessible as possible.

Building Smart: Modernizing Local Rules

Several current regulations limit our ability to grow. Removing outdated requirements such as mandatory parking minimums, exclusively single-family zoning, and restrictive use rules would open the door to more flexible and affordable development. City Council is already making progress on this, and I believe it should continue.

Encouraging mixed-use areas, where housing and businesses can coexist, has proven successful across the country. Monroe can learn from those examples to create a more vibrant and economically resilient city.

Focusing on Infill and Density

We should prioritize infill housing. which is the construction of new homes on vacant lots within existing neighborhoods. Projects like the cooperative homes built through the partnership between GCDC and Monroe High School demonstrate what is possible. By updating zoning to support higher density where appropriate, we can expand this model.

Infill development allows for duplexes, small apartment buildings, and other accessible housing types that fit within Monroe’s character. It also makes better use of our existing infrastructure, saving on new roads and utilities while easing the tax burden for residents. Building within the current city footprint preserves surrounding farmland and keeps our community compact and efficient.

Land is a finite resource, and we should use what we already have wisely.

Ensuring Affordability

Increasing supply alone is not enough. New construction must be attainable for working families, first-time buyers, and young residents. Building only $330,000-plus condominiums will not solve the problem. While market forces may eventually balance prices, that can take years. Without short-term solutions, young people will be priced out of Monroe and forced to look elsewhere.

Following Proven Models: The Strong Towns Approach

I support the Strong Towns approach to housing, which has helped hundreds of small communities strengthen their local economies. Strong Towns is a nonprofit that promotes financial resilience through community-driven development. They note that many cities’ zoning codes make anything other than a single-family home difficult or expensive to build, creating barriers for small builders and homeowners.

To overcome this, Monroe should encourage many small-scale developments rather than relying solely on large developers purchasing farmland on the outskirts of town. A market built incrementally by local residents and small builders spreads risk, builds community wealth, and keeps investment rooted here.

Becoming a Housing-Ready City

Strong Towns offers a six-part Housing-Ready Toolkit, which outlines steps cities can take to make local housing markets more responsive. The toolkit includes ideas such as simplifying approval processes, allowing backyard cottages, making it easier to convert single-family homes into multi-family units, and encouraging construction of smaller starter homes.

Adopting these kinds of reforms would set Monroe apart as a forward-thinking community ready to meet its housing challenges head-on.

You can explore the toolkit here: Housing-Ready Cities | Strong Towns

A Smarter, Stronger Monroe

By modernizing zoning, encouraging infill development, and focusing on affordability, Monroe can grow in a way that benefits everyone. This is not only about building more homes, but about building a community that stands strong for generations to come.