Workforce housing is living space that is affordable to the typical working family that earns between 60% and 120% area median annual income. The workers include teachers, firefighters, nurses and other people critical to a community's well-being.

Developers, lenders, Realtors, local government, and employers must work together to insure that accessible and affordable housing is available for the workforce. Doing so promotes employee recruitment and retention and helps sustain a viable local economy.

The primary reasons for workforce housing shortages are: local opposition to multi-family development and lower-cost homes; more stringent credit requirements; a lack of appropriately zoned land; burdensome government regulation and impact fees; unavailable public sector funding; and high land and construction costs that reduce private sector incentives to serve this market segment.

The Chamber continues to educate and encourage stakeholder partnerships and to play a leading role in crafting regulations mandating improved levels of workforce housing. The Chamber will continue to explore options for successfully addressing this challenge, including mandated housing densities, employer subsidy programs, public-private partnerships and heightened support for Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency initiatives.

The Chamber is committed to the development and execution of a county-wide effort focused on strategies and solutions to maintaining an adequate supply of workforce housing. The Chamber supports and remains active on the Workforce Housing Committee under the leadership of the Centre County Affordable Housing Coalition.