Prepared public comment to the JC Commission at their Meeting on Thursday, September 18, 2025
I was not able to deliver this public comment. My request was denied on account that this agenda item is not “actionable.”
Good evening, Commissioners, and thank you for the opportunity to address you tonight.
My remarks focus on the “JC Builds” initiative. I had not heard about it before seeing tonight’s agenda, so I learned about it, and I want to say how encouraging it is to see an effort to streamline processes and make things clearer for those who want to build here. Any step that improves efficiency and transparency is worth celebrating.
This initiative comes in a larger context of a housing crisis in our region that does not seem to get resolved. We are facing a housing shortage and major unaffordability in Johnson City. More and more of our neighbors cannot afford to stay in their homes. The vast majority of new developments are priced far above what ordinary residents can reasonably buy. And while “JC Builds” helps developers, it doesn’t yet address the heart of the problem: the mismatch between what is being built and what our community actually needs. Other rural communities in the South have been experimenting with creative, community-based housing solutions, and it feels like Johnson City is leaving those possibilities off the table or up to the developers’ business priorities. This is, in essence, an example of the lack of proactivity by the City in the context of Horizon 2045, when the Commission should set the tone of what the housing landscape should look like.
So, I would like to ask three questions tonight:
- How does the Commission plan to ensure that initiatives like “JC Builds” are matched with equally strong efforts to address housing affordability for working families and long-time residents?
- What opportunities exist for the Commission to partner with developers, nonprofits, and neighborhood groups to expand the supply of homes that are within reach for average residents?
- Finally, what specific steps will the Commission take in the coming year to explore and support new housing models that have worked in other communities, such as cooperative housing or land trusts?
Thank you again for your time.
