Agenda - Council - 06/28/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Aoresidents age, their needs, preferences, and travel behaviors shift; some communities may be poorly designed to accommodate their residents' future needs. Some seniors choose t0move t08downtown condo. Other seniors want t0age inplace, close t0 their places of worship, friends, or family members (especially grandchildren). Other households are deciding whether to move into 8 nursing home, assisted living facility, retirement community, orother arrangement. Many senior households do want to retain their independence, 8@e in place, and enjoy homes they worked hard for and that contain so many memories. However, the massive increase in the senior population will magnify the impact ofthose seniors who choose tomove. Figure 22:Forecasted growth inhouseholds headed byseniors oumeholds Households (all other) f-4 2030 Source" L(S.Census 8uneau Metropolitan Council Regional Forecasts m� Regardless of their preferences for specific |ocationu, most seniors share common interests in less household maintenance, one -level or accessible living, and easy access to nearby goods and oerviceo, especially health care. Homes with stairs, lots of space inside or outside to maintain, orother characteristics can pose challenges to an older resident with arthritis or other chronic illnesses, dementia, or limited income. Some seniors who want a different type of home in their community have trouble finding appropriate housing where they want to live. Most senior households live on limited incomes and have greater interest in or need of rental housing options; this propensity increases with age. Are there adequate housing choices, including age -integrated optiono, available for seniors to stay active, access goods and services conveniently, and benear friends and family? While many elderly individuals and households can afford to stay in their homes, transition to an assisted living facility, or pursue other living arrangements, many others cannot. Over one-third of households with a householder age 65 or older-74,000 households —pay more than 30% of their income on housing.45 Cost burden for seniors is particularly severe among those who rent; nearly two-thirds of renter households with a householder who is age 65 or older pay more than 30Y60ftheir income 0nhousing. Moreover, there iS8large wealth gap between seniors who own their homes and those who rent. The typical homeowner aged 050rabove has enough wealth t0cover the cost 0fassisted living for more than six years; the average renter 05orolder can cover only two rnontho."" |naddition, aging poses special housing challenges for people of color, who often have lower household wealth accumulation and who generally experience alower rate ofhomeownership. HOUSING POLICY PLAN FOUR: Opportunities for Collaboration