Housing Needs Assessment Housing Needs Assessment
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Pell City Housing Study Results Presented to Public, Expected to Inform Measured Growth Strategy
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The City of Pell City conducted a public involvement meeting on November 18, 2025, where the Regional Planning Commission Greater Birmingham and Community Scale presented findings from a comprehensive housing market study.
The study provides essential data to inform the city’s next steps after enacting a temporary moratorium on high-density R3 and R4 housing in July 2025. The results will be used to develop better regulations and zoning tools that allow the city to achieve more control over its future development.
"There’s been a lot of data analyzed, and we’ve got a good handle on what the condition is,” City Manager Brian Muenger said. “In some cases, it challenged my preconceived notions."
Key Takeaways from the Study
- After subtracting constraints like floodplains, wetlands, and limited reach to water and sewer, Pell City has limited developable land
- With better regulations, the City can prioritize character, quality design, and fiscal return
- Encouraging the development of higher-value homes can lead to an increase in higher-paying jobs and higher-wage workers
- The local housing market also has latent demand from young families looking to remain after growing up here, and seniors who want to downsize
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The Critical Constraint: Limited Developable Land
A key finding challenges the idea that Pell City has unlimited room for expansion, reinforcing the need for managed, high-quality development. The study revealed that much of the city's acreage is restricted due to environmental or infrastructural limits.
"It's not really true that there’s a lot of land left to develop.,” said Jeff Sauser, principal at Community Scale, who presented the data during the event. “We need to make the most we can with the limited land we have left."
Regulations Should Prioritize Character, Quality Design, and Fiscal Return
The study's central recommendation is that through good regulations the City can encourage innovative subdivision design with multiple types of housing, and he indicated that Community Scale had researched neighborhoods like Stockton in Trussville and Liberty Park in Vestavia Hills to use as examples of quality design that incorporates those ideas.
“Through good regulations, you can start to make development more interesting,” Sauser said. “It would be most helpful to developers if your community could tell them exactly what it wants to see."
Study Data
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Now, the Workers Follow the Housing Stock
Sauser said that during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the country saw housing prices soar above what is considered “affordable,” and that most cannot afford a typical home. However, while this is still true here, Pell City’s housing remains relatively affordable.
The study found that Pell City will need to add around 500 new homes in the next decade to keep up with demand, and higher-end housing should be considered as a way to maximize available land to maintain economic growth.
“Some price points in the community are too low to attract higher wage workers,” Sauser said. “It used to be that people would follow the jobs, but things have changed. These days, jobs follow people just as much.”
Quality of Life and Retention
The study also found that Pell City’s housing stock is made predominantly of single-family homes with three or more beds. There are few rental options or places for young workers, or options for seniors to downsize.
"A lot of young people who want to live in Pell City can’t find their first home yet,” Sauser said. “These residents represent the demand for the city's future workforce.”
"Seniors are another big part of the story,” he added. “ Are we providing options as needs change? Places to downsize in the community?"
Next Steps
The study and the public involvement meeting are required steps in upgrading the housing section of Pell City's Comprehensive Plan. Input provided through the meeting and public survey will inform how the current rules will be changed to ensure development is controlled, high-quality, and reflective of the community’s values.
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