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Home » News » News By Town » Marble Falls news » Marble Falls housing needs study to weed out bad faith developers

As new developments break ground, the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors approved hiring a third-party consultant to review the housing needs of residents and workers in the area. The vote came during the board’s regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The analysis, which will cost about $25,000 and be conducted by Camoin Associates, will enable the EDC and other city entities to provide concrete data on what is needed versus what is proposed.

“We want to quantify the amount and types of new housing that we actually need and discourage development that doesn’t benefit anyone other than the developer,” EDC Executive Director Christian Fletcher told DailyTrib.com. “The EDC strives to be a valuable community resource, and this is one way we can help.”

With a housing analysis in hand, the EDC can identify gaps in the local housing market and deter bad faith developers from building in the city, all in the name of economic prosperity in the area.

“We certainly want to promote development within the town, but the right kind,” EDC President Steve Reitz said during the meeting. “We get these calls every day (from developers), and, while I hate to say time-wasters … they really do turn into time-wasters.”

The consulting firm will offer a base data analysis and conduct an in-person visit to Marble Falls for the study. The EDC’s directors declined to pay for line items such as stakeholder interviews of business owners, stating the board is already aware of the issues facing them.

“We know that we have major affordability challenges in Marble Falls and that it impacts employers’ ability to hire workers,” Fletcher said. “We hear it nearly every day, so we didn’t think we needed to convene stakeholders and pay a consultant more money to tell us something we already know.”

The EDC should receive the study’s results by January 2023.

The next meeting of the Marble Falls EDC is Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 800 Third St.

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