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Platte County commissioners are exploring ways to make new home construction more affordable.
The county commission recently endorsed the Homebuilders Association of Greater Kansas City's Let Them Build campaign, which pushes for regulatory relief in the construction industry.
The move comes as the region grapples with a housing affordability crisis, with median home prices reaching $465,000 in Johnson County, Kansas, and just under $440,000 in Platte County, Missouri.
"The reason we have unaffordable housing is because we don't have enough inventory, we don't have enough stock," said Scott Fricker, Platte County presiding commissioner.
Fricker said the issue isn't a lack of available land, but rather housing code requirements that push costs higher.
Current Kansas City energy codes require more efficient designs using materials like better insulation and better windows, which supporters say were meant to make homes more efficient, potentially cheaper in the long run, but may be pricing out potential buyers in today's challenging market.
"Our housing codes affect affordability. You have anywhere from 10% to 15% more in new construction costs," said Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett (1st District).
Willett explained how the cost difference affects buyer decisions within the same area.
"You could go build your house in Liberty, or you could build in Kansas City and still be within the same school district. Well, you're going to choose Liberty because it costs less to build," Willett said.
The Let Them Build campaign advocates for reducing regulatory barriers that make construction more expensive and complicated.
"There's not enough usable, suitable housing units in the places that people want to live," said Will Ruder, of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Kansas City.
Ruder said the campaign represents "a recognition, an admission that we don't have enough housing, and that to build housing is too complicated or too expensive."
He said the goal of the campaign is to introduce "administrative and regulatory relief."
Supporters believe building more homes faster will help stabilize prices long-term and attract more families to the area.
"We have a lot of great land here in Platte County, prime for residential growth, prime for single-family home divisions. It's going to sit there unless we actually do something about it," Willett said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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