120
THE HOMES OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
PLANNING ISSUE
Parts of the county have many
more jobs than houses, which
leads to longer commute
times, more congestion, higher
costs, and more energy
consumption.
There are a number of benefits local governments can reap
by encouraging a balance between the number of jobs and
the number of households within their communities. These
include:
•
The costs of traveling long distances for commuters
would decrease if more employees lived in areas closer
to where they worked. Commuting times could be
substantially reduced if there were a better jobs-housing
balance in the county. Shorter vehicular miles traveled
by commuters would also reduce overall congestion.
•
Some employers are having problems filling positions
in part because of worsening congestion and inadequate
amounts of reasonably priced housing. Therefore,
municipalities that strive to create additional housing
and transportation opportunities will support their
employers and tax base.
•
Municipalities with low numbers of jobs typically
have tighter budgets and lower property, income,
and business tax revenues than those with high
numbers of jobs.
Existing Housing Totals
Housing Characteristics
Housing Costs and Affordability
Senior Housing
Group Homes and Special
Needs Housing
Jobs-Housing Balance
Future Housing Demand
Jobs-Housing Balance
Montgomery County is the third largest county in
Pennsylvania and has been among the fastest growing areas
of the Commonwealth. In recent decades, the county has
grown not only in terms of population, but also in jobs. In
fact, there are more jobs than resident workers, making the
county a “net importer” of workers, which is rare among
counties that don’t feature a dominant central city. This
dynamic increases the need for housing to accommodate
workers looking to live closer to their jobs.
The jobs-housing balance is another factor besides
population projections that can be used to guide potential
residential development. The jobs-housing balance compares
the number of jobs in a community with the number of
housing units to determine if an area has too few homes or if
an area has too few jobs. Having too few of either jobs or
homes can lead to transportation, employment, and tax
revenue problems.
The Philadelphia region has a jobs to housing ratio of 1.3,
based on the number of jobs and homes in the region in 2010.
Montgomery County has a jobs-housing ratio of 1.8. These
ratios can be used as a guide to local municipalities trying to
create a balanced ratio.
Housing and employment centers can mix to enhance access for workers
and employers while cutting down on transportation costs.
What’s New
•
Conshohocken has improved its mix of residential
and office land uses. After twenty-five years of
converting underutilized or abandoned industrial
land along the Schuylkill River into successful office
buildings, the borough added over 1,000 high-
density condos and apartments. These residential
developments, which include the Londonbury,
Riverwalk at Millennium, and Grande at Riverview,
provide urban multifamily housing along the
waterfront that is attractive to many of the
professionals working in the nearby offices.
•
Some municipalities are already considering changes
to their zoning codes that will better promote more
residential uses in and around commercial centers.
One example is Lower Merion Township, which
along City Avenue while
incentivizing mixed uses.
