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Keep Studying Housing Issue

Members of a committee studying housing in Wheeling have six months to analyze the issue and make recommendations to City Council. They are being wise not to jump to conclusions sooner than that.

One suggestion offered during a Monday meeting of the panel may appeal to some because it would take an increasingly popular approach: Let government work out the problem. At the local, state and federal levels, that seems to be the preferred strategy for dealing with a variety of concerns.

Committee members were told Monday that Wheeling does not have enough of a specific type of housing: low-maintenance, in-town properties selling for around $100,000. Missy Ashmore of Kennen and Kennen Realtors said many people in the market for such residences buy them in Ohio upon finding they are not available in Wheeling.

Developing such housing is expensive in Wheeling, Ashmore added. She suggested local officials lobby for better state tax credits to encourage developers.

West Virginia offers 10 percent credits in such situations, while Ohio provides 25 percent, Ashmore said.

It is unlikely state legislators would go along with that type of change. The state’s budget dilemma argues against new tax breaks that would decrease revenue.

An alternative suggested by Ashmore is for the city to provide local tax incentives.

While that may be a possibility, it is too early in the committee’s study of housing even to think about such tax breaks. Committee members need to continue studying the situation to determine what — if any — government intervention is appropriate.

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