Kentucky's Legislative Task Force on Housing met today in Frankfurt, where lawmakers heard an update on the housing needs facing the state.

Those needs are different depending on where you are in Kentucky.

Our Clayton Dalton kicks off tonight's legislative coverage from Frankfurt.

Communities across the commonwealth, whether large or small, urban or rural east or west, are struggling to meet the housing needs of their residents.

Today in Frankfort, officials from Lexington, Kentucky, second largest city explained how they're encouraging developers to build more multifamily housing to meet the needs of people who are near or below the median income level.

The new the most recent zoning ordinance text provides for if you're doing affordable housing or workforce housing, which means under the ordinance, affordable housing would be 80% of average median income and then workforce would be 120% of average median income.

They automatically get the zone higher without going through a zone change.

Okay.

So it's a it's almost it's both a density bonus, but it's also a process.

What we can do is make those for the land you have in certain zones easier to increase density on by not requiring a zone change for the next highest level.

If you're providing the level of housing that I referenced.

The housing needs of urban communities like Lexington aren't necessarily the same as rural communities.

Like Eliot County Judge executive Myron Lewis explains Eliot County's newfound need for housing.

Well, County has been suffering from a diminishing population for several decades due to non job growth in and around our area.

For many years, we've watched good families pack up and leave Eliot to chase the American dream elsewhere because it could not be realized here at home.

However, the catalyst of a blessing to this is our General Assembly and our governor, in a bipartisan partnership committed $114 million to double the size of the little Sandy Correctional complex.

This investment back into Eliot will send a generational ripple into homes right here by assuring a much more respectful living wage is available to those who choose to stay and find their version of the American dream right there in Sandy Hook.

To my knowledge, Eliot has never sought after or been offered median income housing of any kind.

And quite honestly, it is possible that we never needed it.

However, with new investments in people comes new challenges for people.

Once construction is completed, our prison HCC will be adding up to 150 new jobs.

The clock for demand of quality housing for prison workers is now taking.

And so far we're already liked.

Although the style of housing may look different in rural and urban areas, there is one consistent truth.

Kentucky communities, big and small, are looking to build for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

The state's two year budget passed by the General Assembly earlier this year includes $10 million for affordable housing in Lexington and $10 million for the Kentucky Rural Housing Trust Fund.