Marshall Fire Recovery
People Over Process
The Marshall Fire that tore through our town nearly two years ago destroyed many homes and affected thousands of families in various ways. Council put a lot of focus and attention on the details of debris removal, relaxing building codes, returning use tax, and decreasing costs. Although these are critical pieces of the recovery, my focus remains on the people. As a community we need to focus on our neighbors and what we are doing to bring back as many as possible. It is so encouraging to see the houses coming back one by one. It has been nearly 2 years and we're "doing great" relative to other communities across the country who have experienced similar tragedies.
[Of the 550 homes we lost, we have 38 that are completely rebuilt. That's 7%. Another 248 have approved permits and are under construction. That's 45% more. There are also 23 permits under review for another 4%. All told, 56% of the homes are in some stage of the rebuild process, which is fantastic. However, that leaves 44% or 241 homes where a new home is at least a year away.]
What are we going to do to get the rest of our friends back home? I'm committed to working with all of you to keep pushing and working together to find a path home for our neighbors who want to return. We can't forget how difficult the road is for so many as we celebrate the return of others.
Affordable housing includes allowing ADUs for the City of Louisville. If you can rebuild your home with a viable ADU, you can rent that unit out and potentially defray the increased mortgage and property tax. And eventually an aging population of "empty nesters" can down size into their own ADUs to make room for younger families in the bigger homes.