With 30% of Families Extremely Low Income, Can Piedmont’s New Plan Deliver Relief?

This is the final installment in a series examining Piedmont’s 79-page draft comprehensive plan, recently completed by the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission. Rachel Coleman of the commission is scheduled to present the plan Tuesday night at the January City Council meeting, where council members are expected to formally adopt the document that will guide the city’s growth and development for the next two decades.

“This plan will only be useful if the City Council and community members put it into action,” the plan states. “Planning is only as good as the commitment and abilities of the people responsible for carrying out the town plan.”

Once adopted, the plan recommends the creation of a strategic planning committee to oversee its implementation, monitor progress, and adapt priorities as the community changes. That group would serve as a bridge between residents and city leaders, identifying obstacles and helping Piedmont reach its full potential.

That process is already underway. The newly formed Piedmont Forward Advisory Committee met for the first time Saturday evening in preparation for the plan’s adoption.

Housing Affordability Emerges as a Top Priority

Housing affordability is one of the most urgent issues highlighted in the long-range plan. City leaders are being encouraged to expand housing options for residents of all income levels while pursuing grants and other funding sources to help make new development possible.

Among the plan’s stated goals are researching funding opportunities to bring in more affordable housing units, as well as targeting resources to eliminate slum and blight and revitalize Piedmont’s downtown.

A Statewide Problem, Felt Locally

Piedmont’s housing challenges reflect a larger statewide crisis. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Missouri has only 45 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income households. Developers and landlords often cannot afford to build or operate units for this group because rents are too low to cover construction and operating costs.

A household is considered extremely low income if it earns less than 30 percent of the area median income. In 2023, the median income for a four-person household was about $57,000, meaning families earning $30,000 or less fell into the extremely low-income category.

Who Lives in Piedmont

According to 2020 Census data included in the plan, Piedmont had 1,837 residents with a median age of 42. The population included 1,039 females and 858 males, with 442 residents under the age of 18.

The city had 987 households, including 470 family or married households. There were 52 male-headed households and 118 female-headed households, while 347 households were classified as non-family, meaning residents lived alone or with non-relatives.

Housing Supply and Vacancy

Piedmont had 926 housing units, of which 817 were occupied and 109 were vacant. Renters occupied 379 units, while 216 homes were owned with a mortgage and 222 were owned outright.

Of the vacant units, 26 were listed for rent, six were rented but not occupied, 16 were for sale, and 22 were used seasonally. Three had been sold but were not yet occupied, and the status of 36 units was unknown.

Household sizes also varied widely. One-person households made up the largest group with 309 units, followed by 243 two-person households. Larger families were less common, including 103 three-person households, 61 four-person households, 51 five-person households, 21 six-person households, and 27 seven-person households.

Housing Costs Strain Low-Income Families

The plan estimates that a typical four-person household rents a three-bedroom home. In Wayne County, an extremely low-income family would pay an average of $659 per month in rent plus about $303 in utilities, for a total monthly housing cost of $962.

Housing experts recommend families spend no more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Yet even households at the top of the extremely low-income range would have to devote nearly 39 percent of their income just to keep a roof over their heads.

About 30 percent of Piedmont households were classified as extremely low income in 2023. Of those, nearly 24 percent earned less than $15,000 a year, while only 1.9 percent earned between $25,000 and $30,000.

Few Affordable Units Available

A phone survey conducted for the plan found only 33 one- and two-bedroom apartments available to low-income residents across three affordable housing complexes.

Clearwater Apartments offers 20 units and remains about 90 percent occupied, with high turnover among low-income families. Piedmont Apartments provides 12 two-bedroom units, primarily serving elderly residents but also accepting families and people with disabilities. Those units remain fully occupied. Meadowbrook Apartments, which also serves elderly and disabled residents, offers 25 two-bedroom units and likewise operates at 100 percent occupancy.

“The number of units available and the amount of income going toward housing expenses show the disproportionate access to affordable housing for extremely low-income residents of Piedmont,” the plan states.

An Aging Population

More than 36 percent of Piedmont residents are over age 44, creating a growing need for assisted living and skilled nursing care. Clark’s Mountain Nursing Center, the city’s primary long-term care facility, has 91 beds and averages about 60 percent occupancy. The facility accepts Medicare and Medicaid, helping make care more accessible for low-income seniors.

Industrial Parks and Economic Development

Piedmont has two industrial parks. The older park on the city’s southwest edge is nearly full and includes Impact Fisheries, Z Manufacturing, and H&H Marine.

The newer 110-acre park north of town near Highway 49 contains 11 lots, six of which already have paved roads, water, and sewer. Four businesses — Fine Labs, Henson Trash, FCC Behavioral Health, and S.E.E. — currently operate there.

Parks, Open Space, and Flood Buyouts

Flood buyouts created new opportunities for parks and green space in Piedmont. However, deed restrictions require these properties remain open space. Only restrooms and open-air structures such as pavilions or gazebos are allowed.

Planning for the Future

If Piedmont expands northward, the plan recommends increasing water storage or adding a booster station near Highway 49 — a project estimated to cost $2.25 million.

The plan also encourages the adaptive reuse of vacant buildings. That means repurposing older structures — such as turning a school into apartments or a former store into offices — rather than tearing them down.

“By using existing structures for new purposes, it helps with environmental sustainability and historic preservation,” the plan notes. Revitalizing downtown buildings can bring jobs, investment, and renewed community pride.

Grants are available for downtown revitalization and the removal of unsafe or unsalvageable structures. The plan also urges the city to enforce codes on dilapidated buildings, particularly in the historic downtown district.