The ownership issue: According to city documents, owner-occupied housing affordability fell to 6.2%, down from 6.6% last year. The median home sale price in St. Charles hit a record $425,000 in 2025, roughly $158,000 above the affordable home price of $266,389. Of 320 single-family homes sold last year, only four (about 1%) would be considered affordable.

Teardowns are part of the problem: One official pointed out that affordable ranches in some neighborhoods are being demolished and replaced with seven-figure new-construction homes. He suggested adjusting the city's formula for teardown redevelopment to discourage the loss of affordable stock.

The state clock is ticking: St. Charles remains technically "exempt" from state requirements because the most recent state assessment from 2023 rated the city at 17.2% affordable. But that number is based on older data, and if the 2028 state review confirms the city is still below 10%, St. Charles would need to adopt a formal affordable housing plan and would not be subject to developer appeals.

Affordable units over fees: Among other potential solutions, officials pushed for requiring developers to include affordable units in new projects rather than accepting fee-in-lieu payments (which has been the trend recently).