Warren has quietly, thanks to the leadership of Tom Pierotti, become a welcoming place for Ukranian refugees displaced by the Russian invasion of their home country.

The families owe Pierotti and his fellow volunteers at First Lutheran Church a debt of gratitude for their work to help open the community’s doors. Some refugees have stayed, others have moved on to places where there is more opportunity for work or to be closer to family members who have also made the trip to the United States.

It’s a heartwarming story – and one with a bit of a lesson for policy makers who are trying to help grow Warren County in the future.

We need housing.

Pierotti recently told the Times Observer there is a wait list of refugees who want to come to Warren County with sponsors ready to host them. But there’s a lack of housing.

“(We) have no place to put them,” Pierotti said.

If housing is an issue for humanitarians trying to help refugees, it will certainly become an issue as the city and county try to bring more people here to help boost our flagging population. It’s actually a tough nut to crack.

Developers don’t want to build housing without knowing there will be a population to live in the housing they build, but without available housing it’s hard to attract new people to live in the new housing. It’s also important to build the right type of housing. Building apartments when newcomers want houses does no good, nor does building beautiful new homes that newcomers can’t afford.

Local governments around the country are all dealing with the same issues. As they demolish bad housing, there hasn’t been enough development of the right types of replacement. Vacant, abandoned homes are in such rough shape no one can live in them and, at the same time, the cost of demolition is so high that it can be tough to whittle down growing demolition lists.

Vacant houses are taking up land that could be redeveloped. And then you have to build the right type of housing to suit both the current and future population.

The good news is city and county officials know there is a problem. Lack of housing options came up regularly during the comprehensive planning process that took place over the past few years, and housing is mentioned regularly in the comprehensive plans. One recommendation included in the county’s comprehensive plan is to conduct an updated housing study as well as to create a regular working group of housing providers, developers and real estate agents to meet on a regular basis to discuss trends, issues and potential opportunities regarding housing in the county. Both are good ideas that should be pursued soon.