Affordable housing: In some communities, it has become a dirty word. Concerns about property values and aesthetics often jump to the forefront, obscuring the need in the Northwest Corner for homes that sell below market value.
The Salisbury Housing Trust, an organization founded in response to concerns raised by townspeople at the Salisbury Forum in 2000, has been working to provide Salisbury, Lakeville, Amesville, Lime Rock and Taconic with affordable housing for its volunteers and workers.
The state of Connecticut recommends that 10 percent of the housing in a given town be considered "affordable." The town of Salisbury has less than 1 percent affordable housing, according to Richard Dunham, a trustee and founding member of the housing trust. To reach the goal of 10 percent, the town needs to add 150 units of affordable housing.
"We’re very low if you put us on a pecking list with all the towns," Dunham said. He went on to say that 40 percent of the households in Salisbury have an annual income of less than $50,000; 34 percent of Salisbury houses are occupied by only one person; and 8 percent of school-age children in Salisbury are living below the poverty level. Dunham calls it a "vaporization of the middle class."
"I could not afford to buy the house I live in now," he added.What is affordable housing?
With the housing trust’s announcement of its intention to buy land behind Town Hall on Factory Street, questions have arisen about who the trust is and what they are trying to do.
"The recent commentary and discussion was a real wake-up call to us that we haven’t made a good effort in community education," said Val Bernardoni, another founding member of the trust.
Affordable housing often conjures up images of Section 8 housing and housing projects, types of housing that are generally urban, low-income and rental.
"We are not that," Dunham said. "You could call us middle-income housing."
The housing trust model is in use across the country, from Minnesota to Vermont. There is a housing trust in Litchfield that has built at least 40 units, all of which are owned by private citizens.
The housing trust model is different from the traditional low-income housing model in that it allows people to own their homes rather than rent. The trust retains ownership of the land underneath the home, keeping the cost to the buyer at a minimum.
To qualify as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, which the Salisbury trust is, a housing trust must keep 20 percent of its properties low-income housing. It then has the option of selling 25 percent of its properties at market value.
"We have not utilized that [option]," Dunham said.
To qualify for affordable housing, the income of a family of four cannot exceed 80 percent of the median town income.
"The people that fall into that category are the people on the fire and ambulance," Bernardoni said. "Every town in the Northwest Corner is having this same problem. We can’t keep the young people here."
To date, the Salisbury Housing Trust has renovated three homes and built four in the town of Salisbury. All seven homes have been sold and are occupied by the owners. The renovated homes sold for between $108,000 and $120,000. The newly built homes, which are modular, sold for between $160,000 and $190,000.
The housing trust uses the money it raises from private donations to buy the land on which it plans to build. It then approaches a bank for a loan to build the house. When the house is sold, the money from the sale pays back the building loan. The trust, which is run entirely by volunteers, keeps its operating capital small; all of its money is in the homes.
In addition, the trust limits the resale price of the home to prevent rising market values from pricing the home out of the affordable range.
"We build a house, we get money. We sell a house, we get the money back. Then we build another house," Bernardoni said.Concern for the town
or NIMBYism?The proposed building of housing trust homes on the lot on Factory Street has met with opposition from neighbors who voice concerns over property values and the obstruction of views. There has also been concern that the homes will be more like housing projects than neighborhoods.
"We’ve gone out of our way to accommodate the public, to get public opinion," Bernardoni said. He said that the trust organized tours of the property with neighboring owners and that they have modified their plans to incorporate feedback. But he worries that that may not be enough. "We’re never going to be able to respond to a not-in-my-backyard attitude."
Bernardoni and Dunham defended the homes that they have built, saying that they are not eyesores.
"One of the questions is always, ‘How are our homes going to add or detract from a neighborhood?’" Bernardoni said. He said that the first group of homes, off Route 44 at Cobble Road, has helped to revitalize that neighborhood and that nearby property values have actually risen. He said that the trust’s homes are well-built, efficient and energy conscious. They are built by local contractors as well.
"When we leave the place, it will look at least as good as it does now," Dunham said. "The only complaint we’ve gotten in three to four years is, ‘Why haven’t you landscaped?’" He answered the question by pointing out that the trust has not finished building in its first neighborhood off Route 44. The owners have landscaped around their own homes, but the trust has not landscaped the street itself because it plans to do more building. There are plans for crabapple trees to go in after the last house is built.
As for the Factory Street plot, the trust plans to build no more than six homes on 3 acres. The entire property is 15.29 acres, 7.90 acres of which is town park land that cannot be developed. The trust also plans to clean up and enhance an existing walking trail and to plant disease-resistant elm trees.Looking to the future
In addition to the land on Factory Street, the trust is considering two or three other locations in town, one of which is on Farnam Road.
"We’re looking at as many options as we can and we’re looking for folks to help us do that," Bernardoni said. "When you’re doing what we’re doing, you want to keep momentum going." Bernardoni also pointed out that the town was not going to meet the state’s recommendation of 10 percent affordable housing by building one house a year.
The trust depends on donations from individuals for its existence. It has raised more than $500,000 from private sources in town and depends upon small parties held in the trust members’ homes for fundraising, as well as donations of land.
The state of Connecticut recently passed a law that allows a property owner to make a second cut of his property if the subdivided parcel is dedicated to affordable housing. Prior to the adoption of this law, a property owner could only divide his land once without a special permit. The new law provides the owner not only with the usual tax break a donation brings, but also with an opportunity to make more out of the land with fewer penalties.
The housing trust already has a prospective buyer for a house scheduled to be built this year. In addition, there are four more buyers who have been pre-qualified for homes and are just waiting for the trust to build more. And for that, the trust needs donors and town approval.
