Posted by Dennis Herrick on May 31, 2009 at 10:33:41:
In the Pre-2008 world, I might have agreed with the proposition that Plaistow doesn't need Workforce Housing. Now that our economy has been Bush-wacked and has settled into this current Obama-nation, I no longer agree. Jobs are still being lost left and right, pay and benefits are still being slashed and the value of the dollar has started to decline again. I've made my fortune and I'm over the hill and on the way down now. My heart goes out to the young people just starting out. Close your eyes now and imagine how the first-year teacher, the rookie fire fighter, the new cop on the block or the newbie on the highway crew or all those full and part-time, "Big Box" store worker feels when they look at their first pay check. Do you even remember your first paycheck? Their first thought must be, how can I possibly live in Plaistow without setting up a meth lab in the basement and selling drugs on the side? Just joking! Sure, home prices are way way off their 2006 and 2007 highs, but who has 20% to put down in this economy? I'm not even sure parents and grandparents are in a position to help anymore. And what about rents? Have they been dropping too? I doubt it! They're like credit card interest rates, up, up, up. There are probably lines of people who lost their homes waiting for cheap apartments right now so demand and prices are up. The purpose of Workforce Housing is to give people like your own sons and daughters a chance to create an affordable lifestyle right here in town and to provide a diverse mix of residents. Plaistow Planning Board, you need to publish your research on the town's website for all to see. At least tell us who provided the demographics data and how recent it was. I'm not very hopeful. Fresh Planning Board meeting minutes haven't been posted on the town's website since February. The ones that are there are getting a little stale.
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Published: May 31, 2009 12:50 am
NH workforce housing law catches some towns off guard
Legislature may push deadline back 6 months
By Eric Parry
eparry@eagletribune.com
A state mandate requiring towns to allow workforce housing will take effect in July, but local communities are still trying to figure out how much affordable housing they will need.
One of the problems with the state law is that it doesn't address exactly how much affordable housing each community needs to have.
Most local communities think the new mandate won't cause too many problems. But some towns, like Londonderry, are considering changes to their zoning regulations to comply with the mandate.
The law has caused so much confusion that towns have asked legislators to push back the effective date to Jan. 1, 2010. A bill pending in the N.H. Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee would push that back to January. It has already passed the full House.
Cliff Sinnott, executive director of the Rockingham Planning Commission, said it's important the deadline is extended because most communities haven't had time to analyze the value of their residential properties to determine how much could be considered workforce housing.
If the law goes into effect in July, towns would only have had one town meeting to pass zoning changes to comply with the law, he said.
"I honestly think that's asking a whole lot," Sinnott said, especially for smaller communities without planning departments.
The law requires towns to provide an opportunity for developers to build workforce housing. It also provides an expedited appeals process if a developer believes the town isn't complying with the law.
Atkinson passed a workforce housing ordinance at Town Meeting in March, 871-671.
There's money in workforce housing now
The law won't require towns to immediately have workforce housing, but town zoning regulations would have to allow a developer to make a profit on a workforce housing project, according to Ben Frost of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
Planning boards may have to relax certain requirements like curbing, street width and other elements of a project to allow a developer to still make a profit on a project, Frost said.
"If there are conditions that make it economically infeasible, then the planning board will have to have a process for that," Sinnott said.
But officials in most Southern New Hampshire communities believe they already have enough affordable housing that would qualify as workforce housing.
Peter Bealo of the Plaistow Planning Board said that community has done an analysis of all residential properties to prepare for this mandate and determined that 53 percent of the single-family homes in Plaistow could qualify as affordable.
Plaistow has a large commercial district with big-box stores. That helps keep home prices in the area at an affordable level, Bealo said.
"They're not jobs with six-figure incomes," Bealo said.
To determine if a community has enough affordable housing, Sinnott said, there is a complicated calculation communities can do. That formula takes into account the community's median income and the assessed value of residential properties.
To be considered affordable, a family can't spend more than 30 percent on a mortgage, property taxes and insurance. No more than 60 percent of a family's income can be spent on rental housing on a rental property to be considered affordable, according to the law. Also, senior housing and housing with fewer than two bedrooms can't be considered workforce housing.
Some towns are better prepared
George Sioras, community development director in Derry, said that town also has a lot of multifamily and affordable condominiums which would qualify as workforce housing. East Derry has fewer affordable housing developments, but the western part of town is more developed and has more available for working families, Sioras said.
The same is true in Hampstead, according to Randy Clark, chairman of the Hampstead Planning Board.
"We've had low-cost housing in town for some time," Clark said.
A recent analysis of assessed values of residential properties in Derry, conducted by the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, determined the majority of rental properties and single-family homes would qualify as workforce housing.
Ross Moldoff, Salem's town planner, said that community has made affordable housing an option for years. They've had an affordable housing ordinance since 1989 and may look to adjust it in the coming months with this new mandate.
One thing that makes Salem unique is they have an apartment district in town and small lot sizes in some residential districts. The minimum lot size in the residential district is 25,000 square feet, Moldoff said.
But other communities that have not taken these steps may have a more difficult time with this mandate, Moldoff said.
"It's not going to be easy in most places," Moldoff said.
Londonderry has a developer who is waiting for the town to change its zoning regulations so he can build a 192-unit condominium development on Stonehenge Road.
The town's Planning Board held a public hearing last month to discuss the zoning changes, but those plans have been postponed until later this year after several residents spoke out against the plan.
Londonderry town planner Tim Thompson said the town will hold a workshop in July and he expects a resolution to the matter by the end of the year.
The Londonderry project is the only local project currently addressing the issue, even though Frost said affordable housing is a profitable option for developers right now.
"There remains a market for workforce housing even as the high-end stuff has trailed off a bit," Frost said.