Colchester Town Manager Dawn Francis speaks during the event Monday in South Burlington. Behind her (from left) are Kevin Dorn from the City of South Burlington; Clem Bissonette, Winooski; Michael Yantachka, Charlotte; Nancy Owens, HousingVermont; Brenda Torpy, CHT; Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger; and Charlie Baker, CCRPC. VBM photo.
Vermont Business Magazine Builder Patrick O'Brien of SD Ireland just wants "to build homes faster and cheaper." He is not alone in Vermont's wealthiest – but housing starved – county. Dozens of Chittenden County leaders in the fields of housing, business, local and state government, and social services announced Monday morning the formation of a new campaign to increase the production of housing and setting a target of 3,500 new homes created in the next five years. This goal might be "pie in the sky," as one observer mentioned, but the general mood was that building more housing and more affordable housing must begin soon and that 700 units a year might not be enough. Some 600 units were built in 2014, which was a recent high-water mark. The trend has been closer to 450 units.
The new coalition, called Building Homes Together, was formed by the Champlain Housing Trust, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Housing Vermont and released an initial list of nearly 100 community leaders supporting the effort.
“Working together we will accomplish this goal,” said Brenda Torpy, CEO of Champlain Housing Trust. “For the sake of our communities, our workers and local economy, we will educate and advocate together for more housing.”
“The housing shortage in Chittenden County has been well noted with unhealthy vacancy rates and high rents,” added Charlie Baker, Executive Director of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. “Employers can’t find workers, and workers themselves spend more time in commutes and with a higher percentage of their paychecks on housing costs.”
Baker mentioned that new housing now is only just keeping pace with the number of new residents to the county, estimated at 1,000 each year.
Research reports and anecdotal studies support everyone's perception that a lack of housing and a lack of affordable housing has put a squeeze on economic development in the region.
Despite the urgency of the issue, Baker said there is not one spark to begin this process, but it will take thousands of small ones from all stakeholders to ignite this endeavor.
Twenty percent of the 3,500 goal are targeted to be developed by nonprofit housing organizations. The remainder by private developers.
The concern among coalition speakers was not just "affordable" housing. Housing for middle-income earners also is in short supply. The definition of "affordable" is spending no more than 30 percent of household income on housing, regardless of income. Low-income affordable housing is considered 30 percent of income for incomes that are 80 percent of the median. The median annual household income in Chittenden County is $64,243; statewide in Vermont it is $54,447 (US Census 2014).
“This step-up in production will not just provide new homes and infrastructure for communities, it’ll be a boost to the economy and contribute to the tax base. Building homes together is a big win for all of us in Chittenden County,” said Nancy Owens, President of Housing Vermont.
Along with the number of new units and the cost is some uncertainty as to the mix: rental, multi-family, single-family, senior housing (Vermont is a net importer of senior citizens), Millennials, families, singles, etc.
South Burlington City Manager Kevin Dorn said one consideration in this regard is the shrinking household membership, which in recent years has gone from 2.6 individuals per household down to 2.1 in his city. South Burlington, Burlington, Colchester and Winooski represent the initial focus of the housing issue.
Single-family homes are also not increasing in value as they have the past couple of generations. National reports suggest there might be less interest in that market among Millennials, despite continuing low interest rates. Dorn said that, too, must be considered when pondering the future housing mix. Upwards of 70 percent of units now are owner-occupied (condo or house).
Northfield Savings Bank President Tom Leavitt said that it is not only price and mix that are important, but the environmental impact and the level of local services and infrastructure: transportation, access to commerce, public sewer and water.
The impetus for a new surge in housing likely will have to come from local and state government and include permitting to make building "faster" and programs like TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and others to make it "cheaper."
The campaign will provide up-to-date data to the community on the need for and benefits of new housing, build cross-sector and public support for housing development, increasing access to capital, and supporting municipalities. Individuals and organizations are urged to participate.
RELATED STORY: Vermont's housing affordability gap grows, $43,947 a year needed just for rent
Contributed Quotes:
Senator Patrick Leahy
“We all know that Vermont is a great place to live, but rising housing costs are threatening to price some families out of the communities they call home. I have long believed that building homes first requires building community, and so I am encouraged that Building Homes Together is taking the necessary step to assemble a broad group of partners to address what is one of the most pressing issues facing Vermont. Affordable housing solutions require both innovative and integrative partnerships, and I greatly appreciate the leadership shown by all those involved in this endeavor.”
Senator Bernie Sanders
“It is no secret that for many years, wages have not kept up with the rising cost of housing in Northwestern Vermont. Addressing the affordable housing crisis was a top priority when I was mayor of Burlington, and one of my proudest achievements was helping create the Burlington Community Land Trust. Unfortunately, this is not just a local problem, which is why, for the past 15 years I have fought to establish and fund the National Housing Trust Fund, based on Vermont's model. I applaud this new effort to focus attention on the ongoing housing crisis in Northwest Vermont, because decent and affordable housing is truly the foundation of healthy communities.”
Congressman Peter Welch
“Seeing all of these various stakeholders come together to solve the significant housing challenges we face is just the latest collaborative effort that makes Vermont such a special place. I look forward to supporting the goals of the Building Homes Together campaign to make our communities more affordable, to improve the regional economy and to demonstrate that we can in fact accomplish big goals when we tackle them together.”
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger
“The high cost of housing in Burlington is a crisis and our largest social challenge. For three decades, Burlington has attempted to solve this problem, and it has made some significant headway with the help of the country’s leading housing organizations. Yet housing still remains far more expensive than it should be for the majority of Burlingtonians. We can and will do better. I applaud this new initiative to push Burlington and Chittenden County toward new collaborative solutions, and I commit the City of Burlington’s resources to supporting, and encouraging others to support, the goals of the Building Homes Together campaign.”
South Burlington City Manager Kevin Dorn
“The City of South Burlington welcomes the opportunity to participate in a regional approach to increasing the supply of housing across all levels of affordability. It is high time for the public and private
sectors to share a common vision of meeting the housing needs of all of our residents. In South Burlington we are working to build our own downtown which will feature very high density in a mixed used environment with hundreds of units of new housing. There are other parts of our community where you can see significant housing development today and more is planned for the future. We all must commit ourselves to this effort and the time to begin is today.”
Colchester Town Manager Dawn Francis
“We are pleased that such a diverse mix of groups, businesses and municipalities are coming together to support the common goal of making housing in Chittenden County more available and affordable to people who want to work and live here. Towns like Colchester will benefit from the economic impact of building housing as well as the energy from the new families who move in.”
Source: Champlain Housing Trust 6.27.2016. www.getahome.org/news/building-homes-together.