Forum dissects ‘crisis-level need’ for affordable housing in region

SALISBURY — Both affordable housing and conservation initiatives require land, rely on local financial and social support, and are necessary for a healthy, thriving community. 

This was the premise of “Housing, Jobs, and Conservation: A Roadmap for Action,” a panel discussion convened by the Salisbury Forum at the Salisbury School on Friday, Sept. 22,  before an audience of some 200 guests from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Moderated by Steve Rosenberg, longtime leader in conservation in Hudson Valley and co-convener of Hudson Valley Affordable Housing and Conservation Strategy, the panel invited three representatives from local government, housing, and land trusts to discuss how these sectors could better work together in the broader region.

The context for the discussion was what Rosenberg described as the “crisis-level need” for affordable housing. Jocelyn Ayer, director of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, noted that 1,100 households on affordable housing waitlists in Litchfield County may wait for 2-5 years, and that 28% of Litchfield County households are “cost burdened” by their housing situation.

“Housing has become unaffordable for almost everybody that our community relies on,” said Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway.

Litchfield County boasts the oldest population in the state, and the highest occurrence of 20-somethings living with their parents; declining school enrollments are putting pressure on educational resources; the prohibitive cost of housing excludes young people and families, as well as seniors who need to downsize—in Cornwall, said Ridgway, the average sales price of a house has climbed from $350,000 to $880,000 in just three years (at this, a collective gasp from the room).

Teachers, emergency services volunteers, qualified municipal workers and volunteers, healthcare workers (including young doctors), entrepreneurs and mid-level bank employees, as well as the perennial “man who works at the meat counter at LaBonne’s” were all identified as essential workers excluded from the region by housing prices.

“The historic motivation for a land trust was always protecting the land. We never actually had a good conversation about what were we protecting the land for—and more importantly, whom,” said Michael Polemis, chair of the Land Trust Alliance, which includes 948 land trusts across the U.S. “The ‘who’ has become critical.”

The regional emphasis on land conservation has actually become part of the problem, he said. “One of the unintended consequences of our success has been that, as we protect more and more land, the land values actually rise all around that protected area, which means it’s less affordable for people who have been living and working in any community.”

Meanwhile, as Ayer illustrated with an overview of completed local projects, affordable housing is typically the most sustainable housing built in rural communities: Affordable units emphasize energy efficiency and often take advantage of renewables like solar to keep costs low for residents; denser housing (i.e. half-acre lots or multifamily homes) is more energy efficient; robust village centers that can sustain grocery stores and shops are more energy efficient (they make for shorter or even walkable commutes).

Families raised in vibrant communities with greater outdoor access also create more meaningful, long-term civic engagement, and inculcate environmental stewardship in the next generation.

“Beyond giving tax breaks to wealthy landowners, which is the engine of land conservation,” said Polemis, “How do we, the land trusts, actually serve a community?”

“The funding ability of land trusts is—um—impressive to me,” said Ridgway. In Cornwall, he said, state forest comprises some 7,000 acres, and the land trust has acquired about 2,000 acres, whereas Cornwall and its housing non-profit own under 100 acres.

“The amount we actually need to make significant gains in housing is under 100 acres,” he said. “So it’s a very small percentage.”

Meanwhile, said Polemis and Rosenberg, property offered to land trusts as a gift or at a steeply discounted rate isn’t always best utilized for conservation efforts, due to its size, location, or prior use.

“I would like to see the common interest in the environment unite” conservation and the building of sustainable community, said Ridgway. 

In response to the audience question of how to create change, Polemis was succinct: “Show up, volunteer. And if you’re a member of a land trust, tell them to get off their rear ends and get involved.”

The Salisbury Forum, a nonprofit organization based in Connecticut’s Northwest Corner, hosts speaker forums that address global and local issues from wealth inequality to climate change to cybersecurity.