By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
March 18, 2009 03:59 am NEWBURYPORT — Ward 4 City Councilor Ed Cameron is calling on his fellow councilors to organize the city's efforts to create and preserve more affordable housing. Cameron sees a city that just 30 years ago was considered the most affordable community in the region, but now sees households of modest means being priced out. "As I've seen in my professional work, a lot of folks are being impacted by the housing market and foreclosures," he said. "Affordable housing is something we need to have in Newburyport. It can be done in a way that can work with the neighborhoods. Cameron, who works as the associate executive director of Housing and Homeless Services at Community Teamwork in Lowell, has proposed creating a trust fund that could subsidize more affordable units in new developments, while also working with agencies like the YWCA and Newburyport Housing Authority to increase access to affordable housing. In addition, he'd also like to see a "housing production plan" created that would bring the city up to the state-mandated standard of affordable housing in each community. According to 2008 figures by the state's Housing and Community Development department, Newburyport has 7,717 units of year-round housing, just 8 percent of which are deemed "affordable" under state guidelines, well below other nearby communities. Under state Chapter 40B guidelines, cities and towns are required to make 10 percent of their housing affordable to people making less than 80 percent of the median income in Essex County. While communities like Georgetown, Salem, and neighboring Amesbury have hit that target, in Newburyport that 10 percent figure remains elusive. "We're not even close," Councilor Tom Jones said, adding that estimates have shown the city needs to build 180 more units to meet that goal. Cameron said it's not just low-income families getting priced out. He notes that it is increasingly difficult for people who work for the city, like firefighters and public works employees, to live here. "For someone who makes $60,000 and has two kids, it's difficult to afford," he said. At-large Councilor Tom Jones agreed. Saying he's "frustrated," Jones said the city must make sure that those who need the housing have an opportunity to get it. To take on the issue of affordable housing, numerous communities across the state have created trusts, which are allowed under state law. By establishing the Newburyport Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the city would be able to use Community Preservation Act funds to support and create affordable housing and keep that money out of the general fund, Cameron told councilors recently. A group of trustees could help determine policy and be proactive in determining what kids of developments the city wants, Cameron said. "There's some planning involved," he said. "Not just money." Currently, the city stands vulnerable to developments offering affordable units. Communities with less than 10 percent can be targeted by developers willing to offer some units at a lower price to buyers who meet certain income requirements. Those developments are eligible for fast-tracked permitting and can be difficult for the city to block. Once the development is built, if those affordable units don't sell to a qualified buyer in a certain amount of time, they can be re-offered at market rates. "We need to make sure we retain the economic diversity that we have," Cameron said. "I especially see that with seniors, who become house rich and income poor, to give them some other options." For Jones, the city's handling of affordable housing remains a point of angst. Over the last several years, the city has lost some of its current affordable housing stock after tenants could not be located to move into the units, he said. Those units went back to being sold at market rate. Recently, a unit at the Foundry building on Merrimac Street recently went back to market price, Jones noted. Jones said he would like the city, and the new trust fund, if formed, keep an affordability list, showing the units that are available and who could qualify. City Planner Sean Sullivan did not return a phone call yesterday before press time. Cameron said his proposal will now be reviewed by the council's Planning and Development committee. During their meeting, the Planning Department staff will be present to answer questions about the city's affordable housing stock. Madeline Nash, a member of the Community Preservation Committee and a former Planning Board member, said it's important that the city be able to use CPA funds to support local affordable-housing initiatives, such as the housing options available at the YWCA. "Whatever funding support the city can provide is really important," Nash said.
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