You return from work or school and walk through the door to your home every day. Many of us take this simple act for granted, but for more than a third of Northampton residents, housing is insecure or uncertain.
Managing the burden of housing costs has significant implications for a person’s life — and it affects nearly every other decision they make. This may include where (and in some cases, how frequently) to send their children to school, how and when to access medical care, when and where to buy groceries, whether to start a family.
These calculations take place in households across the income spectrum — not just in those that qualify for subsidized housing.
The impact of this reality on all of us in our city is profound: 95 percent of Hampshire County residents spend over 45 percent of income on housing and transportation alone. This budget strain dictates who is able to live in our community, and has an impact on everything from our school and health care systems to our public safety.
There are ramifications for local business, too. The availability of housing for workers across industries is an essential factor in encouraging (or discouraging) businesses to start up, move here, or expand. Our city’s parking and traffic patterns — both within our city limits and to and from surrounding communities – are influenced by the proximity of housing that is affordable to the people who work, shop, and eat in Northampton, and commuting has implications for our environment, as well.
As volunteer board members of the mayoral-appointed Northampton Housing Partnership, we are committed to ensuring that every person in our community has access to housing that is safe, healthy, and affordable — no matter their income level.
Housing policy research reiterates a value that we in Northampton already hold dear: that having diverse housing opportunities promotes the economic and social well-being of everyone in the community. Northampton flourishes on its reputation as a welcoming community, and maintaining access to affordable housing for all — especially for those with low or moderate incomes — is integral to preserving Northampton’s vitality.
In 2011, 25 percent of Northampton households were paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, thereby considered by conventional standards to be burdened by housing costs. As of 2015, that number has grown to 36.9 percent of Northampton households, and rental and homeownership costs are rising.
Meanwhile, affordable rental stock has diminished, and expiring affordability restrictions threaten to further reduce subsidized housing.
Since its inception in 1991, the Housing Partnership has remained dedicated to exploring, creating, and supporting a wide variety of projects to meet the challenges of providing diverse housing solutions for our community, across the income spectrum.
This commitment includes supporting the construction of affordable housing projects like HAPHousing’s 70-unit complex at the Northampton Lodging site and the Valley Community Development Corporation’s planned 55-unit building on the former Northampton Lumberyard site.
It also means helping to maintain the Community Housing Support Service Project, which ensures that low- and moderate-income residents are able to sustain and thrive within Northampton community housing.
And it means advocating for projects that create housing opportunities for people traditionally disadvantaged by the housing market, including veterans, families with small children, the elderly, those with mobility impairments, and people with a history of homelessness.
In Northampton, 75 percent of the housing stock was built before 1970 and many existing properties require rehabilitation to remain safe, viable housing options.
In partnership with the Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Commission and Community Action, the city has implemented a Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Program to assist qualified owner-occupants in making necessary repairs to their homes to improve accessibility or weatherization, bring the property into code, eliminate unsafe or unhealthy conditions, or otherwise improve the quality of living conditions. The Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Program has four projects in progress with two more applications pending, and applications are still being accepted.
As we begin the new year, the Housing Partnership is actively seeking new volunteers to join the committee. If you are interested in supporting efforts to preserve and create new solutions to address Northampton’s housing needs, please contact Peg Keller, the Housing and Community Development Planner, at pkeller@northamptonma.gov or join us on the first Monday of each month from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 18 of City Hall. Our meetings are open to the public and all are welcome.
If you are a multifamily property owner, save the date of Feb. 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall for a question-and-answer session, entitled “Tips on Being a Successful Landlord,” presented by attorney Carl Lindley of Farber and Lindley LLC in Amherst.
Having a place to live and call home is a critical part of the fabric of our community, and one that is too often fragile. It is up to us all to ensure that Northampton remains a place that may be called home by all who wish to live here.
The other members of the Northampton Housing Partnership who contributed to writing this guest column are Patrick Boughan, Jim Reis, Richard Abuza, Michael Roy, Gordon Shaw, Rev. Todd Weir, Ali Brauner and Mark Goggins.