Affordable housing issue also has potential solutions

LACONIA — New Hampshire is not alone when it comes to a lack of affordable housing, but it has some particular problems compared to other places in the country.

Land that is difficult to build on, exclusionary zoning requirements and an antipathy toward growth all make it difficult for residential contractors, particularly those interested in putting up homes for those of moderate income.

But, as difficult and multifaceted as the problem is, it is not without potential solutions.

Increases in allowable residential density, government incentives, infrastructure development and a change in consumer preference may all be needed, experts say.

“In New England you have a tradition of local control, so it may be harder to change the mindset around density,” said Carmen Lorentz, executive director of Lakes Region Community Developers.

“People want to keep it looking rural and they think that means large lots.”

In reality, high-density development can be surrounded by green space and can actually preserve open space as opposed to residential neighborhoods that sprawl across the landscape.

Master Plan

Laconia’s 2018 Master Plan embraces pro-growth “performance zoning,” under which greater flexibility can be afforded in the approval process. Greater density could be allowed to promote infill or new developments.

An example might be to allow a developer to exceed density requirements for a downtown project providing needed apartment units.

Performance zoning could also be applied to areas near the former State School property. A state panel has been charged with coming up with proposals for developing state-owned land near Meredith Center Road and North Main Street, potentially including higher-density residential.

There could be opportunities to share costs or otherwise find ways to foster construction of infrastructure — roads, water and sewer connections — needed to serve new developments that could go in nearby.

These are issues former Mayor Ed Engler has long considered.

“There’s got to be some serious thought to make it relatively easy to have municipalities invest in infrastructure,” Engler said.

He also cited the importance of allowing adequate density.

“You can’t ask a developer to run water lines, streets and sewer if you are only going to allow them to build one house every two acres,” Engler said. “Then you are talking about million dollar houses and nothing else.

“We need a more vibrant economy to lift all the boats so that we have significantly fewer poor people, but we can't have a more dynamic economy without population growth and we can’t do that without more houses.”

Government’s role

Lorentz said government also has a part to play in fostering residential construction.

She said one encouraging piece of legislation pending in Concord is House Bill 1632, which would enable municipalities to use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to encourage the development of workforce housing.

Municipalities use TIF districts to capture future tax revenue from within the district and set it aside to pay the debt service on infrastructure for the district. If this bill becomes law, municipalities will be able to use TIFs to finance construction of road, water, and sewer infrastructure for development of workforce housing.

Her group, Lakes Region Community Developers provides multifamily affordable rental housing with the help of low-income housing tax credits.

There is a lack of such incentives for construction of single-family homes, but her group has embarked on a rather unusual project to build 20 such homes in Wolfeboro. They will sell at about $200,000 each.

To qualify, buyers would be required to have family income of 75 percent to 120 percent of the area median, or about $60,000 to $85,000. The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority is helping with tax credits for the project.

American Dream

Lorentz said consumer preferences play a big role in the housing arena. Homes are looked at as status symbols and ways to build wealth.

The growth of suburbs after World War II led to a boom in residential construction. The idea of a house with a front and back yard became something to strive for, but does that ideal still make sense?

“Since the 1950s there’s been a huge push encouraging people to buy houses,” she said. “It’s the American dream, but now it’s not possible for an entire generation, and who knows beyond them, given student debt and average wages.

“People feel like they are failing. There’s a negative stigma for renting, but if you just look at population growth and land, we will run out of room. We need more dense development.”

She compares the impetus toward single-family home ownership to the advice — once common but now increasingly questioned — that everybody should go to college.

For some fields, a traditional four-year college education may not be the best choice. Some young people are encouraged to start with a two-year certificate program or perhaps delay college in favor of experience working in an industry of interest.

Horror stories abound regarding young people who emerge from college heavily in debt and with a degree that is not particularly marketable.

“With the level of debt we’re seeing, they are ruining their lives and their chances of buying a house,” Lorentz said.