MANCHESTER, NH - A new work-force housing law that was supposed to take effect this summer may be pushed back to 2010 because communities in the state are ill prepared for it. New Hampshire's original work-force housing law was established through the 1991 court decision Britton v. Chester, that requires towns to provide an opportunity for developers to build affordable housing. A bill passed by legislators last year codifies certain terms of the law and allows for an expedited appeals process for developers who think a town isn't complying with the law.
The law requires every community to make the creation of affordable housing a profitable option for developers. Each town must provide its fair share of affordable housing opportunities for the region.
A bill passed by the House and set to be reviewed by the Senate would push the effective date of the new law back to January 2010. Many communities around the state need that delay, according to Ben Frost, public information officer for the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
"We recognize that a lot of towns, for one reason or another, did not make changes to their ordinances in the last Town Meeting cycle," Frost said, "and we recognize these towns aren't ready for the law to go into effect."
Meanwhile, more than 75 communities from around the state have had Frost talk to their planning boards about complying with the law. Frost visited the Salem Planning Board last week to review the law and answer questions from town officials.
According to town planner Ross Moldoff, Salem has been fairly responsible making workforce housing an available option for developers. He said the town will continue to work with the New Hampshire Housing Authority over the next year to make adjustments to its ordinances to better comply with the law.
"I think we do provide an opportunity for affordable housing, but it may not be enough," Moldoff said. "We need to make sure we are compliant."
George Sioras, Derry's town planner, said that town is in fairly good shape in terms of its workforce housing, with thousands of units of affordable, multifamily dwellings.
Frost said many planning boards around the state are anxious about the new law and the effect it could have on town ordinances, but it is necessary if the state wants to sustain affordable housing.
"This is a statute that looks at long-term economic issues," Frost said.
He said the adjustments needed will be different for every town, but for many communities, the solution will be fairly simple.
"I think there's a lot of anxiety over this statute and it's unfounded. They can make a few relatively simple ordinances to comply," Frost said. "They need to look at the standards that are truly necessary to protect quality and safety, as opposed to those that are not necessary for those things, and determine cost implications for them."
The bill to push the law back to January 2010 the was approved by the House last month, and will be reviewed by the Senate's Public and Municipal Affairs Committee.
Source: eagletribune.com