When is the time for more affordable housing in Salisbury and Falls Village?

The question of “why” isn’t so much the issue with affordable housing in some towns in the Northwest Corner. It’s more the “who, what, when and where” of the matter that tend to bring up seemingly insurmountable obstacles to any proposal that has been made in recent history.

The why? As in other areas that are rural but have a strong part-time population of landowners, prices for rentals as well as residential homes have increased beyond the reach of young families or any of those, of any age, who work locally and need to live off those wages. 

This is generally accepted as factual by all, one would hope.

But once the discussion takes a turn toward all those other points, it becomes personal, confrontational and unravels. Where should such housing be, for instance? Right now, there are projects before the towns of Salisbury (still a proposal) and Falls Village (already approved) to add affordable housing units to their available stock. In Falls Village, there are objections being made to the location of the project because it is too far off the beaten path. In Salisbury, the location of that proposal has objections arising because it is in the middle of the town of Lakeville, and could cause traffic and pedestrian problems. So where is the ideal space?

One might think a space in a town, but set back from its center and in the literal backyard of the person who owns the land it is on could work. But a former selectman in Salisbury offered his own land to the town for affordable housing that fit that bill, and it was voted down at open meeting. 

So “where” is not so easily answered. And without that being agreed upon, none of the other points matter. There must be a place where such housing can exist in every town. 

The groups that have worked diligently on the projects before Salisbury and Falls Village, the Salisbury Housing Committee and the Falls Village Housing Trust respectively, are made up of volunteers who have put monumental effort and time into finding ways to offer more affordable housing in their towns. While both should be accountable to their neighbors, as well as to those who may eventually rent the units, they should get a fair and respectful hearing. 

The towns of Cornwall, North Canaan, Sharon and Kent have found good answers to providing affordable housing of different kinds, including workforce and elderly, with support from their towns and their residents. But for Salisbury, their town comprehensive plan points to more units needed despite the town’s existing affordable housing, and Falls Village needs to come to some agreement to address the absence of such housing to take some steps to fulfill state requirements.  

When will the time be right?

It must be now, because there is not unlimited time to accomplish the expansion of affordable home offerings for these towns. Those who have taken on the task of finding answers for Salisbury and Falls Village should not be disrespected and attacked. Those who want other solutions should offer them without rancor and be willing to work on implementation themselves. Otherwise, there will be a breaking point to finding answers for housing that will work and keep or welcome new people who aren’t looking to own a single family home, for one reason or another, in these towns.