Our Home, Our Future

Sharon Hamilton has lived a full life raising two daughters while working in a number of different careers, including publishing a magazine for women-owned businesses and working as a certified purchasing officer for the city of Danbury.

She had been a home owner but sold her home years ago when she started her business. She moved to Salisbury in 2001 to help out her daughter and grandson when they moved to Falls Village.

As for many local renters, her long term rental apartment was in a building that was sold when property values skyrocketed during the pandemic,  leaving her scrambling to find an affordable place to rent. She says her experience, like that for her grandson who is just starting out on his own, was “horrible, just awful trying to find a place to live”. Fortunately, after reaching out to everyone she knew, she found out that a friend had an accessory apartment that had just become available.

She says “it has been a godsend. I can afford it and it’s great that it provides an income for them. I have nice neighbors and my daughter and friends are here. I’m very grateful every day that I’ve got it.”

Even though she’s in her seventies, she likes to work and so you may know her from her work at LaBonne’s over the past few years.

She says “the prejudice against people needing affordable housing is crazy. People picture deadbeats. I’ve been a well-established, well respected, professional woman who raised 2 fine children and have worked hard all my life. If you keep young people here they pay taxes, own cars, pay property taxes and contribute to the economy. If they can’t afford to live here they go off to New York State and we lose the revenue and our future. The arguments against affordable housing are absurd in the extreme. We have to keep young people here.”

Recent zoning changes have made it easier to create accessory dwellings. They can provide desperately needed housing for full-time residents like Sharon and the many other people who contribute to our town but can’t afford to live here.

Mary Close Oppenheimer has been part of the Lakeville/Salisbury community for 40 years and is a volunteer on the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission.