The passing of an era

The demolition last week of the old Morey family compound behind Labonne’s market in Salisbury signals the end of an era. It should go without saying that the increasing gentrification of the Northwest Corner by part-time residents and wealthy retirees is leaving lower- and middle-income residents with fewer places to live. In the words of Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand, it’s a sign of the region’s “changing landscape.�

In addition, the Morey family property served as a reminder to newcomers who shop at Labonne’s and younger generations of Salisburians that the town — and the region, for that matter — has not always resembled a Norman Rockwell painting. But it’s also a reminder that for every new unit of affordable housing created by such outstanding groups as Habitat For Humanity for Northwest Connecticut and the Salisbury Housing Trust, a greater number of middle-class homes disappear as longtime full-time residents sell at inflated prices to wealthy New Yorkers.

The recent downturn in the real estate market notwithstanding, the cost of buying a home in the Northwest Corner is becoming prohibitively expensive for all but the comfortable. And even the cost of rentals has been driven up by the lofty investment required by landlords in acquiring rentable properties. Such is the fate of a stretch of beautiful New England countryside only a couple of hours away from the glitter of Manhattan.

Clearly, more has to be done to alleviate this problem. According to HOMEConnecticut, an affordable housing advocacy and lobbying group, housing costs in the state have risen more than 64 percent since 2000, while wages have risen less than 20 percent. In 157 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, the median household income could not qualify for a mortgage to buy the median sales price home in 2005.

Fortunately, there may be additional help on the way. Last year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed three of five provisions of Bill 1057, which in its entirety would have provided powerful incentives for affordable housing. Towns would be eligible to participate if they agree to create housing incentive zones where 20 percent of the units are affordable for people making 80 percent of the area median income. The legislation that passed provided for payments for units in newly created zones; payments for building permits issued in those zones; and technical assistance. Those items will be paid for with a mere $4 million in funds from a budget surplus that exceeded $900 million last year.

HOMEConnecticut thinks most towns will hold off building the housing in significant numbers until legislation is passed that covers the big-ticket item — reimbursement by the state for the net costs of educating the children of those who would live in the affordable housing. HOMEConnecticut believes the program would ultimately pay for itself as working people who stay in Connecticut or move here would pay more in income and sales taxes to the state.

We hope the Legislature will take this bill up again in the current session and pass the education costs component, for without it, working people run the risk of becoming an endangered species in the Northwest Corner and elsewhere in the state.