Are there any solutions to our housing problem? It is very hard for me to find solutions when I struggle to define the problem. First we lack housing for those who, because of a multitude of reasons, are unable to keep a roof over their head, be it lack of funds, lack of employment, a job that doesn’t pay enough, mental illness, drug addiction, the list goes on.
Second, the price of housing seems to have skyrocketed. When I purchased my house in Windsor for $128,000, my monthly mortgage and taxes were more likely $1,400. Purchase a $500,000 home today, taxes are more likely $5,000 yearly and mortgage of maybe $3,000 per month? Hmm, you have asked, “where are our young people going to live?”
Third, I frequently hear from you that the Town seems to be growing fast with more traffic and more people. This observation comes at a time when Windsor has not had any growth to speak of in the last seven or eight years. However we now have 1,000 units approved or far along in the process, the majority of these units set to be market rate apartments with few affordable units in the technical sense. We are going to see and feel this new growth.
Solutions are going to be hard to find. In addressing the housing problem, I feel the best we can hope for is a balance of interests. Your interests as those who currently live here, the owners so to speak, should be a priority. You deserve a careful and cautious pace of growth that addresses, as best it can, the need to preserve and maintain our small town character and our important natural open spaces. We need to require more of the developers by seeing that they provide a reasonable amount of affordable housing in their projects. We need to be careful that we maintain our General Plan’s zoning principles that allow for a mix of housing types, not just apartments. And finally, we need to set a growth rate that reflects our environmental concerns and our personal desires. One month ago, the Town felt a 1 percent annual growth rate within our new General Plan was appropriate. Two weeks later, 1.5 percent was suggested. Will we end up at 2.5? Now is the time to weigh in on the growth management aspect of Windsor’s plan for the next 20 years.Gwor
Sam Salmon
Windsor
