Category Archives: Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing in Newburyport, MA

A Place to Go

Light bulbs.

No light bulbs.

One more lamp is dark. Confusing. Where to get light bulbs? Who would put the light bulbs in?

Going to a large, open, friendly place. Sitting down and discussing. The subject of the darkness of the small two-room apartment comes up.

Ah, a friend, understands about light bulbs. Someone comes over and discovers the two lamps that are dark, really dark, now that the winter days are short. They know how to screw in light bulbs and suddenly the tiny two rooms are no longer dark and frightening, but light and familiar once more.

Such a small thing, light bulbs, but so important.

And if there was no where to go. To a large welcoming place, filled with voices and familiar faces. Just the TV and two small rooms.

That large welcoming place, a Senior Center. A tonic against fear, loneliness and numbing boredom. Not the same as some small unwelcoming and mostly unused room in a housing facility.

In a country where families are fractured, far away from a family member, who would care, or maybe who could care less. Often there is no family member at all. And life in two small rooms often provides little sense of community, little sense of hope. A sense of abandonment, loneliness and fear.

The days are long. No community center to go to, to share even the slightest and mundane dilemma that rarely anyone would think of. Light bulbs, and what to do when they no longer work.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Community

I know almost absolutely zip about this, and that’s when I usually get myself into mucho trouble, but for some reason I feel compelled to blog on, even though on this one I’m reasonably clueless.

What caught my eye in yesterday’s Newburyport Daily News, February 21, 2006 was the headline, “Seniors want chairs returned to lobby” on page A3.

I remember that there was an article in the Newburyport Daily News a while back about how the chairs were going to be removed from the lobby of the Sullivan Building on Temple Street (for residents 60 and older). And how other plans were being made.

I remember thinking to myself, “Ooops if it was me, I wouldn’t go there.”

There is a lounge on the 8th floor of the Sullivan building, but it would be my bottom dollar guess that it would be rarely used and that the lobby would be the place to gather, greet and socialize.

If it was me, I wouldn’t be going up to the 8th floor, I would want to go where people come and go. Find out what’s going on. Feel connected to the people in the rest of the building.

I come from New York City, and the analogy that I come up with is people leaning out of their window, watching what’s going on, shouting out to the people down below. Or sitting on the stoop talking to people passing by. An easy, organic, human way to connect to the community. And an escape from and very good tonic for loneliness and isolation.

There are new plans for a smaller room downstairs. But it would be my guess that that might not be used as much as the lobby was. It might not have, what I call the “stoop” feeling. Something informal and community connected.

And even if I did live in the Sullivan Building and thought the new room downstairs would be a good idea, knowing how things work, it might take awhile. And I might feel, that that might not be enough time for me. And I might want those few chairs back down in the lobby too, so that I could feel less desolate and more connected to the world in which I had been apart of and contributed to for so many years.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Development along Route 1

Thank goodness for the indepth article, along with photographs, written by Ulrika Gerth in the Newburyport Current, February 16, 2007, on the proposed development in Newbury along Route 1.

The article not only talks about the complexities that Newbury faces, but also puts it in context of the Little River Transit Village and Newbury’s threat from 40B projects.

Whether this is a good development for Newbury and Newburyport or not still remains to be seen, but good solid facts help the public to make an informed decision.

* This possible project has entailed “years of planning.”

* Newbury has been threatened with a shopping mall in that area and a 40B project.

* The proposed plan is for development on 14 acres not 72 acres. The remaining 58 acres would be under a “conservation restriction.”

* This would help protect Newbury from 40B developments as hopefully the numbers for affordable housing would be raised from 3% to more like 10%.

* Newburyport has to Ok the water and sewer for any project like this is to happen. And from what I can make out, we have by no means said “yes.”

* Planning for the Little River Transit Village on our end is very much in the works.

* This project has a long way to go.

* The development “would dramatically change the Route 1 gateway to Newburyport.” The photographs in the Newburyport Current show that what is there now is not exactly “scenic.” There is not enough information yet to know if people would feel that this development would or would not be acceptable.

* It could “potentially attract more business along Route 1.” I’m assuming that means more business South along Route 1, not the planned Little River Transit Village. And if that would be the case the pastoral feeling leading to Newburyport could be diminished. Although from what I can make out, the area South of this proposal is not slated for zoning changes (I am unclear on this point).

* Change and growth are inevitable. My impression is that Newbury’s Town Planner, Judy Tymon, and the Newbury Planning Board appear to be doing everything they can to try and make that growth be as responsible as possible.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Newbury Development on Route 1

I’m going to pass on what I’ve learned about the proposed development by Newbury on Route 1 as I learn more about it.

* Newbury’s financial situation has been described to me as being “desperate” and “in peril.”

* Newbury has almost no income from commercial or industrial business to help support expenses.

* Taxes are almost solely from property taxes.

* Newbury has a large percentage of older folks. A raise in property tax could mean that older folks might have to move.

* Newbury’s Finance Committee and Planning Board are two intelligent and thoughtful groups.

* The town has 3% Affordable Housing. They desperately would like to get that figure to go up towards 10% to qualify for more state help.

* Newbury has been threatened previously with 2 very undesirable projects. I think the town has been threatened with a “40B, landfill transfer center” as well as a “140,000 square-foot shopping center” on this same property. (I need to double and triple check those 2 exact items).
[Editors note: the information on those 2 items has been double checked.]

* Newbury feels that it could work with this developer, Beacon Community Development and is encouraged.

* There was a great deal of positive and receptive feedback from the people who attended the meeting with the developer last week.

* With a cooperative developer, the town of Newbury feels that it is possible to have a positive experience and outcome.

* This is a 40R project, which is different from a 40B project which is different from an Overlay District. From what I understand so far (and I am on a steep learning curve here) an Overlay District gives more control to the town, but a 40R gives more state help, however, less control. There is such a thing as a friendly 40R or even friendly 40B where the town and developer work together.

* Something will be built on that property. The town of Newbury is hoping for the best possible outcome.

* This would be part of the Little River Transit Village proposed project.

* This would not prevent Newburyport from going ahead with its plans for the Little River Transit Village. As I understand it (and again, I am on a steep learning curve here) the reason for the Little River Transit Village for Newburyport is to control growth and to minimize inappropriate growth in other areas of Newburyport, MA.

* The acreage that could be built on is 14 acres not 72 acres. I gather the parcel itself is 72 acres. As I understand it the hope is to preserve open space.

Usually I do not do this sort of post. I know legally I am considered a “publisher” and I’ve tried to put down in this post what I have discovered in my research this weekend, which has been a help to me.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Linkage Fees and Affordable Housing

I was talking to a resident who knows a whole lot more about affordable housing than I do (basically I know zip.)

What I was told is although the Community Preservation Act (CPA) money will go far for open space and historic preservation, affordable housing is very, very expensive.

Housing needs to be bought, and is incredibly expensive, then most probably it needs to be rehabbed, more expense, and then I gather a long term maintenance program needs to be set up. All of this, I would imagine would require a great deal of red tape and an amazing amount of time and energy.

The term “linkage fees” came up.

Now I’ve never heard of linkage fees before, but looking it up very quickly on the Web I got this information:

A linkage fee “requires developers to pay into a housing trust fund. The rationale for linkage is that developers should pay for the impact their projects have on the community.” (Boston Globe, September 9, 2002)

“Boston’s linkage program requires that developers pay an exaction to construct affordable housing.” (Boston Redevelopment Authority)

If the City of Newburyport ever decided to set up linkage fees for affordable housing, which I gather from the little research I’ve done, it would be extremely complicated and it would require an intact and skilled Planning Office. (And we know at the moment that our Planning Office under Mayor John Moak is in complete disarray.)

So why bother with affordable housing? If Newburyport had an appropriate number of affordable housing units (as far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier), Newburyport would not be under the shadow of 40B housing projects like the one Mayor John Moak has resurrected on the Woodman property on Low Street.

40B housing has a huge impact on the historic character, charm and beauty of Newburyport, MA and also, at least in the case of the Woodman property, adversely affects the environment (see previous posts.)

And it would also make Newburyport more economically diverse, a concept I happen to like. It would obviously give people who do not make unbelievable amounts of money or who were lucky enough to buy property before housing prices went through the roof, to have a chance to live in our seaport city, which I happen to think is a good thing.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Land Bank, Housing Bank

In a previous post concerning Nantucket and Steven Karp the “editor’s note” was that I did not know what a “Land Bank” was.

Well, Grant Sanders, the host of www.yakon.com, a website which many consider to be the place to find out what is really going on around Nantucket, sent me this information which I think is pretty interesting:

“The Nantucket Island’s Land Bank, the first org of its kind in the country, is a commission which collects a 2% fee from all real estate purchases here and uses those funds to buy, preserve and maintain open space. Currently just under 50% of the island is preserved as open space (by as many as seven or eight separate conservation organizations). Hopefully by the end of this year, that number will jump to 52% with the purchase of a conservation easement on a 270-acre parcel here known as the Linda Loring property.

Nantucket and the Vineyard are also starting a housing bank which would take 1% from the sale of a new home here. The money (around 9 million annually) will go to fund affordable housing initiatives.

You can read about the Land Bank at www.nantucketlandbank.org.”

You know what I really like? I really like the idea of a “housing bank” which would take 1% from the sale of any new construction by a developer and put it towards affordable housing. That works for me.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport