Helping the middle class afford an upscale
market
September 7, 2004 ; As originally appeared in The Greenwich
Time by Julie Fishman-Lapin
When
Joan Harrington talks about the need to bring awareness to
the issue of affordable housing in lower Fairfield County,
she usually doesn't get far before the eyes of the other person
glaze over.
For
some, the problem seems too daunting to tackle. For others,
especially those who already own a house, the issue of affordable
housing has no personal impact.
Then
there are those who are hostile to affordable housing. Some
don't want open space overrun with new units. Others correlate
affordable housing developments with a decrease in property
values, increased crime and unattractive architecture.
As
coordinator of the regional Campaign for Affordable Homes
to bring awareness -- and, perhaps, solutions -- to the problem,
Harrington has been hired for a tough job. But she's optimistic.
"I
grew up in Fairfield County. I've lived here my whole life.
I understand that this problem seems intractable to most people,"
Harrington said. "It's a very, very hard problem. I really
believe this campaign can make a difference. I think it will
energize the dialogue."
The
campaign's mission is to increase housing opportunities for
Fairfield County's middle class -- those earning $35,000 to
$90,000 a year.
Harrington
said there's a need first to increase access to existing housing
through loan and grant programs, which make higher-priced
houses more affordable. And the affordable housing stock for
middle-income workers, seniors and young people just getting
started also needs to grow.
Some
other regions of the country have successfully launched advertising
and education campaigns to neutralize those who are opposed
to the issue of affordable housing.
In
Maine, a print ad shows a photo of a teacher with the caption,
"She can teach the kids calculus, but she can't be your
neighbor."
A
Rhode Island ad features a young college graduate with the
tag line, "I grew up in Rhode Island, but I can't call
it home."
Along
with launching an advertising blitz scheduled to begin after
the November elections, the campaign, run by the Housing Development
Fund of Fairfield County and partially funded by the Fairfield
County Community Foundation, also will attempt to bring community
members together to develop ways of solving the problem.
Harrington
calls those people "influencers," and said their
ranks include public officials, real estate developers, open-space
advocates and high-income earners.
Through
her research, Harrington found that influencers are most moved
by arguments that enhance their self interest. For example,
they most identified with a statement such as, "When
our kids are ready to move out on their own, we hope they
will be able to afford housing that is not too far away,"
she said.
Part
of the plan to sway influencers is to enlist major employers
to help, Harrington said.
"You
won't find an employer in Fairfield County who doesn't say
affordable housing is a problem," she said.
Companies
are worried because they can't get employees to work on time
and because they have a hard time attracting and retaining
talent, she said.
It's
partly an issue of wages, said steering committee member Richard
Taber, chairman and chief executive officer of Stamford-based
First County Bank.
When
employees can't afford to live where they work, employers
often have to pay higher wages to cover commuting expenses
without getting the benefit of having them live locally.
And
there's always the risk that someone who moved to Stratford
or Trumbull because he or she couldn't afford Stamford may
look for a job closer to home, depriving a local employer
of a good worker.
It's
also an issue of public safety and convenient access to resources,
Taber said: Who will come to the rescue during a fire or an
emergency? Where will teachers, nurses, police officers and
firefighters live?
"The
hope is by talking in these terms, it will get municipalities
and employers to look at (affordable housing) as a good thing,"
Taber said. "We see this as a quality of life issue and
one that is not well appreciated by the community at large."
The
committee will soon begin talks with employers, he said. "With
their help, maybe on one hand we can affect developers. Maybe
on the other hand we can affect municipalities so they don't
think so negatively."
The
first step is getting everyone to acknowledge there is a need,
said Taber, who is also a board director at Housing Development
Fund.
The
strategy of partnering with major local corporations worked
very well in Silicon Valley, Calif., a region that has many
parallels with lower Fairfield County, Harrington said.
In
Silicon Valley, a coalition was built among open-space advocates,
developers, politicians and influential employers, she said.
That group, led mostly by corporations, helped pass 70 of
71 housing proposals through local government. The group raised
$20 million for seed money to do the development.
"It
shows you can do a lot, you shouldn't feel so immobilized,"
Harrington said.
Copyright
© 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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