by Dave Goldenberg
What is affordable housing?
There are several different legal and statistical definitions, but they
all more or less come down to this: Any housing that costs you more than
30% of your income (including rent, or mortgage, taxes and utilities)
isn't really affordable.
Is Ridgefield housing affordable?
Not to be facetious, but it depends what you can afford. In a recent
issue of the Ridgefield Press, the cheapest two-bedroom Ridgefield
apartment listed was $1,275 a month including heat. Given the 30% rule,
you'd need an income of $53,000 to afford it. So, if you're, say, a
school secretary, hairstylist, security guard, bank teller or any one of a
hundred other occupations-no, it's not affordable.
Another way to look at it: If you're earning $10 an hour at Stop and Shop, your gross annual income is $20,800. Your 30% housing budget allows you $530 a month. To afford the least expensive two-bedroom listed in the paper you could work more hours-about 100 hours a week at the Stop and Shop wage. But you wouldn't live long.
Want to buy a house? In 2005 the median home selling price in Ridgefield was $782,000. The qualifying income with 10% down: $233,750 (which was $113,000 higher than the town's median income!).
Can we please be real?
Okay. The cheapest two-bedroom condo on the Multiple Listing Service
recently was going for $279,000. Say you manage to scrape up 10% to put
down. Your monthly payment for 30 years at 6.5% interest, plus taxes,
common charges, utilities comes in around $1,900. Apply the 30% rule, and
what you need to earn is around $79,000 per year. That locks a lot of
middle class people out of Ridgefield.
Many people as a result pay more than 30% of their income for housing. Then it's little things like food and clothing they can't afford.
Is this a housing crisis?
And a business crisis. A recent survey found 70 of business owners say
they're having trouble finding people who can afford to work for what
businesses can afford to pay. In fact, many housing advocates have begun
to use the term "workforce housing" to describe the need that exists.
So, what do we do?
More of what we've been doing. The Affordable Housing Committee and
Housing Authority have obtained funds to add 20 rental units to the
complex on Prospect Ridge. Ridgefield has changed zoning regulations to
allow more accessory apartments. Sunrise Cottage has created housing for
five developmentally disabled adults. The Affordable Housing Committee
will soon approach Ridgefield's religious congregations to enlist their
help in creating more affordable housing. All these initiatives and more
to come will slowly but steadily add to our stock of affordable housing.
Is this the Democratic view?
Yes, but also the Republican and unaffiliated view. Ridgefielders as a
whole have been supportive of the town's affordable housing efforts. The
politics of housing live at the state and federal level. Here in
Ridgefield, we're talking about homes for our families, friends and
neighbors.
Dave Goldenberg is the Chair of the Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee