LET'S DEVELOP MODERATE HOUSING FOR THE FUTURE
by Curtis Barnes Sponsor of Article 63
Does Nantucket have a comprehensive affordable housing program? There are those who would like to have you believe so. After all, we have:

+ Miacomet Village I - which is a state-supported public housing project.

+ Miacomet Village II - which is a federal subsidized housing project.

+ The Nantucket Housing Office - which is a private organization set up to receive CPC housing funds, and is not subject to the regulations of the state or federal programs.

Then we have the new special housing for the schools, privately funded, the new Sherburne Commons assisted living project on leased town land, also privately funded; 8 duplex units at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Academy Hill apartments, Landmark House Our Island Home, two new 40-B projects with affordable housing components, and numerous privately owned facilities serving businesses such as local restaurants and the Stop and Shop stores.

Aren't we doing great!

But Nantucket does not have a town office responsible for a coordinated, integrated approach to affordable and moderate-income housing needs - which should be of critical concern to our community, both now and in the future. The town Web site does not even mention a Housing Office as one of its departments. And yet, what is the first question that many prospective employees ask when considering moving to Nantucket? "What about housing?"

Article 63 proposes to address that concern by suggesting that the town should undertake a longrange strategic plan to address housing issues, by using already existing resources and procedures to support new and creative housing initiatives.

We are not talking about building more houses for the working people of Nantucket. We are hoping for a broad range of creative housing initiatives that will help carry us into the future.

For example, the new town government complex on Fairgrounds Road should include some covenant-restricted affordable housing for longterm, or prospective town employees. At the same time, it should include a variety of rental housing options, both individual residences, and apartments, for those with different housing needs.

Not everyone on Nantucket wants to own a house. Affordable rental units are part of a viable housing mix. $2,500 to $3,000 a month is not an affordable rental for a 2-bedroom apartment, but that is currently the going rate being advertised in local newspapers.

A young family on the island was fortunate to be selected to purchase an "affordable" home in a recent housing lottery. Their monthly mortgage payment will be $3,500 a month. We should be looking at housing initiatives such as "0-percent loans" to help young families like this get started.

There are those opponents of Article 63 who do not fully understand the concept behind this proposal, and who criticize the idea to reallocate 25 percent of Land Bank income to creative, new housing initiatives. They believe the Land Bank has done a good job in preserving Nantucket's open space, and that the focus should continue to be on that effort.

There is no question that the Land Bank has done a great job, and will continue to do so in the future! Since it was established in 1983 the Land Bank has spent more than $168 million to acquire over 2,470 acres through 2006, and last year alone collected some $17,751,641 in income.

The Land Bank has achieved its strategic purpose! Currently some 50-60 percent of the land on Nantucket is held in government or private ownership and is restricted for conservation purposes.

At the same time, it is ironic that recent Land Bank purchases tend to appear to be specifically anti-housing. Recent purchases often note how many houses the acquisition has prevented from being built, not how much new "essential" conservation land is being added.

The more land acquired by the Land Bank, the less that is available for affordable housing.

One recent example is the mid-island parcel adjacent to the Muse, just south of the schools and the ice rink. This property is in the housing overlay district, and could have conveniently accommodated 20 or more much needed apartments for working people, but it was deemed "essential" by the Land Bank, and another affordable housing opportunity was lost.

The underlying intent of Article 63 is to ask the voters of Nantucket to consider a new strategic initiative for the Town - to take advantage of an already existing resource to provide a broad range of housing opportunities for the town. This is just a beginning - but it is essential if Nantucket is to develop an organized, well-planned program for moderate housing for

future generations. I