Workforce housing primer

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October 29, 2009

By Venessa Rotondi

LONDONDERRY — The term "workforce housing" has been in the news quite a bit during the last few years. Thanks to the New Hampshire Workforce Housing Law, Londonderry has been struggling to meet the state's minimum requirements.

According to state guidelines, workforce housing is definied as housing that is affordable to a household that has an income of no more than 100 percent of the median income for a four-person household. It also means that rental housing is affordable to households with no more than 60 percent of the median income for a three-person household.

Developments that exclude children from more than 20 percent of its units, or developments in which 50 percent of the units have fewer than two bedrooms, are not be considered as workforce housing.

This median income level is calculated and published every year by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the New Hampshire Workforce Housing Law, for the Fiscal Year 2009, Londonderry's median income was calculated to be $95,200.

Some other things that workforce housing implies is that in order to be considered "affordable" it means that no more than 30 percent of a household's income should be spent on housing. This means the mortgage including interest, taxes and insurance, or it means rent and all utilities.

Many of the available workforce housing options offered is the multi-family house. Appropriate multi-family workforce housing has five or more units.

It is Londonderry's job to ensure that the town is providing "reasonable and realistic opportunities for the development of workforce housing" as stated in the Workforce Housing Law. Also required is to provide reasonable and realist opportunities for multi-family housing, including rentals.

It is a goal of the town of Londonderry to allow workforce housing on around 50 percent of residentially zoned land.

The New Hampshire Workforce Housing Law states that, "All citizens of the state benefit from a balanced supply of housing which is affordable to persons and families of low and moderate income.

Establishment of housing which is decent, safe, sanitary and affordable to low and moderate income persons and families is in the best interests of each community and the state of New Hampshire, and serves a vital public need."

Currently the Planning Board is working to revise zoning ordinances to better fit the requirements of this law. Tim Thompson, Londonderry town planner, said at this past week's Planning Board meeting that Londonderry is about 1,000 units short of "our fair share."

For more information on workforce housing, please visit londonderrynh.org/planning/wfhbooklet_web.PDF.