Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Norwich To Vote On Affordable Housing Fund In November

A row of occupied voting booths with curtains drawn in Norwich, Vt.
Angela Evancie
/
VPR File
Norwich residents cast their ballots in this photo from 2016 Town Meeting Day. This November, the town will vote on extending its Affordable Housing Fund.

The town of Norwich has been trying to get an affordable housing project off the ground for more than a decade, and there will be a special vote on Election Day to see if the town wants to keep trying to encourage the development.Norwich put aside $45,000 in its Affordable Housing Fund to support whatever developer comes along with a viable plan.

Norwich Affordable Housing Committee member Jeff Lubell said that even though the town has not been able to encourage the development yet, there was still support for the idea.

“We are a town that I think really would like to see housing that’s affordable to low- and moderate-income households,” Lubell said.

When the Affordable Housing Fund was set up, the town put a sunset provision on it — if the money wasn’t used before 2018, it was supposed to go back into the General Fund.

So now the town will hold a vote on Nov. 6 to see if there’s still support for the idea.

Lubell said in anticipation of the upcoming vote, the Affordable Housing Committee has been holding forums and trying to gather support for the future development.

He said the forums, and the upcoming vote, are important, so that developers know Norwich supports housing and is ready to move forward.

“We want to make sure we’re sending the right signals. We want to be encouraging of development,” Lubell said. “You know, I think the $45,000 fund is, as much as anything, it's a signal that Norwich wants affordable housing. We have some money available. It’s not a ton of money, but it is something. And it’s a concrete manifestation of, I think, the desire of the town to see more affordable housing.”

"We want to make sure we're sending the right signals. We want to be encouraging of development." — Jeff Lubell, Norwich Affordable Housing Committee

Lubell said Norwich faces some real hurdles in trying to bring affordable housing to town. Land is expensive, for one, and there are no public sewer lines, so any developer will have to sink a lot of money into a wastewater system.

Andrew Winter, the director of the nonprofit Twin Pines Housing, said the Upper Valley has one of the region’s toughest housing markets. Property rates are high, vacancy rates are low and it’s a tight job market, so a lot people are looking.

Winter agrees that $45,000 won’t add much to a $5-or-$6 million project, but he said a positive vote on Nov. 6 is important.

“There are roles that every local community plays in supporting applications for affordable housing,” said Winter. “And those applications are made stronger when there is a local commitment of dollars. And you know, a town like Norwich, if they commit dollars, that can help leverage up other dollars at the state level to help support an affordable housing project. So every piece of the puzzle helps.”

And Winter said making sure local zoning regulations are friendly towards development also sets the stage for whenever an affordable housing project is proposed.

Howard Weiss-Tisman is Vermont Public’s southern Vermont reporter, but sometimes the story takes him to other parts of the state.
Latest Stories