WESTERLY — With the town nearly 500 units below the goal for affordable housing set out in state law, officials are considering a project, currently in a conceptual stage, that would chip away at the deficit by providing three new units.
The town's Planning Board recently voted unanimously to recommend to the Town Council a team effort between the town and a nonprofit organization to provide three units that would qualify as low- or moderate-income housing on a small town-owned piece of land on Ledward Avenue.
"There could be three qualified low- and moderate-income housing units. It would likely take a public-private partnership of some kind to keep costs low and to maintain the accessibility of the property to low- and moderate-income families," Town Planner Nancy Letendre told the board during its July 21st meeting.
The town's role in the partnership would entail either giving the land to a nonprofit organization such as South County Habitat For Humanity or selling it to a nonprofit at a reduced price, Letendre said.
State law requires 10% of the housing stock in all municipalities in the state to meet low- or moderate-income guidelines. With 499 units, Westerly is at 5.22%, according to the 2019 Housing Fact Book published by Housing Works RI at Roger Williams University. Only six of the state's 39 municipalities have achieved the goal.
The property at 12 Ledward Avenue owned by the Westerly Water Department was purchased by the town for $700 in 1910. The .29-acre property was valued at about $50,000 in June by William Salerno of North Atlantic Appraisal Services, a Wakefield-based company hired by the town.
A water tank that sat on the property for 107 years was removed in 2018. The Water Department no longer uses the property, which is in close proximity to several two-family and a smaller number of three-family dwellings.
Salerno determined the "highest and best" use of the property would be residential development with the town's zoning ordinance allowing construction of a single- or two-family dwelling, according to a memorandum from Letendre to the Planning Board. Working under the state's comprehensive permit provision, which allows developers to exceed local density requirements in return for a percentage of low- or moderate-income housing, a private developer could construct a three-family dwelling with one of the units reserved for low- or moderate-income families, Letendre said. The contemplated partnership between the town and a nonprofit organization would allow for three low- and moderate-income units, Letendre said.
Colin Penney, executive director of South County Habitat for Humanity, said his agency is interested in working with the town if the Town Council decides to go in the direction of a public-private partnership.
"At this point we have no official involvement. It was brought up by the town planner as a potential site and we do agree and would love the opportunity to work with the town," Penney said during an interview Thursday.
South County Habitat for Humanity has built or rehabilitated 12 housing units in Westerly and is about to begin accepting applications for three other units. If the town is willing to work with the agency it would allow the agency to address its single biggest challenge, Penney said.
"Access to land is our biggest restriction. In this case we could build two or three more units. If there is affordable access to property, we're always interested in the opportunity," Penney said.
The need for affordable housing in Westerly was at "crisis level" before the COVID-19 pandemic and has only grown worse since the virus struck, said Penney, who lives in Westerly. Making more affordable housing available in the town is critical to the region, Penney said, because many of the region's jobs, community resources, and businesses are in the town.
A family needs an annual income of $92,445 to afford a median-priced house in Westerly, according to the 2019 Housing Fact Book.
"It's just not affordable for the average, year-round resident," Penney said.
To affordably rent a two-bedroom apartment in Westerly, a family must have an annual income of $58,520, according to the fact book.
South County Habitat for Humanity makes housing costs more manageable. With the agency subsidizing part of the cost, the average family the agency works with will have an $800 monthly mortgage payment, Penney said.
The proposed partnership would be a step toward fulfilling an affordable housing goal set out in the town's proposed revised Comprehensive Plan, Letendre said. The plan calls for increasing multi-family dwellings in neighborhoods with public water and sewer services.
Board members offered positive remarks.
"It makes a lot of sense to move forward with this kind of proposal. It does certainly help us out," said Richard Constantine, the board's vice chairman.
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Westerly considering options to put low- and moderate-income housing units on former water tower site - The Westerly Sun
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