Community discusses affordable housing and density at second Code Week workshop

Russell Preston, far left, Founder and Director of Principle Group, leads the Tuesday discussion on housing during the city’s week-long Code Week sessions. Photo/Sarah Turner

NASHUA, NH – Of all the questions and comments shared at the second Code Week workshop on enhancing housing Tuesday night, most concerned affordable housing.

“Some of the proposals I have seen in this community seem to be about stacking people up like corkwood but not actually giving them any quality of life in terms of green spaces,” one person said. “They just kind of stuff them in the corner so nobody wants to look at them and I just don’t think that’s an appropriate or ethical way to do it, so I’m wondering what the other alternatives are for the people who live in our city.”

Another added how the city should not segregate housing with a “poor section” and a “rich section.”

Alternative housing options discussed included co-housing – which Russel Preston, director of Principal Group, said are being proposed in larger cities – and micro units and other dormitory-type models.

A majority of questions during this session focused on affordable housing. Photo/Sarah Turner

The potential of Daniel Webster College being used for such housing was mentioned. While this is something Nashua planning department manager Sam Durfee said the city is interested in, he described the situation as a “conundrum.”

While the city wants to have a conversation with the owner of the building, Durfee says the owner and his lawyer are very hard to get in touch with.

Major Drive resident Tonia Knisley raised the question of what “affordable” really means.

“I just always come back to defining the word affordable because it’s very subjective and something that’s affordable for 100 percent of the [area median income] is completely not affordable to one single person in my neighborhood,” she said.

She suggested defining affordable as 30 percent of a person’s income as she said it is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Concern for equity in people being able to own homes instead of just renting was also raised.

Other conversations concerned increased density and zoning. While someone suggested amending the zoning to allow for higher density, another disliked this idea, feeling that this would devalue their property.

“Following this week and the subsequent weeks where we’re beginning the first draft, we’re going to go into a process where we’re going to stress test the code,” Durfee said. “We’re going to run mock developments through the code to see [if they] actually work.”