Stonington 1/3/19

Meeting recap:

We (Ellie K. and I) had a very productive meeting with Kathleen Billings, Stonington's town manager, and Henry Teverow, the economic development director. We learned that we are in a very similar place to Stonington in regards to affordable housing projects. They are also trying to get a grasp on what the community needs, and weighing the options between building new housing or revitalizing older housing. It was reassuring to know that we can learn from each other as we move forward with our respective projects.

We came away with some key insights and ideas for how to move forward:

• Buying existing properties and fixing them up is cheaper than building new.
  • Getting the right of first refusal on more homes is important. That way the town/affordable housing entity has the option of acquiring these homes as they go up for sale.
• Looking into the idea of using ADU's (mother-in-law apartments) to solve the problem using the existing housing stock. IaH zoning was amended a few years ago to make this option available.
• Sometimes you have to be crafty and go around the back door, using smaller projects to get things done. Funders are more likely to support smaller projects that serve a specific need in the community. Thinking in terms of smaller projects helps us to plan in the face of uncertainty about the future, especially when it comes to the economy, the lobster fishery, and other unpredictable factors that will affect out communities.