EASTHAMPTON — With the Nov. 7 city election just around the corner, the next City Council will face a number of issues, and one of those concerns at the top of many voters’ minds is affordable housing.
With a $30.4 million pitch by a Needham developer, the city is currently considering the Center, Pepin and Maple former elementary schools for mixed-income housing units, with the majority designated as affordable housing.
Meanwhile, the One Ferry Street project to revive the old factory site and create housing units is still underway, with part of the complex, 3 Ferry St., already open and leased to commercial and residential tenants.
An additional, controversial housing-related project — the Sierra Vista development at the former Tasty Top site on Northampton Street — calls for 202 apartments, at least 37 of which would be designated as affordable.
Housing isn’t just a citywide issue. Across the country, nearly half of Americans said housing was a major problem where they live, and 70% of Americans said that young adults find it more difficult to buy a home today than their parents’ generation did, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center report.
At the same time, a 2021 UMass Donahue Report found that in Hampshire County, 54% of households are cost-burdened, meaning that they pay 30% or more of their total household income on housing.
Last Thursday evening, candidates for City Council met at a candidate forum to discuss affordable housing in Easthampton.
The City Council portion of the election ballot is largely made up of uncontested incumbent candidates, while the sole contested race will occur in Precinct 5, where former city councilor Tamara Smith and resident Jared Hinkle will face off.
Uncontested precinct races on the election ballot include incumbents James “JP” Kwiecinski for Precinct 1, Homar Gomez for Precinct 2, Thomas Peake for Precinct 3, and Salem Derby for Precinct 4. Seeking reelection for the at-large positions are Owen Zaret, Brad Riley, and Koni Denham, while newcomer Jason “JT” Tirrell seeks a first term.
At last week’s forum — hosted by the Easthampton Democratic City Committee and the Easthampton Housing Coalition — candidates answered questions solicited from the Easthampton Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership, as well as other area housing advocates and public attendees at the event.
Councilors Zaret, Derby, Kwiecinski and Tirrell were unable to attend the forum, but all other candidates were present.
Smith, who previously served as an at-large city councilor from 2013 to 2017, focused much of her discussion on her own precinct at the southern section of the city, which consists of many privately-owned homes.
“Our younger population not being able to move into Easthampton and our older population not being able to stay in Easthampton are very important topics, particularly in our precinct,” Smith said.
She added that she is especially concerned with the “vast income disparity that now exists across our city without a lot of talk about it,” along with the aquifer which is located closest to Precinct 5.
“We have to be smart about development,” she said, adding that one creative solution is to look into accessory dwelling units at individual households, though she acknowledged that larger developments are needed.
Hinkle described how over the last 14 years he and his family have lived in Easthampton, the price of his home has nearly tripled.
“I believe for affordable housing, we need to get developers in here,” Hinkle said, adding that he is in favor of giving those developers a tax break.
Responding to a question about concerns over too much growth, Hinkle said, “What does the community want? Do they want to be the size of Chicopee? Or do we want to keep Easthampton the way it is? That’s where the residents come into play.”
“There’s no quick answer. We’re not going to solve this, within the next two years, 10 years, it’s not going to happen,” Hinkle said. “We just need to work with businesses, local governments, and our surrounding communities.”
Gomez, current city council president who has served since 2017, said he is committed to welcoming low-income families into Easthampton.
“I hear sometimes people talking about ‘we don’t want those people here,’” Gomez said. “Well you know what? I want those people here, because everybody’s welcome in our community, and we’re going to do everything in our power.”
Building off what Smith said earlier in the meeting about a limited amount of space in the city, Gomez said that “we have to be creative” and cited the school reuse projects as an example of that creative approach to affordable housing.
Since he ran on the platform of housing six years ago, Peake said, a number of zoning reforms and other housing-related items have passed in the city, “and yet things have just gotten worse.”
He said the issue is statewide and nationwide, and that “developers really have no incentive, barring public intervention, to do anything other than build housing units for the people who would pay the highest amount.”
Peake said next year, a goal of his is to create a better relationship between the city and the housing authority.
He added that the City Council has a role to play in housing issues by setting the guidelines for the Planning Board and Conservation Commission to make decisions on housing developments.
As a desirable area with an aging population, along with the anticipated wave of people moving inland as climate change affects coastlines, affordable housing is a growing concern, said Denham.
“It’s a system that actually supports landlords and… development,” she said, adding that development often serves higher-income buyers.
As a city councilor, Denham said her role is to give committee members the space to deliberate on important issues like housing or conservation, and then take their guidance when making a decision.
She added that she believes in neighborhood initiatives and education encouraging participation from community members.
“I believe in development without displacement. I believe in the youth voice… And I also believe very much in the residents,” Denham said.
For Riley, who grew up housing insecure having lived in homeless shelters, the issue of affordable housing is personal.
“I put my whole life into this,” Riley said, adding that he has been involved in the Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership and served on the School Reuse Committee to develop the proposal for the new schools to be converted into affordable housing.
Riley said one item the council should look into is revamping the Zoning Ordinance document, which is 231 pages long.
“There are things in there that are either contradictory or overly complex that can stall projects in their infancy,” said Riley.
Maddie Fabian can be reached at mfabian@gazettenet.com.
