Middlebury Students help identify solutions to small-town affordable housing

AHW participated in a joint project this summer with Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) and the Town of Cornwall to investigate the barriers and opportunities for affordable housing for Cornwall, one of the wealthiest of VT towns. The Middlebury Privilege and Poverty Program funded Intern Maggie Hannis; the Town of Cornwall funded Intern Violet Gordon, each for ten weeks.

With assistance from staff of AHW and AHW board members, Maggie and Violet embarked enthusiastically on this project and completed a survey of townspeople in Cornwall to determine the attitudes and concerns people have about the "housing crisis."  Overwhelming numbers of people are concerned and want to see affordable housing in the town to increase the number of young families able to settle in Cornwall, for seniors to remain living in town, for recreational opportunities to be developed, and for small business interests to thrive.

Together with a city planning consultant, Jean Eisberg, the interns worked on a report to the Town of Cornwall (applicable to many other towns here in VT without water and sewer infrastructure) to address barriers and obstacles to development of housing and other structures, such as a town store. An engineering firm was hired to do a quick review from state maps of the soils within the town center, and projections were made about the types of wastewater systems that could be planned, funded and constructed to support various configurations of housing for lower to moderate income households for rental and owner-occupied housing. The report does not delve into specific sites but supports further research and study by the Cornwall Planning Commission and the Cornwall Selectboard. The full report will be available after September 30.
 
The Middlebury College interns reached out to planners, advocates, professionals and community members in several VT towns asking them to provide information on their efforts to develop wastewater capacity, including the example of AHW's recent construction of a new treatment system at the Lindale Mobile Home Park in Middlebury. These case studies the interns created reflect a variety of reasons for, and results of, wastewater system development. Case studies such as these can provide a basis for discussion, learning and imaginative planning for towns across our region, not just Cornwall. It is a good time for AHW to review with the ACRPC and its member towns the opportunities for developing affordable housing in our county.
 
We thank our interns, Maggie and Violet, for their excellent work and wish them well in their studies this coming year!

This piece was written by Anna Burns, Addison Housing Works Board Member. Thank you Anna for volunteering to lead this project!