Thursday, October 28, 1999 Older Editions

A push for cheaper housing

By Rebecca Lipchitz

History began to repeat itself Monday as the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen met in a work session on Monday to discuss ways of creating more affordable housing in Andover.

"The problems this town was facing in the 1980s are the same problems its facing today, and the opportunities to solve them are once again the same," says Planning Director Steve Colyer.

Monday's meeting was an effort to break the cycle of an economy that fills Andover's open space with houses at high prices, leaving little or nothing for those with middle or lower incomes.

Officials and affordable-housing advocates at the meeting said the answer takes several forms -- changes to local zoning restrictions, ways to subsidize land purchases that would keep prices of new homes down in Andover, and covenants to ensure that homes stay affordable.

Selectmen voted unanimously Monday to charge the Andover Housing Partnership Committee with doing just that, and to report back to them by fall Town Meeting time next year with such a plan.

The need has become more acute since some housing in town that was restricted to affordable prices for 20 years is now market rate. Susan Stott of Andover Community Trust, says some of those units are in Abbot Pond.

"We need some mechanism in place so that affordable housing remains affordable for generations to come," she said.

According to a report from the Department of Planning and Community Development, the average assessed value of single family homes in Andover is more than $313,000, and would require a family to have an annual income of more than $80,000.

A little less than half of the single-family homes in town (3,592 of 7,369) are valued at between $200,000 and $300,000. While 824 homes are valued at less than $200,000, the remaining 2,953 single family homes in town are valued at more than $300,000.

Christine Metzemaekers, director of the Andover Housing Authority's subsidized housing units, says many people who want to live in Andover can't afford to buy a house here, but make too much money to qualify for subsidized housing.

"We're turning away a lot of people because they may be over income (limits) but still can't crack the nut of buying a home in Andover. It's a huge group of people. They call our office every day," she says.

Still, for a town of its size and economic status, Andover provides a relatively high amount of subsidized housing -- 9.3 percent of its housing stock.

Andover Housing Authority member Jim Cuticchia says that the kind of development Andover needs most is the kind that is hardest to achieve in Andover.

"Scattered-site housing for low or moderate income is what we should try for," he says. The town does not need large developments of subsidized housing which "categorize" people, he says. "It doesn't let people move forward."

Meanwhile, members of the Housing Partnership Committee in Andover say they've been waiting for an opportunity to address the lack of affordable housing in town.

The AHPC was formed in 1987, and at one time the more than 10 members met weekly, Colyer says. Today they have three members and plan to seek more to begin working on a new strategy.

AHPC member Chris Haynes says there are many people in town who have expertise that could help the committee, and who want to close the gap of affordable housing.

"People are looking for an active forum where they can focus their talents. We've been waiting," he says.

Haynes says AHPC members plan to seek new members and to develop the plan selectmen requested.

Andover's lack of affordable housing is documented in the Housing Report for the Town of Andover, produced by the Department of Community Development and adopted by the Planning Board in 1992.

"We don't need to reinvent the wheel, we just need to add more bodies to the mix," Colyer says.

Stott says she is hopeful that more affordable housing is on the horizon, despite the increasing land costs.

"Land is the key. This is an opportunity to follow through on everything we've talked about," she says.