Save the Date! Dennis Delay to Speak at WHC Annual Celebration – June 7th

We are pleased to announce that noted economist Dennis Delay of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies will be the keynote speaker at the Workforce Housing Coalition’s 2012 Annual Celebration!  This year’s celebration will be held on Thursday, June 7, 2012 from 5:00-7:30pm at the Three Chimney’s Inn in Durham.  The event features a silent auction, a keynote speaker and awards of distinction. Help make the event a success – become a sponsor or an auction donor! 

We look forward to the opportunity to reflect on the year’s accomplishments and thank our vital supporters.  Look for your invitation soon!

May 8th - Getting Ahead of the Curve: Anticipating Workforce Housing Proposals

Attention municipal planners and board members AND housing developers!  NH’s workforce housing statute (RSA 674:58-61) outlines specific actions which must be followed by both an applicant and a local land use board when considering any workforce housing application.  Is your town ready?   Is your development team ready?   

Join us for a lively, interactive forum on Tuesday, May 8^th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Exeter Town Offices (Nowak Room).  We’ll portray a scenario in which a developer introduces a workforce housing proposal in a small Seacoast-area community.  What are the procedures to be followed? Will the developer and planning board agree on the “economic viability” of the project?  Don’t miss Oscar-worthy performances by:  Kenn Ortmann, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Rochester, Sylvia von Aulock, Planner for the Town of Exeter, and Ben Frost, Director of Public Affairs at New Hampshire Housing.  

This FREE program was developed by The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast and Rockingham Planning Commission.  Additional sponsors include Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella, PLLC and Strafford Regional Planning. 

Seating is limited so please register in advance by emailing lisa@seacoastwhc.org or calling (603) 205-0539.

Join us for the first Housing Happy Hour of 2012:

“Making the Numbers Work”
Financing Workforce Housing
Thursday, March 8th

5:30-7:30pm Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café –
150 Congress Street, Portsmouth NH
$12 – Members; $15 – Non-Members
Payable at the door

RSVP to Lisa Henderson at lisa@seacoastwhc.org

Networking 5:30-6:15pm. Program 6:15-7:30pm.
Light appetizers and cash bar available.

LIHTC, NMTC, CDBG, FHLB-AHP*… Nope, not alphabet soup. These are acronyms for critical financing sources for the development of rental workforce housing. Hear how developers piece together these sources to “make the numbers work.”

Panelists:

Ted Wilkinson – Program Manager – Multifamily Underwriting New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority

Marty Chapman – Executive Director
The Housing Partnership

FREE “BUTTON UP NH” WEATHERIZATION WORKSHOP TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 21ST AT RIVERWOODS AT EXETER

A free “Button Up NH” Weatherization Workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 21st from 11am – noon at The Boulders Campus of RiverWoods at Exeter. The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast, the Town of Exeter Energy Committee and ReVision Energy are sponsors of this free workshop, which will be facilitated by certified energy professionals who will provide attendees with information and techniques to save money on home energy use. Please pre-register by contacting: lisa@seacoastwhc.org or (603) 205-0539. The snow date is February 23rd.

Home heating prices are predicted to rise by another 10% this season and this workshop will offer information on reducing fuel and electricity use via basic air sealing & insulation techniques, finding technical and financial resources, identifying sources of energy waste and easy do-it-yourself conservation measures.

The workshops are free and open to the public, thanks to funding provided by the N.H. Office of Energy and Planning from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A total of 40 workshops will be held across NH in the next few months with the hopes of helping NH residents save money on their fuel bills. This UNH-based program is a collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet, Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI), UNH Cooperative Extension, and the Lakes Region Community College.

For more information on attending a Button Up NH workshop or getting a jump start on saving money on energy this winter, visit: http://myenergyplan.net/buttonup

Legislative ALERT! NH's Workforce Housing Law is Under Attack!

The Current Workforce Housing Law Is Important to NH's Economic Recovery & Growth.

It should not be undermined!

We need you to send a message to New Hampshire legislators. Join us in OPPOSING HB 1282 which would undermine current law (RSA 674:58-61) by making it optional for municipalities to approve workforce housing.

HB 1282 will have a hearing before the House Municipal and County Government Committee next Tuesday, January 31st at 1:00pm in Room 301 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Call your representatives today. Tell them to:
* Oppose HB 1282
* Support ongoing efforts to provide safe, adequate, affordable housing for all of New Hampshire’s residents

POINTS TO MAKE:

* The Workforce Housing law is good for New Hampshire’s economy, workforce and housing needs
* The Workforce Housing law should not be repealed or weakened
* The Workforce Housing law does not create statewide zoning, local control is retained
* Over 50 communities have already adopted changes to their zoning to meet the law’s requirements
* The Workforce Housing law allows appropriate use of private property without undue local regulatory barriers thereby protecting the landowner’s rights under our New Hampshire Constitution
* The Workforce Housing law helps to create jobs, recognizing that housing development infuses over $50 million a year into NH’s economy

Calls are better than emails. If you do email, please put "Oppose HB 1282" in the subject line.

Happy Holidays From WHC

Your Gift Supports A Strong Seacoast Workforce!

Home. Not just a place, but a sense of security. Where you always feel welcome. Unfortunately, it can be hard to make a home of the Greater Seacoast region. The search for an affordable apartment or a modest single-family home often ends in disappointment… After all, who wants to choose between housing that’s rundown, and possibly unsafe, or housing that’s far from work and family?

The Workforce Housing Coalition invites you to be part of the solution. With the support of our members, we tackle the complex issues that contribute to our region’s limited housing options. We educate communities about the benefits of workforce housing -- apartments, condos and single-family homes that are affordable to people of modest means. And we offer planners and developers advice on how to meet the need. Since our inception in 2001, we’ve helped over 20 communities improve their housing regulations. In turn, local developers have created over 200 new units of workforce housing.

When you become a member of the Workforce Housing Coalition, you send a message that you value the contributions of teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and so many others who are priced out of our communities. Shouldn’t they have the option of being our neighbors? We think so.

I know a family you’d welcome into your town. Chris Kiberd is a nine year veteran of the Portsmouth Police Department. His wife Brenda is a nurse at St. Ann Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Dover. They are raising a beautiful baby girl. A few years ago, they purchased a home in Rochester, where greater affordability gave them more options. But living so far away from work and family has become a strain. Chris says, “Together we pay over $70 dollars a month just in tolls. We pay three times that for gas.” They feel disconnected from their support systems to the south. “I grew up in Portsmouth, but we can’t afford to live there,” Brenda laments. “It’s hard living away from family and friends, and it’s especially isolating when you’re trying to raise a child.”

Who needs workforce housing?  Those who take care of our children, our seniors and our communities. Become a member of the Workforce Housing Coalition today and give voice to these hard-working people.  Together we can ensure that our Seacoast communities provide housing opportunities for all.