How well does Norwich do with affordable housing? Here’s how you can find out.

Affordable housing is an issue for every community. But what are they actually doing about it? And, how do they compare against each other?

The Center for Housing Equity and Opportunity, Eastern Connecticut, will host a talk Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Blaustein Humanities Center at Connecticut College to answer exactly that question and share the affordable housing plan scorecards for each community in New London County. The scorecards will be a comparison between what a town has committed to doing, versus recommendations from the state, as made by the Center and Desegregate CT, an announcement states.

Not a ranking, but helpful in identifying what needs to be addressed

The scorecards aren’t meant to be a ranking, but rather show which areas cities and towns are doing well, and what needs to be addressed as a community, Beth Sabilia, Director of the Center, said.

“Municipalities are doing more work with less staff, son we’re trying to find a way to support each other, so that these housing plans don’t sit on a shelf gathering dust,” she said.

Recommendations from the state include the town’s affordable housing history, a needs assessment, considering economic factors, and including housing supply, as listed in the Connecticut Department of Housing’s Planning for Affordability in Connecticut Guidebook.

The plans themselves have been mandated through state statute 8:30j, which requires municipalities to develop affordable housing plans, and update them every five years.

The use of scorecards are good for quantifying what needs to be done, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut President and CEO Dina Sears-Graves said.

“We can make assumptions but that’s not a good way to move forward on something,” she said. “Let’s get the facts, and then we can make some educated decisions.”

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Factors that affect housing affordability in New London County

Affordable housing has become an issue in New London County due to inflation, wages not keeping up, and a lack of housing stock, Sabilia said.

In Connecticut, the median housing price has gone up significantly, from around $250,000 in Sept. 2018, to $388,200 in Sept. 2023, according to Redfin.

This also comes as residents of New London County have experienced a greater increase in need. The newest Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed or ALICE report from the United Way shows that 37% of New London households are financially insecure, and during the first two years of the pandemic, there was a 21% increase in households in New London County not being able to afford the basics.

“We don’t have the housing stock for affordable housing, and people are paying rents three times (40% of fair housing market value),” Sears-Graves said.

During the talk, the panelists, including Ledyard Mayor Fred Allyn, Montville Director of Land Use and Development Liz Burdick, and Desegregate CT Director Pete Harrison, will analyze each town's scorecard, and talk about surprises, opportunities, and challenges in implementation, Sabilia said.

Some possible solutions for affordable housing including building more houses at all price points, increase different forms of housing assistance, and programs to encourage landlords to rent to formerly homeless people.

In the meantime, getting the community involved with affordable housing is important, from getting people on their town’s planning and zoning commissions to changing perceptions around what affordable housing is, Sears-Graves said.

“We got to make real change to make affordable housing happen in our communities,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: How New London County communities do in providing affordable housing